In the context of online and distance learning, active student engagement in online synchronous tutorials is important for students' development; yet it can be challenging to achieve. The research reported in this paper explored why some students do not participate actively in online synchronous tutorials, instead preferring passive participation.…

A significant challenge of pandemic teaching was creating active small group learning experiences in a synchronous online learning environment. Efforts to address this challenge led to an instructional process, using multiple Google Apps, that was not only effective in an online setting, but has the potential to improve seated small group…

In synchronous online EFL classrooms, students often exhibit passive participation and boredom when learning grammar. This research study presents the development of an online active grammar learning instructional model, named LPCR, which incorporates Byrne's Presentation-Practice Production (PPP) approach and Fink's holistic view of active…

This research explores the development, execution, and student feedback on a multi-themed digital escape room (ER) activity, designed for teaching medicinal chemistry during the COVID-19 pandemic. It aimed to examine students' perceptions of the ER activity, focusing on its effectiveness in enriching students' understanding of medicinal chemistry…

The Paper Chase model is a synchronous collaborative approach to manuscript development. Through a structured and team-based design, authors participate in a "marathon" of writing, editing, revising, and submitting their publications within a specified period. This active-learning approach is considered a high-impact practice by engaging…

While the benefits of active learning to student experiences are well documented, less is known about active learning in online education, especially regarding the development of 21st century skills (e.g., communication, collaboration, critical thinking, creativity). Specifically, open questions remain concerning the contribution of different…

Purpose: This paper aims to present a practical guide for designing effective synchronous online teaching to support student engagement. Design/methodology/approach: This practical guide was developed by drawing insights from literature and our own practical experiences. Findings: This paper developed BEST principles (i.e., Building positive…

Challenged by COVID-19, we sought ways to increase engagement in the virtual classroom, capitalizing on a popular multiplayer game to teach persuasion to undergraduate students. In the game "Among Us[R]," players ("Crewmates") work together to repair their spaceship before it explodes while being attacked by other players…

Understanding statistics is essential for engineers. However, statistics courses remain challenging for many students, as they find them rigid, abstract, and demanding. Prior research has indicated that using project-based learning (PjBL) to demonstrate the relevance of statistics to students can have a significant effect on learning in these…

Active learning in mathematics can lead to deeper understanding than passively listening to a lecture, yet recent studies indicate that didactic teaching dominates online tutorials. This study investigated student participation in three types of activity: solving mathematical problems via polling, on-screen activities on a shared whiteboard and…

This study explores how online instructors use different instructional strategies to engage learners, and the active learning indicators that they look for among their students. Additionally, it examines how modality--synchronous versus asynchronous--and instructor learner-centeredness relate to instructional strategy choices. Using a mixed…

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Computer Science and STEM-related fields were among the most resistant to online courses. This is because of a perception of the need for more hands-on instruction with labs, clinicals, field studies, etc. Additionally, many STEM students had perceptions based on limited experience of an online STEM course.…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the design of choreographies or learning environments which the students participating in "Ocean i"[superscript 3] pass through during their participation in the project, which requires constant review and interpretation, in times of COVID-19. To this end, it is proposed to: define the…

Blended learning can create flexibility for students, more efficiently utilise infrastructure, and can provide high-quality learning at scale. We investigated perceived value and learning gains associated with asynchronous eLearning and synchronous face-to-face (f2f) components of a blended learning experience. We hypothesised that individual…

An active-learning concurrent preparatory general chemistry course was adopted to replace a prerequisite course that lacked effectiveness in improving student outcomes. Our previous study showed that the concurrent course increased final exam performance and retention in a cohort of students. This paper studies the course modality impact of the…