A foundational understanding of the biosciences underpins most undergraduate programmes of study that lead to a career in the healthcare professions. The study of bioscience subjects including anatomy, physiology, microbiology and biochemistry has been reported to be challenging for a subset of these students with many students reporting negative…

A plethora of research spanning several decades has attempted to understand predictors of retention and graduation in undergraduate bachelor's degree programs. The topic is no less important today, as larger and larger swaths of the American population attend college each year. Studies have demonstrated that key demographic variables, indicators…

The relevancy of linear algebra (LA) in different areas and also the difficulties faced by undergraduate engineering students studying this content are well known. Grounded on this premise, we aimed at articulating papers related to the teaching and learning of LA in engineering undergraduate programs through a mapping of the main investigations…

Aim/Purpose: This systematic literature review investigates the underlying factors that influence the gap between the popularity of online learning and its completion rate. The review scope within this paper includes an observation of possible causal aspects within the non-ideal completion rates in online learning environments and an…

Launched in June 2016, the Smithsonian Learning Lab (SLL) provides access to the digital resources from across the Smithsonian's 19 museums, 9 major research centers, and the National Zoo, to be used as real-world learning experiences. It is designed to aid students in building lasting knowledge and critical skills that take learners from simply…

The purpose of this report was to gather lessons on research-based best practices in blended learning for use by K-12 practitioners, a study commissioned by planning council members of the Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium (MERC). After interviewing representatives from participating school divisions, questions driving the inquiry were…

A WebQuest is an inquiry-based online learning technique. This technique has been widely adopted in K-16 education. Therefore, it is important that conditions of effective WebQuest design are defined. Through this article the author presents techniques for improving WebQuest design based on current research. More specifically, the author analyzes…

A review of the literature on the influence of testing on learning and retention reveals the need for more comprehensive research findings in this regard. This study was designed to investigate further the direct effects of tests in contrast with no tests on learning and retention in ongoing college-level classes with both the instructor and the…

Institutional and survey data of community college transfer students in Missouri was used to determine if grade transfer shock (GTS) was related to student outcomes and whether demographic, institutional, and traditional counseling services were associated with GTS. GTS was found to be negatively related to student outcome measures at the…

An empirical review of test items is described as an essential step in criterion-referenced test development. The concept of test items' instructional sensitivity is introduced, and research is briefly reviewed which describes four theoretical contexts in which instructional sensitivity indexes have been observed: criterion-referenced; classical…

This paper discusses the Supplemental Instruction (SI) model of student academic assistance, a program recognized as exemplary by the U.S. Department of Education and developed at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) to help students in difficult postsecondary courses master course content while they acquire and integrate effective…

This review of research studies focused on differences between Hispanic-American and White, non-Hispanic groups on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). Questions studied were the factors associated with ethnic group mean differences on the SAT; the types of item format or content found differentially easier or more difficult for Hispanics; the…

This publication is a guide for foreign language teachers in improving their curricula and achieving better foreign language education outcomes. The objective is to help students develop more usable skills and realistic cultural awareness. The first chapter locates foreign language education within the College Board's larger Educational Equality…