Teaching and learning undergraduate statistics has been a most challenging task for undergraduate psychology majors (Salkind, 2017). A seasoned statistics instructor consulted with a seasoned instructional designer on a method to improve a particularly demanding course using a performance improvement approach to address learning difficulties she…

Background: Universities faced important and sudden changes following the lockdown measures imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Traditional educational practices were disrupted as campuses were closed while distance learning was hastily adopted. Aims: This study documents the evolution of university students' autonomous and controlled motivation…

Involuntary musical imagery (INMI; more commonly known as "earworms" or having a song "stuck in your head") is a common musical phenomenon and one of the most salient examples of spontaneous cognition. Despite the ubiquitous nature of INMI in the general population, functional roles of INMI remain to be fully established and…

Despite the overwhelming evidence that higher education data are nested at various levels, single-level techniques such as regression and analysis of variance are commonly used to investigate student outcomes. This is problematic as a mismatch in methodology and research questions can lead to biased parameter estimates. The purpose of this study…

The official stance of the Association America of Medical Colleges (AAMC) regarding the undergraduate major of applicants for admission to medical school is that there are no required or preferred majors. While the AAMC is the body that governs admission to allopathic medical schools in the United States, this statement does not provide clarity to…

A sample of 327 engineering bachelor students from a public university in Mexico took part in an information integration study to explore systematic thinking underlying propensity for cheating during a course exam. All study participants were provided with written descriptions of 12 scenarios pertaining to the academic evaluation criteria and were…

Across the Higher Education (HE) sector student feedback is used to feed into university processes and guide decision making. In this study, data gathered allowed the authors to investigate a hitherto neglected, but important, cohort of successful students -- those who succeeded when all the odds were stacked against them. The identified group of…

This study contributes new evidence on the factors associated with undergraduate study abroad participation and post-college civic engagement, with particular attention on the moderating influence of first-generation college student status. Drawing on Education Longitudinal Study 2002-2012 data, this study analyzes how students' ascribed…

"Tutorials in Physics: Quantum Mechanic" is a set of curricular materials for supplementing upperdivision quantum mechanics instruction, developed by the physics education group at the University of Washington. We describe the development of a sequence of three tutorials that focused on quantum measurements and time dependence. This…

Many people within and outside of higher education view honors programs as providing meaningful academic experiences that promote learning and growth for high-achieving students. To date, the research exploring the link between honors participation and college grades and retention has obtained mixed results; some of the seemingly conflicting…

The mathematical preparedness of science undergraduates has been a subject of debate for some time. This paper investigates the relationship between school mathematics attainment and degree outcomes in biology and chemistry across England, a much larger scale of analysis than has hitherto been reported in the literature. A unique dataset which…

Purpose: Educational institutions are caught between increasing their offer rates and attracting and retaining those prospective students who are most suited to course completion. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the influence of demographic and psychological constructs on students' preferences when choosing to study in a particular…

A plethora of research spanning several decades has attempted to understand predictors of retention and graduation in undergraduate bachelor's degree programs. The topic is no less important today, as larger and larger swaths of the American population attend college each year. Studies have demonstrated that key demographic variables, indicators…

National efforts to transform undergraduate biology education call for research experiences to be an integral component of learning for all students. Course-based undergraduate research experiences, or CUREs, have been championed for engaging students in research at a scale that is not possible through apprenticeships in faculty research…

Even though science says genetically modified (GM) foods are safe, many consumers remain skeptical of the technology. Additionally, the scientific community has trouble communicating to the public, causing consumers to make uninformed decisions. The Millennial Generation will have more buying power than any other generation before them, and more…