The outdoor industry is growing in the U.S., and its economic impact has been well documented. One pathway toward employment in the outdoor industry has been undergraduate training in an outdoor academic program (OAP). Undergraduate OAPs require significant financial support, access to outdoor spaces, and specialized faculty training.…

The growing gap in soft skills among Moroccan undergraduate university students is a pressing concern. This study examined the impact of a blended learning model intervention on soft skills development in this population. A systematically chosen sample of 42 participants, selected from a pool of 400 undergraduate university students, was…

Purpose: Higher education institutions (HEIs) are crucial in sustainable development. To this end, they must infuse sustainability into all their endeavors. This study aims to delve into the unique vertically integrated project (VIP), a project-based learning approach and its impact on students' skills and the surrounding community.…

Higher education institutions (HEIs) have a pivotal role in preparing students to contribute to sustainable development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This study focused on the University of Zimbabwe (UZ) and examined how SDGs were integrated into the field of textile science, apparel design, and technology (TSADT). The research…

Information design is the theory and practice of presenting information through the pairing of graphic and verbal content. It is important in the sciences because of the centrality of data visualization in research and teaching. This paper seeks to build the case for the inclusion of information design within both the Geography and university- or…

This study aimed at investigating the undergraduates' soft skills in a private HE institute in Lebanon from various perspectives. The study adopted a mixed-method approach for collecting and analyzing the data. Two different surveys, compiling major features of incorporating soft skills into USAL's study programs, were administered. 108…

Background: Mentorship is essential for education and career development in health-related fields, yet Sub-Saharan African universities often lack structured programs. To address this, the MedXMentor program was established at Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST) to provide structured mentorship to undergraduate health sciences…

Reported herein are the findings from a grounded study probing the impact of graduate student mentors in a National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded research experiences for undergraduates (REU) program (2014-2016) in chemistry & chemical biology at an urban private research university on undergraduates' development through the lens of…

Integrating humanities and arts into STEM has been suggested to better prepare students for the workforce. Studies have shown that improvisation (abbreviated as improv), an educational program from humanities and arts, can potentially improve engineering pedagogy and learning. However, little is known about improv's impact on developing…

This study examined how faculty who teach in specialized undergraduate programs for autistic college students approach self-advocacy teaching. Test et al.'s (2005) conceptual framework of self-advocacy was used as a lens to investigate this topic. Through ten semistructured interviews, seven themes emerged to address two research questions: (a)…

Inaccurate sex and gender narratives have saturated the political landscape, resulting in legal restrictions for people with queer genders. Biology educators can correct these false narratives by teaching scientifically accurate and queer gender and intersex inclusive sex and gender curriculum. Here, we interviewed four undergraduate biology…

There has been a growing discourse within higher education to engage with students as partners and harness the strength of students and faculty working together. Engaging in student-faculty partnerships activities offers benefits to both students and faculty, yet there is less research on these practices within science, technology, engineering and…

To create a socially just teaching method in higher education (HE), we used Fraser's social justice framework to create a new pedagogical method called student voice for social justice (SVSJ). SVSJ emphasizes student voice and empowerment by developing a co-constructed learning space where students can influence the procedure and content of the…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of a career management program embedded within a business module, with a specific focus on enhancing the employability of students. Design/methodology/approach: The study involved five one-hour workshops based on the DOTS model, covering aspects like resume writing and…

Heavy content, high volume courses commonly create challenges for undergraduate students. Two such courses at our university are the introductory semesters of anatomy and physiology for first-year nursing students, taught by biology instructors. Despite the vast literature indicating the efficacy of using concept maps as a tool for learning, it is…