Both lecture delivery and Facebook use are ubiquitous aspects of higher education from staff and student points-of-view, respectively. An attempt was made to integrate the two by setting up a Facebook group and delivering contemporary news stories in preparation for in-lecture discussion in a large-scale (1,200 students across 5 sections)…

Evaluation in higher education is an evolving social practice; that is, it involves what people, institutions and broader systems do and say, how they do and say it, what they value, the effects of these practices and values, and how meanings are ascribed. The textual products (verbal, written, visual and gestural) that inform and are produced by,…

The University of Nebraska at Kearney's Online Course Checklist is the main instrument for assessing the quality of online courses at UNK. A number of issues were faced when developing and deploying this quality assurance checklist at a small four-year university. The process including development, implementation, and revision is discussed along…

The present study investigated graduate students' responses to teacher/course evaluations (TCE) to determine if students' responses were inherently biased against faculty who teach quantitative methods courses. Item response theory (IRT) and Differential Item Functioning (DIF) techniques were utilized for data analysis. Results indicate students…

The dramatic rise in use of digital media has changed the way learning is taking place and has led to new ways to teach with digital technologies. In this article, we describe the experiences of teaching a course that introduces educational technologies to teachers in Macau. The course design is based on connectivism, a learning theory for the…

Students often perceive cognitive psychology as an abstract and difficult subject with little intrinsic interest. When student feedback identified problems with the traditional essay assessment in a cognitive psychology module, action research led to the development of a forensic scenario-based assessment which successfully increased student…

The perceptions about online teaching and learning are frequently different from the reality. Some students say they expected the online course to be easier than the traditional face-to-face course and are surprised by the rigor, while skeptics decry the quality of online offerings since students cannot possibly learn as well online as they do in…

Correlated predictors in regression models are a fact of life in applied social science research. The extent to which they are correlated will influence the estimates and statistics associated with the other variables they are modeled along with. These effects, for example, may include enhanced regression coefficients for the other variables--a…

In two subsequent experiments, the influence of mood on academic course evaluation is examined. By means of facial feedback, either a positive or a negative mood was induced while students were completing a course evaluation questionnaire during lectures. Results from both studies reveal that a positive mood leads to better ratings of different…

This study presents a three-year replication and extension of Maurer's (2013) evaluation of a classroom activity to reduce prejudice and discrimination. Students in six sections of an introductory family science course were assigned to one of three conditions and one of two target marginalized groups for a 3x2 design. Results differed…

Past evidence suggests that constructive misalignment is particularly problematic in International Business (IB) education, though this paradigm has received limited research attention. Building on the literature of three independent teaching methods (threshold concept, problem-based learning, and technology-based learning), this study contributes…

Best practice in curriculum development and implementation requires that discipline-based standards or requirements embody both curricular and programme scopes and sequences. Ensuring these are present and aligned in course/programme content, activities and assessments to support student success requires formalised and systematised review and…

Neuroanatomy is one of the most challenging subjects in anatomy, and novice students often experience difficulty grasping the complex three-dimensional (3D) spatial relationships. This study evaluated a 3D neuroanatomy e-learning module, as well as the relationship between spatial abilities and students' knowledge in neuroanatomy. The study's…

In this study, World Literature course that are given in Turkish Language Teaching Departments of the universities in Turkey have been evaluated within the scope of "World Literature" that was used by Goethe in the 1820s and developed afterwards. With the purpose of conducting this evaluation, course contents of World Literature of…

There is mounting evidence that prison inmates benefit from educational opportunities but may not be offered to them. In addition, when they are offered, priority is given to prisoners who will be released in the near future, and those serving long-term or life sentences are less likely to have access to classes. A service learning opportunity was…