Writing support programs for students in writing-intensive, disciplinary courses are well established and take many forms, including communication centers, web-based skill development programs, and embedded writing consultants. This paper assesses the effectiveness of a program that embeds a writing grader, who assesses only the grammar of…

College student persistence is of the most challenging issues currently facing higher education. This study is an exploration of grit, tenacity, and perseverance as demonstrated by 43 first-year students at a small, teaching-intensive university in South Texas in response to two required exercises assigned in a first-year seminar. Student…

Each year about half a million students fail to make planned academic progress due to college algebra, hence the need for researchers to find ways of improving the quality of instruction in the course. Recent research suggests that flipping college algebra to allow time for active learning in the classroom may improve student performance. Also,…

This article outlines a systematic and manageable method for learning community program assessment based on collecting empirical direct measures of student learning. Developed at Texas A&M University--Corpus Christi where all full-time, first-year students are in learning communities, the approach ties integrative assignment design to a rubric…

Through the annual ABET assessment process, Computer Information Systems faculty in the College of Business at a regional institution were able to diagnose problems regarding students not satisfying our program's Student Outcomes. Often, the impediments to student success were not technical in nature and prompted faculty to consider non-technical…

Teacher Preparation Programs must work towards not only preparing preservice teachers to have knowledge of classroom pedagogy but also must expand preservice teachers understanding of content knowledge as well as to develop higher-order thinking which includes thinking critically. This mixed methods study examined how writing shapes thinking and…

This quasi-experimental research study evaluated two intact undergraduate engineering statics classes at a private university in Texas. Students in the control group received traditional lecture, readings and homework assignments. Those in the experimental group also were given access to a complete set of online video lectures and videos…

While literacy autobiographies, citizenship autobiographies, and family narratives are common first writing assignments in the freshmen composition classroom, they are usually followed by some kind of research proposal, annotated bibliography, or research essay. While there is nothing wrong with literacy and citizenship autobiographies or family…

This paper presents the methodology and results of teaching an entire engineering course using challenge-based instruction. The challenges consisted of eight biomechanics multimedia learning modules developed by the authors as part of a broader NSF educational coalition. The biomechanics modules were presented in an undergraduate mechanical…