Purpose: This study evaluated the impact and contributing factors of an exchange study abroad program between Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIU-C) and the University of São Paulo (USP). The research aimed to identify barriers and facilitators to participation, assess students' self-reported personal and professional growth resulting…

Educational approaches in structural engineering have focused on classical methods for solving problems with manual calculations through assignments, quizzes, and exams. The use of computational software to apply the learned knowledge has been ignored for decades. This paper describes an educational approach to tackle the lack of applicable…

Students' ability to effectively study for an exam, or to manage their time during an exam, is related to their metacognitive capacity. Prior research has demonstrated the effective use of metacognitive strategies during learning and retrieval is related to content expertise. Students also make judgments of their own learning and of problem…

Cyber victimization is a contemporary problem facing youth and adolescents (Diamanduros, Downs, & Jenkins, 2008; Kowalski & Limber, 2007). It is imperative for researchers and school personnel to understand the associations between cyber victimization and student social-emotional outcomes. This article explores (a) gender differences in…

Does having more knowledge or interest in the topics used in example problems facilitate or hinder learning in statistics? Undergraduates enrolled in Introductory Psychology received a lesson on central tendency. Following the lesson, half of the students completed a worksheet with a baseball cover story while the other half received a weather…

This report is an evaluation of efforts made by Illinois Action for Children (IAFC), with oversight from the Illinois Governor's Office for Early Childhood Development (OECD), to test, support, and facilitate innovations in the early childhood system in 11 communities across the state. The Early Childhood Innovation Zones (IZ) initiative, funded…

The development of this policy guide was prompted by a variety of needs and issues in the field of adult education as related to adult students who have special learning needs. After many years of workshops and policy committee meetings, the resulting document reflects the growth in awareness for special needs students by both practitioners and…

The purpose of this action research project report was to increase student motivation and engagement. There seemed to be an increasing disconnect between student potential and performance, especially among gifted math and beginning music students. Two teacher researchers carried out this research with 25 fifth-grade students at two different sites…

Pre-service elementary education teachers conducted family nights with children and families considered "high need". The family nights were designed to help build preservice teachers' sense of self-efficacy regarding parent involvement and working with low-income children and families with limited English proficiency. The project…

This action research project report was conducted in order to increase motivation and engagement in elementary and middle school students through technology-supported learning environments. The study was conducted from August 27, 2012, through December 14, 2012 with 116 participating students in first-, fourth-, fifth- and eighth-grade classes. To…

In the action research project report, the teacher researchers found that many kindergarten and first-grade students did not have the reading readiness skills to be reading at their benchmark target. The purpose of the project was to improve the students overall reading ability. The dates of the project began on September 8 through December 20,…

The Illinois Problems Index (IPI) is used to identify educational problems in a wide range of situations. IPI is composed of a series of three survey instruments, sequenced to provide increasingly specific information about school district problems. The instruments are based on 49 general problem categories, each of which is matched to a set of…

One of a series of annual studies undertaken by the Library Research Center for and on behalf of the Illinois State Library, this report provides a detailed, question-by-question examination of the 143 responses (84% of the 170 Illinois academic libraries polled) to the 1981/82 Higher Education General Information Survey/Library General…

A study of the general working conditions, financial status, performance opportunities, funding, and work practices of choreographers in New York City, Chicago (Illinois), San Francisco (California), and Washington, D.C. was conducted in order to develop benchmark statistics. These statistics focus on the national choreographer population and…

This document provides an overview of the 1980 and 1981 Illinois Inventory of Educational Progress (IIEP) in mathematics. Development of the IIEP is discussed, and results and analyses of the tests administered to students in grades 4, 8, and 11 are presented. Test items are included. Factor analysis identified two factors, "knowledge of…