Separation of variables can be a powerful technique for solving many of the partial differential equations that arise in physics contexts. Upper-division physics students encounter this technique in multiple topical areas including electrostatics and quantum mechanics. To better understand the difficulties students encounter when utilizing the…

Research in physics education indicates that the use of multiple representations in teaching and learning helps students become better problem-solvers. We report on a study to investigate students' difficulties in solving mechanics problems presented in multiple representations. We conducted teaching/learning interviews with 20 students in a…

Using a qualitative design, this study offers an understanding of the lived experience of students with attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD), learning disability (LD), or traumatic brain injuries (TBI) who are integrating into an academic community within a higher education institution located in the southern United States. Additionally,…

This qualitative study examines the interplay between academic staff and international students with regard to developing academic literacies at university. Higher education has traditionally responded to increasing student diversity with the expectation that students will conform to institutional norms or habitus. In this context international…

Throughput and retention are important issues in higher education in South Africa mainly due to the stronger emphasis on accountability from funding agencies like the Department of Education. This study, which is set in a distance education institution, was aimed at understanding why students cancel courses early on in the academic year. A…

This qualitative research project focused on the interviews of 27 low socio-economic students at a research university in the southwestern United States. The students had already withdrawn from the university or were in the process of withdrawing. The study seeks to provide increased understanding of how students negotiate the decision-making…

We present the results of an interview study investigating student experiences in two online introductory computer science courses. Our theoretical approach is situated at the intersection of two research traditions: "distance and adult education research," which tends to be sociologically oriented, and "computer science education…

This study discusses the effects of using multimedia assisted instruction for Mandarin vocabulary learning by Vietnamese students with the assistance of the ASSURE model. The aim is to understand the difficulties encountered by these students and the effects during the learning progress of multimedia assisted instruction. In order to fulfill the…

Many studies report positive learning experience and improved performance in online collaborative learning. However, such learning can also incur unnecessary or excessive stress with a resultant adverse effect on the learning. This study aimed to determine the stress factors in online collaborative learning as perceived by 226 Japanese university…

In this paper Lifelong Learning Program of Education Faculty in Sinop was evaluated in terms of interrelations between LLP and cultural shock. The barriers of LLP in Education Faculty in Sinop can be examined in two main parts: difficulties of finding suitable partner and students' difficulty in deciding whether to apply or not. These two main…

International education has generated complex problems of governance. As well as being beneficiaries of educational services and consumers of a product, international students are also migrants, workers and beings with civil rights. Arguably, the regulation of international student security as consumer protection fails to recognize this full range…

This study presents the results of a multi-year mixed-methods study of students' performance (n = 94) and experiences (n = 28) with electromagnetics in an elective Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology RF communications course. Data sources used in this study include academic transcripts, course exams, interviews, a learning styles…

While there has been research into the provision of "distance" and "off-campus" education, both in relation to technology and to curriculum, little attention has been given to the experiences of students studying in geographically remote locations, where the remoteness has been an aspect of investigation. This study aimed to…

Distance education is regarded as one of the means for educating people who have not had formal education chance or who have not preferred the formal education. Distance education, on the other hand, is quite difficult and requires the fulfillment of various conditions. When the applications of distance education are examined, it is seen that it…

This study identifies and evaluates the pathways available from school to vocational education and training and to work, for students who are deaf or hard of hearing. Research involved interviews with seven young people from Victoria who had either just completed secondary school and were enrolling in a VET course, or had completed a course and…