This study compared student engagement and performance in both open educational resources (OER) (n[open textbook users fall 2018] = 72) and traditional textbook (n[traditional textbook users fall 2017] = 66) classes. Data were drawn from the Learning Management System (LMS). Results show (1) final grades in the OER class were on a par with the…

To explore new opportunities to promote self-regulated learning (SRL) across a variety of contexts, this study applies a novel assignment called Pink Time in seven different courses at two universities. The assignment asks students to "skip class, do anything you want, and give yourself a grade." In each case, instructors adapted Pink…

Online courses are becoming more common at institutions of higher education, yet teaching online creates many challenges, including how to foster instructor immediacy in the online learning environment. Student feedback on audio and video teaching techniques were collected in two undergraduate online classes. Students thought that using video in…

Training in research methodology is becoming more commonly expected within undergraduate curricula designed to prepare students for entry into graduate allied health programs. Little information is currently available about pedagogical strategies to promote undergraduate students' learning of research methods, and less yet is available discussing…

The process toward academic literacy aims at developing academic reading and writing together with higher academic competences of increasing relevance for undergraduate students as future teachers and researchers. Such a process is even more complex in ELT vocational courses where non-English speaking trainees study English as a system while they…

How does one create a class where the theoretical concepts emerge through classroom practice and engagement? This is the question that Mariaelena posed to herself when taking over the position of Director of the Interpersonal Communication course at the University of South Florida. In this essay we describe how we worked through a new way of…

As diversity in higher education increases, the one-size-fits-all, teacher-centered, traditional model of lecture-style teaching sets students up for failure. In addition, the strategic rhetoric of blaming students for academic failures keeps the systemic power in place, justifying the current system. In contrast, differentiated instruction, a…

In this paper, I describe an innovative assignment for teaching undergraduate students cross-cultural understanding. The Outsider/Insider assignment simultaneously teaches facts about cultural difference and skills for managing cross-cultural encounters. Briefly, the assignment is to write two short papers, one in which the student describes a…

The purpose of this inter-university project was to explore pre-service teachers' perceptions of collaboration and use of online technology. Twenty-two undergraduate music education majors from two separate universities participated in an eleven-week collaborative project to develop, teach, and self-assess general music lesson plans via a variety…

This paper explores the intersection of reflection, journal writing and creativity. Undergraduate students who participated in a residential field camp were required to keep a creative reflective journal to demonstrate their theoretical and practical understandings of their experience. This study reports on the content analysis of 42 student…

In this instructional article, we describe a non-traditional course assignment in which we ask students in our social problems courses to write, illustrate, and present a children's book about a social problem as part of the process of learning. Over the course of the semester, students utilize guided handouts to create a children's book exploring…

Concern about the research and writing abilities of undergraduate students led to the development, implementation and enhancement of four sequential writing assignments in an introductory course. These writing assignments--which included a report on an interview of a professional in the field, a research paper on an aspirational career, a research…

Google Docs, an online word processing application, is a promising tool for collaborative learning. However, many college instructors and students lack knowledge to effectively use Google Docs to enhance teaching and learning. Goals of this study include (1) assessing the effectiveness of using Google Docs in an out-of-class collaborative writing…

The assignment of pre-class reading is a common practice in higher education. Typically, the purpose of this reading assignment is to expose students to background knowledge that will be useful in an upcoming class discussion or to introduce a topic that will be presented more directly by the instructor. However, numbers of undergraduates actually…

Providing effective feedback on writing is a challenge in any learning environment, but it is even more problematic in fully online instruction. The lack of face-to-face interaction in web-based classes increases the need for highly transparent, prompt, and personalized feedback. Student views on the use of a semi-structured template combined with…