Non-formal education (NFE) programs -- those existing separately from hierarchically and chronologically organized schools -- have a long history with distance and online learning, both of which have been essential to NFE programming. NFE programs like Scouts BSA, the Boy Scouts of America's (BSA) co-ed program for 11-17 year olds, rely upon…

Purpose: The authors developed a lesson study innovation for bridging pre-service teachers' experiences in an early methods course and clinical experiences focusing on the development of technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK). The authors analyze one planning meeting by a lesson study team comprised of four pre-service teachers and…

There are a number of novel exercise types that students can utilize while learning Computer Science, each with its own level of complexity and interaction as outlined by the ICAP Framework [10]. Some are "Interactive," like solving coding problems; "Constructive," like explaining code; "Active," like retyping source…

The COVID-19 pandemic led to school closures nationwide and disruptions in learning. School districts are trying to understand the impact that these disruptions had on student learning and achievement and develop strategies to recover from a possible learning loss. Given the unprecedented nature of this pandemic, little data and research is…

The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center reports on the shifting transfer landscape during COVID-19 in a rapid response report series titled "COVID-19 Transfer Mobility, and Progress." Commissioned by the Research Center, this special journalist's report offers insights into how some colleges were able to grow their transfer…

Long before the COVID-19 pandemic, the education technology narrative asserted that "New tools hold great promise for teaching and learning, but only when they are used effectively, appropriately and intentionally". In this dissertation, I explored how early childhood education teachers construct their understanding of technology…

Peer feedback is an effective instructional strategy for improving students' argumentative essay writing in higher education. However, little is known how do differently or similarly bachelor's and master's students perform in their peer feedback activities for essay writing. This study sought to identify the role of education level in students'…

Many incoming college freshmen who do not meet minimum standardized exam cut-score requirements are often determined to be not ready for college level coursework and registered for pre-requisite, multi-semester, remedial course sequences. The goal of pre-requisite courses is to prepare students for college-level courses prior to enrollment in…

Evolution is central to biology education and yet, it is often one of the most misunderstood and controversial topics that biology educators must teach. Research spanning the last four decades has shown that students continue to struggle, even with direct instruction, to understand the process of evolution by natural selection. In my first…

A recent study in our research group found that social comparison concern (SCC) was a medium strength predictor of course grades while controlling for demographic factors and standardized test scores. Additionally, students belonging to underrepresented communities (women and Underrepresented ethnic minorities) had significantly higher SCC than…

With a motivation to immerse students in engineering design, graphics communication, and computer aided design (CAD) skills early-on in the biomedical engineering curriculum, we launched a new 2-unit laboratory course on "Graphics Design in BME" in the Spring 2020 quarter for UC Davis sophomores. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the course…

During the spring of 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was necessary to rapidly translate a new human-centered design studio course for first-year biomedical engineering students from a face-to-face delivery mode to a remote delivery mode. In addition to disrupting plans for hands-on design prototyping experiences, stay-at-home orders…

This qualitative descriptive study investigated the self-efficacy of nurse practitioner (NP) instructors after completion of an online course on simulation pedagogy. Due to minimum standards for NP instructors to have a degree as either a NP or be considered an expert in their content field, most of them do not have formalized education in the…

We perform a large-scale randomized controlled trial to evaluate the potential of machine learning-based instruction sequencing to improve memorization while allowing the learners the freedom to choose their review times. After controlling for the length and frequency of study, we find that learners for whom a machine learning algorithm determines…

This is a quantitative methods study investigating the perceptions that teacher trainees at a tertiary level educational institution have of the evaluation process for courses and lecturers. Student evaluation of courses and lecturers is mandated by the standards of the University Council of Jamaica (UCJ) and the University of the West Indies…