Every teacher can recall a range of experiences in professional development workshops. Some of these may have provided opportunities in which teachers felt engaged, empowered, and supported as learners, while others felt disconnected from practice. Although these authors recognize that workshops, particularly those with no follow-up support, are…

Adult students have become the new majority in online distance education. Research in online distance education, however, is still predominantly based on the historical perspective of the traditional student profile. This study examines adult students' learning engagement in online courses and explores the impact of online course design models and…

This study explores what classroom behaviors and activities in the basic speech course contribute to student connectedness. The results indicate that student encouragement, humor, honesty, interactive exercises and individual speeches, can help student bonding and motivation, and impacts their overall college experience.

Background/Context: For the last 40 years, researchers have posited competing theories regarding the relative influence of social class background and racial-group membership on the school experiences, academic performance, behavior, and motivation of ethnic minority students. The general purpose of these competing theories has been to explain why…

In this paper, two emerging learning and teaching methods have been studied: collaboration in concert with algorithm visualization. When visualizations have been employed in collaborative learning, collaboration introduces new challenges for the visualization tools. In addition, new theories are needed to guide the development and research of the…

Many students experience difficulties when they try to get good grades in their accounting classes, and they are searching for answers. There is no single answer. Getting a good grade in an accounting class results from a process. If you know and understand the process--and can apply it--then your chances are much improved for getting a good…

Using data on upper-division students in the University of California system, we show that two distinct cultures of engagement exist on campus. The culture of engagement in the arts, humanities and social sciences focuses on interaction, participation, and interest in ideas. The culture of engagement in the natural sciences and engineering focuses…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a full semester of wellness instruction on student perceptions, choices and self-reported behavioral outcomes as measured by eight factors associated with student success. A mixed-method study design was employed. The pre-test/post-test design was used for the quantitative portion of the…

The "National Dropout Prevention Newsletter" is published quarterly by the National Dropout Prevention Center/Network. This issue contains the following articles: (1) Family/School Relationships: Relationships That Matter; (2) Program Profile; (3) Engaging Families in the Pathway to College: Lessons From Schools That Are Beating the Odds (Anne T.…

Recent work on the relationship between adolescent violence and its outcomes has posited that aggression by adolescents who are exposed to violence can be viewed as an adaptive strategy that seeks to order dangerous and unpredictable environments. Using reports from 416 active violent youth, we analyze lifetime exposure to community violence and…

There is an increase in school-community linked initiatives in school science. A substantial proportion of these involve rural schools. This article asks the question: In what ways do these initiatives offer possibilities for better engaging rural students with school science? The paper draws on information from a number of school-community linked…

Despite the large body of evidence on the benefits of sports, there continues to be growing concern regarding the overemphasis on sports, especially related to the social and educational development of blacks and other minority youth. This article introduces a conceptual framework or typology for analyzing the connection between sports…

Graduate teaching associates (GTAs) play a vital role as instructors at many universities but often are not confident in their ability to perform their job-related duties. Based on Bandura's (1997) theory of self-efficacy, this project examined a teacher-training program for GTAs and assessed its outcomes. Our results revealed that GTAs reported…

The present study examined the capacity of 2 different theoretical models of motivation to explain why an externally provided rationale often supports students' motivation, engagement, and learning during relatively uninteresting learning activities. One hundred thirty-six undergraduates (108 women, 28 men) worked on an uninteresting 20-min lesson…

This article presents a study that uses iterative searches of literature, guided by data from campus observations, interviews, and surveys, to locate and test a theory that can be used to strengthen institutional leverage over student engagement and outcomes. A review of literature was conducted to frame a preliminary theoretical framework for…