As teachers face barriers to communicating climate science, new ways of communicating and teaching are needed. This study explored new ways to educate about climate change while addressing the literature gap for how sound can communicate information about climate change and be used to increase learning and engagement. The purpose was to learn to…

The use of Virtual Reality (VR) in a variety of professional, military, governmental, and educational fields has continued to expand over the past several decades, and the recent COVID-19 pandemic has brought attention to this field. This study surveys 154 college students over 23 questions that include various demographics that can be used to…

In order to better understand how play can be used as a learning tool to teach students in college writing courses, this dissertation examines how play is used in the undergraduate college writing classroom. Using a qualitative case study and narrative inquiry, instructors and students in the University of Minnesota's (UMN) Writing Studies…

Racism, racial inequity, and racial violence, including micro-aggressions (slurs and fearful glances) are endemic in modern American society. Finding ways to eliminate or at least mitigate racism and racial violence is important, not only for public safety but also to ensure equality, fairness, and social harmony among every stratum of American…

This study examined high-leverage teaching practices (HLTPs) in foreign language instruction. Specifically, this study sought to identify teaching practices that Arabic as a foreign language (AFL) learners and instructors think could enhance learners' oral communicative competence. It attempted to answer the following questions: (1) What are the…

Organic chemistry is accepted as a crucial part of science higher education funneling students into many career opportunities such as pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and medical industries. Students attempting organic chemistry courses in higher education are among a plethora of majors including biology, chemistry, health science, and engineering.…

The topic of this research study is mastery learning, an educational theory that began with the work of John Carrol in 1963. The core principle of this theory is that all students can achieve uniform learning outcomes, but it will take some students longer than others to reach the same performance goals. The problem that this research study…

Instructors of post-secondary level courses sought novel ways of conveying content to a diversifying set of students. Likewise, the growth of computing and information technologies opened more avenues for instruction. Constructivist theories of education gained support in instructional efficacy. Instructors needed to balance the need of covering…

Research shows that college students are largely unaware of the impact of algorithms on their everyday lives. Also, most university students are not being taught about algorithms as part of the regular curriculum. This exploratory, qualitative study aimed to explore subject-matter experts' insights and perceptions of the knowledge components,…

Communication activism pedagogy for social justice (CAP) is a relatively new approach to social justice education in the communication discipline. CAP teaches students in the classroom about social justice and then has them engage in social justice communication activism (SJCA), "us[ing] their communication knowledge and resources to work…

Instructors make many decisions all the time directly impacting students. They commonly make choices around how their students will actively engage in their own learning. A widely used engagement practice is to invite students to voluntarily participate by having them ask or answer questions in small- and large-enrollment science classrooms.…

This research study examined inclusive teaching practices, class policies, and course structures in active learning Calculus classes. Analyzing interview data, along with focus group discussions and classroom observations, obtained from 23 students and 4 instructors, themes were extracted through open-coding methodology, employing scholarly…

Population dynamics modeling using stage-based transition matrices has been used in ecology for six decades. However, the data analysis method has never been used for students in higher education. This applied doctoral project used the principles of population dynamics to assess two student populations at an institution of higher education…

Kinesthetic movement has gained significant attention within the flute community over the last several decades as a performance enhancement tool. Somatic therapies such as the Alexander Technique, body mapping, Feldenkrais, and Dalcroze-Eurythmics incorporate kinesthetic movements into their practices. Although most musicians seek out these…

This study explored the meaning of critical thinking (CT) in Haitian higher education and delineates teaching strategies and techniques for integrating CT practices in rural Haitian universities. Six esteemed universities were surveyed and 10 university professors were interviewed regarding their understanding of CT and how they have implemented…