This article explores and summarizes trends in research and scholarship over the last decade (i.e., 1998-2007) for students completing dissertations and theses in the area of distance education. The topics addressed, research designs utilized, and data collection and analysis methods used were compiled and analyzed. Results from this study…

In January, when Dr. Teresa Sullivan became the first woman selected to become president of the University of Virginia, expectations were that the noted sociology professor and provost and executive vice president for student affairs of the University of Michigan would ease into her job in bucolic Charlottesville. When she took over in August,…

Negotiation skills are vital for concluding international treaties on subjects ranging from arms agreements, and rights in outer space to trade agreements. Yet the importance of being able to negotiate effectively is not limited to international treaties or crises situations. Using negotiation exercises represents a student-centered approach to…

The use of numerical/quantitative data in qualitative research studies and reports has been controversial. Prominent qualitative researchers such as Howard Becker and Martyn Hammersley have supported the inclusion of what Becker called "quasi-statistics": simple counts of things to make statements such as "some," "usually," and "most" more…

This study aims to share English language practitioners' reflections on the adaptation of teaching methods and materials during the pre-validation period of the European Language Portfolio (ELP). In order to achieve this aim, a high school was selected as the scope of research, since it has started to adapt the English language teaching…

Objective: This study examined the feasibility of using wireless mobile devices (MDs) to collect daily alcohol information among college students, in particular examining feasibility in the context of costs associated with the use of wireless MDs. This study reports on practical aspects of using MDs to collect alcohol data, including compliance,…

In the search for factors affecting the use of ICT in educational settings, several authors have presented holistic conceptual frameworks. In this study, we argue that while these models are valuable sources for conducting qualitative research, they are less useful for quantitative research since few measurement scales have been created. We…

As an online institution of higher education, Excelsior College strives to ensure delivery of high quality online courses leading to student success. A key benchmark for student success is student-faculty interaction (SFI). The decade-old National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) measures several benchmarks including student-faculty interaction…

The purpose of this study was to examine the overarching framework of EFL (English as a Foreign Language) reading instructional approach reflected in an EFL secondary school curriculum in Malaysia. Based on such analysis, a comparison was made if Communicative Task-Based Language is the overarching instructional approach for the Malaysian EFL…

This study explores the academic lives of three multilingual undergraduate student writers in order to better understand how they have constructed their academic literacies and academic identities since taking the required English courses at a mid-sized state university. Within the overarching discussions of academic discourse and the idea of…

Background: Despite considerable investment in UK government initiatives (e.g., the Physical Education School Sport [PESS] plan) aimed at improving the delivery and quality of physical education (PE) in primary schools, many remaining problems have been highlighted (e.g., facilities; staff training). It is suggested that the head teacher (school…

Procedures for direct observation as part of functional behavior assessment (FBA) in natural settings continue to be an important area of inquiry and evaluation in the field of education. Spread across a continuum of control and rigor, various direct FBA methods involve a variety of strengths and limitations. The purpose of this study was to…

This booklet provides details on the codes used to classify the verbatim suggestions for improvement made by students in their responses to the Student Outcomes Survey as well as the codes for various types of demographic information, and responses to questions about how students evaluate their training. These verbatim suggestions represent a…

Though research in emerging technologies is vital to fulfilling their incredible potential for educational applications, it is often fraught with analytic challenges related to large datasets. This thesis explores these challenges in researching multiuser virtual environments (MUVEs). In a MUVE, users assume a persona and traverse a virtual space…

This report summarizes external research requests submitted to and reviewed by AISD staff during the 2008-2009 school year.