In the UK, Latin is often seen as an elitist subject taught largely at fee-paying schools. Over the past generation, however, great strides have been made in opening up the subject to students from all backgrounds. A major hindrance to widening access to Latin at university level is that the language can often prove challenging for students. Data…

States and broad-access colleges are rapidly scaling corequisite coursework--a model where students concurrently enroll in college-level and developmental coursework--in response to dismal completion rates in traditional "developmental" sequences. At community colleges, evidence suggests that corequisite reforms can dramatically improve…

Online learning dexterity, or the ability to effortlessly adapt to online learning situations, has become critical since the COVID-19 pandemic, but its processes are not well-understood. Using grounded theory, this study develops a paradigm model of online learning dexterity from semi-structured interviews with 32 undergraduate and postgraduate…

Integration of active-learning approaches into increased-structure postsecondary classrooms significantly improves student academic outcomes. We describe here two parallel sections of Introductory Biology that shared learning objectives and content but varied in course structure. The large-enrollment traditional course consisted of four 50-minute…

This study attempted to investigate the ability of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom learning environment and student background characteristics to predict student persistence in EFL learning. The study also aimed to investigate whether the associations between learning environment characteristics and persistence varied by several…

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand how faculty experience the transition from Blackboard to Canvas LMS and which LMS is preferred. The general problem addressed in this study was that California Community College students' success and retention in online courses was 7-10% lower than in face-to-face courses. To try to…

Academic procrastination is a common problem among secondary students. This paper provides secondary teachers with evidence-based strategies to reduce or prevent academic procrastination in their classrooms. Given that reducing academic procrastination is a responsibility for teachers as well as students, the paper describes teacher-administered…

This case study addresses the exigence of low retention and graduation rates of college students. The authors sought to incorporate the perspectives of all three stakeholders implicated in retention efforts--administrators, faculty, and students--by implementing a personalized system of instruction (PSI) in eight of their college courses. This…

At the college level, the effectiveness of active-learning interventions is typically measured at the broadest scales: the achievement or retention of all students in a course. Coarse-grained measures like these cannot inform instructors about an intervention's relative effectiveness for the different student populations in their classrooms or…

We transformed our first-year curriculum in biology with a new course, Biological Inquiry, in which greater than 50% of all incoming, first-year students enroll. The course replaced a traditional, content-driven course that relied on outdated approaches to teaching and learning. We diversified pedagogical practices by adopting guided inquiry in…

A study of access students in the Open College Network (178 of 776) examined institutional and personal factors that inhibit or enhance program completion. Variations in program organization and delivery among different providers had a significant impact. (Contains 20 references.) (SK)

A study explored possible reasons why technical and further education (TAFE) students enrolling in vocational education and training (VET) courses in New South Wales, Victoria, and Western Australia do not complete those courses. Findings were based on these two kinds of evidence: evidence obtained from a statistical investigation of the outcomes…

Although a basic premise of higher education is that students must take the primary responsibility for their own learning, problems arise when the focus throughout elementary and secondary schooling is on passive, rote learning with the student totally dependent on the teacher and text, as in Islamic schools. The educational shock experienced in…

Seven papers from the annual conference are presented. "Developing Tomorrow's Technology-Using Foreign Language Teachers: Where We Are, Where We Are Going" (Marjorie H. DeWert, Audrey Heining-Boynton) looks at whether language teachers are being trained to take full advantage of educational technology. "Foreign Language Placement in…