In this study, an online survey was constructed based on the extant literature on college student success. The survey was used to collect data from a sample of college students in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) majors in order to examine their learning experiences and to identify the factors that may influence their persistence…

Despite attempts to engage students, undergraduate instructors are often challenged by low motivation among students to study outside of the classroom. The current study adapted motivational interviewing, which is often used with therapy clients ambivalent to change, to target college student motivation to study for exams. Findings indicated…

This study examined the trends in enrollment numbers and academic quality of first-year Tennessee students on the merit-based portion of the Tennessee Education Lottery Scholarship (TELS) upon HBCU's and religiously focused institutions in Tennessee from 2005-2014. The researchers hypothesized that the merit-based portion of the TELS was a…

Previous research has shown a decline in physical activity (PA) across college years, females being less physically active compared with males. Scholars have suggested studies to understand gender differences in PA and to examine motivational processes to facilitate college students' PA. Grounded in self-determination theory, the purpose of this…

The purpose of this study was to examine the way in which college students perceive binge drinking on college campuses in order to better understand the impetus behind this undesirable behavior. A survey administered on-line prompted undergraduate students to identify whether or not they perceived binge drinking to be a problem on college…

Concept mapping was developed as a method of displaying and organizing hierarchical knowledge structures. Using the new, multidimensional presentation software Prezi, we have developed a new teaching technique designed to engage higher-level skills in the cognitive domain. This tool, synthesis mapping, is a natural evolution of concept mapping,…

Although research suggests an interplay between identity development and self-esteem, most studies focused on the role of identity commitment and measured only level of self-esteem. This study examined longitudinal associations between Berzonsky's (2011) styles of identity exploration and two distinct features of self-esteem: level of self-esteem…

MemphiSTEP is a five-year STEM Talent Expansion Program (STEP) at the University of Memphis sponsored by the National Science Foundation. The project focuses on retention and persistence to graduation to increase the number of STEM majors and graduates. The project includes a range of student retention programs, including a Summer Mathematics…

Undergraduates learned to measure, map, and interpret bedding plane attitudes during a semesterlong geology field methods course in a field area where strata dip less than 98. Despite the low dip of the strata, 2011 field course students discovered a half-kilometer-wide structural basin by using digital levels and Brunton pocket transits to…

This article is an account of how one small liberal arts university undertook a large scale curriculum integration and assessment project under the auspices of a Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP). After a review of relevant literature, the integration and assessment process is outlined, and the assessment data is analyzed and discussed. The…

This study explores Panhellenic Sorority Recruitment grounded in a learning-outcomes-based curriculum as a vehicle for student engagement and learning. This study explores the demographics of participants and the perception of learning that occurred within the context of engagement in experiential learning activities during the first week of the…

Two experiments were conducted to assess the effects of various constraints on the processing of jokes. Participants read humorous jokes and nonhumorous alternatives of the jokes, which were presented in 3 conditions that manipulated discourse context (comedy, political, and control). In Experiment 1, participants rated the funniness of texts and…