This paper is framed by Nick Zepke's, Vicki Trowler's, and Paul Trowler's concept of student engagement being "chaotic", suffering from "indigestion" and "fuzziness". This study was conducted at a UK higher education institution that recently moved to a "block and blend" delivery approach. We investigated…

It is important to understand how students' perceptions influence their mental health. We explored how perceptions of civic learning dimensions of campus climates interacted with race/ethnicity to affect the mental health of Asian, Black, Hispanic, and White college students. Findings indicate that mental health was not significantly different…

Scholars and practitioners alike often assume that discomfort is a necessary and productive aspect of the college experience. We used a range of theories grounded in the concept of dissonance to question these assumptions and critically analyze the role of discomfort in collegiate learning and development for today's diverse college student…

Social networking sites (SNS) affordances for persistent interaction, collective generation of knowledge, and formation of peer-based clusters for knowledge sharing render them useful for developing constructivist knowledge environments. However, notwithstanding their academic value, these environments are not necessarily insulated from the…

Like many of the author's colleagues in higher education, he has long maintained that their work is primarily about forging personal connections within their campus communities by engaging students in a variety of learning activities. He fervently believes that learning must be broadly conceived to include an array of cognitive, social, and…

This article uses "close-up" ethnographic research to provide an account of students' engagement with learning in a South African university. Broadly based on Halliday's [Halliday, M. A. K. (1973). "Explorations in the functions of language". London: Edward Arnold; Halliday, M. A. K. (1978). "Language as social…

When it comes to remote collaboration in eLearning, it's all about where people are now vs. where people are going. A 1999 innovation model presented by R.S. Rosenbloom describes three stages of development for any new technology: (1) imitation; (2) incremental improvement; and (3) transformation. Mapping these stages onto the current state of…

This article outlines a methodology for characterising features of programme-level assessment environments so that the relationship between features of the assessment environment and students' learning response can be studied. The methodology was developed through the detailed case study of nine undergraduate degree programmes: one in each of…

We tested a theoretical model that hypothesized relationships between several variables from input, process and product in an educational setting, from the university student's perspective, using structural equation modeling. In order to carry out the analysis, we measured in sequential order the input (referring to students' personal…

With a knowledge of students' thinking processes, activities advisers and leaders can design environments for maximum learning and development. An interpretation of Perry's model of intellectual and ethical development is provided. (MLW)

Literature on academic environments, especially the department, is reviewed. Differences between teaching and learning environments are examined for the social and natural sciences, and the interaction of discipline, personal styles of faculty and students, and faculty-student relationships are examined as primary variables. (MSE)

How one learns is as important as what one learns in preparing for a career. By matching a learning style to the learning environment, one can maximize opportunities for growth and development. Learning style myths, personal characteristics, and learning environments are discussed. (Author/MLW)

Argues, based on a constructivist view of learning, that if knowledge is constructed rather than recorded as received, instruction must be viewed as creating learning environments that enhance the process of knowledge construction, and should guide, support, and accompany students in constructing an increasingly sophisticated understanding of…

An Association of American Colleges report on the reform of general education offers advice to faculty and administrators for creating a campus environment in which students believe general education is more than a few required courses. (MSE)

Four competencies of superior teachers are seen as a basis for the ideal environment to nurture excellence. They are: a student-centered orientation, value for the learning process, a need to influence individual behavior, and a belief that they possess the power to produce a desired effect in the learner. (MLW)