Purpose: Despite the expansion of virtual learning during COVID-19, many questions remain unexplored on how to provide quality online instruction outside of a crisis-schooling model. Research Methods: The study takes place within a virtual school affiliated with the largest online curriculum provider in the United States. Using observations of…

Virtual laboratories and simulations have emerged as innovative solutions for science teaching. However, existing resources have various limitations and constraints including cognitive load/mental burden and limited coverage of all necessary steps in scientific inquiry, focusing mainly on the experimental simulation. To bridge this gap and address…

Project-based learning (PBL) is an inquiry-based approach that aims to engage students in challenging, active, and meaningful experiences connected to the world outside the classroom (Baines et al., 2021a). Project-based learning can improve student performance on traditional measures of academic achievement, build social and emotional learning…

Student participation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) undergraduate research experiences has received national emphasis. The undergraduate research model used at a comprehensive public university supported faculty-mentored student projects across STEM and all disciplines. Between 2016 and 2019, 356 undergraduate…

Background/Context: Large-scale randomized controlled experiments conducted in authentic learning environments are commonly high stakes, carrying extensive costs and requiring lengthy commitments for all-or-nothing results amidst many potential obstacles. Educational technologies harbor an untapped potential to provide researchers with access to…

The purpose of this study was to explore award-winning instructors' insights on elements of their course design that were award-winning and the differences between expert and novice online instructors. Interviews were conducted with eight award-winning online faculty members from across the United States who had received online teaching awards…