This qualitative study examines how a student-generated meme activity influences adult learners' interaction in online class discussions. A multiple-case design is applied to understand how this class discussion activity facilitates online threaded interactions. This study recruited 28 adult learners from a two-section graduate-level asynchronous…

With the growing number of online course opportunities in higher education, it is necessary to gain an understanding of the benefits of fostering social presence in those courses for adult learners. Ensuring that adult learners are provided with an online learning community that fosters social presence and promotes students' autonomy, competence,…

This qualitative survey studies the perceptions of adult students enrolled in a teacher training programme in Greece. It examines synchronous distance education, the Microsoft Teams platform, and the prospect of strengthening and establishing this type of education after the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey used the semi-structured interview as a…

Many students who enroll in online universities will never graduate. Attrition in higher education is accepted and expected; however, in exclusively online programs, it is prolific, with more than 80% of those students who begin an online program leaving before graduating. It is well known in the academic literature that isolation is related to…

This quantitative study investigates the impact of four types of discussion activities on adult learners' asynchronous online interactions. Specifically, this study aims to understand how different discussion activities incorporated into online discussion boards motivate adult learners' online participation. The four discussion activities are…

This phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of engagement by non-traditional students in their online courses at a four-year university. The problem addressed by this study was nontraditional students' lack of engagement in their undergraduate online courses at four-year universities. Non-traditional students taking online courses…

This case study explored how Hispanic conservative Wesleyan-Arminian adult students perceived online education, with a specific focus on their perceptions of technological aspects, asynchronous online discussions (AODs), and the effectiveness of online delivery for themselves. The purposive sampling consisted of 16 Hispanic conservative…

The outbreak of COVID-19 forced the world population to find new ways to improve their productivity. It also significantly changed the course of education and instruction entirely. Like many students worldwide, adult English as a Second Language (ESL) students have been dramatically impacted by the sudden switch to online courses due to the…

Within the vast search for ways to enhance the online classroom learning environment and to engage students fully, researchers often turn to discussions concerning instructor-student interactions that take place daily in the online classroom. Although students interact with other students and with the content, it is the student-instructor…

The focus of each Technology Solutions for Adult Basic Skills Challenges column begins with a common challenge facing adult basic skills practitioners. This article examines a technology solution to two large and related challenges: student engagement and student persistence, which, from a program or school perspective, is often described as…

The theorization of how multimodal learning intersects with online teaching environments has emerged as a key research area in relationship to the creation of opportunities for L2 online interaction. However, there are few studies which have examined how cross-cultural dyads harness and orchestrate semiotic resources across mobile technologies…

The following article describes how one organization, the Coady International Institute, met multiple monitoring, evaluation, research, and learning objectives while still staying true to its roots in transformative adult education. The Learning from Stories of Change (LSC) methodology brought together stories-based techniques with aspects of the…

Organizations governing education in the health professions have recently called for changes in teaching to promote students' use of critical thinking (CT). Expectations for CT in courses to train educators should be aligned with the expectations of student use of CT. A growing number of certificate and master's-level programs are being developed…

More and more faculty who teach online are facing incivility in their classroom. These disruptions impede learners' development and wellbeing and can negatively impact faculty and institutions of higher education. In this article, we review the consequences of online academic incivility and the situational factors that contribute to these…

Modern learning theories stress the importance of student-centered and self-directed learning. Problem-Based Learning (PBL) supports this by focusing on small group learning centered around authentic problems. PBL, however, usually relies heavily on face-to-face team collaboration and tutor guidance. Yet, when applied in online/blended…