The increasing prevalence of students' use of Google Translate has been the catalyst for re-developing the language classroom. Through progressive adaptations, Google Translate has been integrated to help support meaningful language learning, academic rigor and intellectual curiosity. Five key steps form the foundation of the ADAPT approach:…

Introduction: The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into higher education ushers in a new era of teaching and learning possibilities for both educators and students. Statement of the Problem: These technologies not only offer unparalleled opportunities for personalized learning and instructional support, but also introduce challenges…

Mastery grading is an approach to grading in which students are assigned term grades based on whether they meet certain enumerated objectives, rather than accumulating points. In this note, I describe my experiences using a mastery system, which I call techniques grading, which applies the insights behind the standards-based and specifications…

The National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) has stated that many teacher education programs demonstrate a lack of rigor because a large percentage of their course grades come from assignments that are criterion-deficient, lacking specific criteria through which instructors can determine students' mastery of the material. This article applied…

Is homework an essential component of rigorous schooling or a harmful practice that alienates and discourages a significant number of students? Nine years after "Rethinking Homework: Best Practices That Support Diverse Needs" was published, the debate over this complex question endures. In this updated edition, Cathy Vatterott examines…

As colleges and universities push to offer more online offerings, particularly during this current pandemic, concerns about upholding standards of excellence surface. As a result, programs like Quality Matters (QM) have flourished in an attempt to make courses not only easily accessible, but also tied to learning outcomes. This paper takes a look…

Like many math educators, I have spent much of my career bound to traditional methods of instruction and assessment. In recent years, motivated by a growing understanding that such approaches may not result in equitable or inclusive classroom environments, my teaching philosophy has shifted radically. In this article, I describe how I transformed…

Learn how to differentiate instruction while maintaining a rigorous learning environment. In this practical book, rigor expert Barbara R. Blackburn shows that the differentiated classroom doesn't mean extra work for top students and easy work for others; instead, you can have high expectations for all students and provide scaffolding so that…

What happens when students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder are taught self-monitoring skills regarding their academic and behavioral performance? This metaanalysis analyzed ten studies to determine the effectiveness of teaching a self-monitoring intervention to students with ADHD. This study highlights the positive benefits of the…

Chapter One explores whether teacher grading standards affect learning. Lenient standards are controversial because of concerns that students may put less effort into a course. Conversely, harder standards may discourage the lower performing students. Using detailed longitudinal data on all North Carolina public school students and teachers over…

While previous research has examined outcomes related to academic rigor, mixed findings have resulted from differing conceptualizations of rigor as well as varying methodological approaches. Defining rigor as those in-class practices and assignments that require students to engage in deep learning and demonstrate cognitive complexity, we use…

Following the action of the ACRL Board in February 2015 in accepting the "Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education" as one of the "constellation of documents" that promote and guide information literacy instruction and program development, discussion in the library community continues about steps in implementing…

This paper examines the potential to foster "grit" and "growth mindset" in an undergraduate curriculum through the use of high-impact practices. [Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Northern Rocky Mountain Educational Research Association (NRMERA) (34th, 2016).]

This study gathered longitudinal and descriptive data on the nature of the basic communication course, continuing a tradition dating back to 1968. Now in its ninth iteration, convenience sampling and hard copy distribution of the survey instrument resulted in a total of 188 respondents (21 from two-year schools, 167 from four-year schools). This…

The traditional research assignment is a common approach for teachers unaware of an inquiry process. In the traditional assignment, on the very first day that the work is assigned, students are given a topic or asked to choose a topic from a prepared list. They are given the parameters of the assignment, the number of sources required, the number…