Monitoring Advising Analytics to Promote Success (MAAPS)is a multi-institutional project of the University Innovation Alliance (UIA) initially funded and supported by a US Department of Education First in the World Grant to Georgia State, the lead UIA member on this project. MAAPS is a large-scale randomized-controlled trial designed to validate…

Arizona State University's (ASU) Bridging Success program, launched in 2015, is a campus-based support program for students with a background in foster care, also known as Foster Care Alumni (FCA). The program is housed within ASU's School of Social Work, which is part of the Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions. The program…

While it is well-known that faculty-student interaction is key to student success, few institutions have directly leveraged faculty in supporting academic persistence. Many myths about persistence proliferate, and faculty can unwittingly hinder persistence by implementing the wrong kinds of practices. Faculty are most empowered to support student…

We present a mixed-methods approach to community-based assessment design that engages tribal college and university faculty, students, and science educators, as well as experts in cultural knowledge from the Blackfeet and Diné (Navajo) nations. Information from cultural experts, gathered through a combination of sequential surveys and focus group…

How can institutions and communities accelerate Latino student success? Examples of "Excelencia" is the only national effort to identify and promote evidence-based programs accelerating Latino student success in higher education. Since 2005, "Excelencia" in Education has recognized over 300 programs making a positive difference…

While it is widely recognized that campus climate can have a profound impact on students' academic performance, mental/behavioral health, and character development, campus is not experienced equally across identity groups. For lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, and asexual (LGBTQA) students, campus often includes added…

Two sections of an introductory microbiology course were taught by one instructor. One was taught through a hybrid format and the other through a traditional format. Students were randomly assigned to the two sections. Both sections were provided with identical lecture materials, in-class worksheets, in-class assessments, and extra credit…

In the First Innovations Initiative at Arizona State University students are exposed to the culture of innovation and the entrepreneurial process through two courses situated intentionally within an American Indian sustainability context. In this action research dissertation, a summer field practicum was designed and implemented to complement the…

This action research dissertation study was undertaken to establish the foundation of a comprehensive evaluation component for the Turn-It-Around (TIA) workshop intervention program at Arizona State University (ASU), and was delivered in the form of a program development consultation. The study's intent was to enhance the ASU Counseling Service's…

This study reports the results of the first systematic investigation into Astro 101 students' conceptual and reasoning difficulties with cosmology. We developed four surveys with which we measured students' conceptual knowledge of the Big Bang, the expansion and evolution of the universe, and the evidence for dark matter. Our classical test theory…

A field-based course at the University of Arizona called Sense of Place (SOP) covers the geology, ecology and cultural history of the Tucson area. SOP was quantitatively assessed for pedagogical effectiveness. Students of the Spring 2008 course were given pre- and post-course word association surveys in order to assess awareness and comprehension…

Students from six countries--Australia, Japan, Mexico, Sweden, Taiwan, and the United States--recalled the extent to which their best or worst professors used various forms of communication that have been associated with effective teaching. Across cultures, best professors were perceived to employ more nonverbal expressiveness, relaxed movement,…

Spatial visualization skills are vital to many careers and in particular to STEM fields. Materials have been developed at Michigan Technological University and Penn State Erie, The Behrend College to assess and develop spatial skills. The EnViSIONS (Enhancing Visualization Skills-Improving Options aNd Success) project is combining these materials…

For the thirty-third year, the Research and Theory Division of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) is sponsoring the publication of these Proceedings. This is Volume #2 of the 33rd "Annual Proceedings of Selected Papers on the Practice of Educational Communications and Technology." This volume includes…

Estimates indicate that as much as 80% of an engineer's work time is spent on communicating. Studies done by the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) at the University of Arizona show that engineering firms, as well as ECE graduates, rank writing ability as the most important skill in determining engineers' success, even above…