A high percentage of students enter college with prior trauma, and trauma-informed practices are increasingly recognized as valuable in higher education. We examined if the tone of a syllabus would interact with levels of trauma or stress to impact participants' perceptions of the instructor, willingness to seek help, and self-efficacy. We tested…

This study was conducted to analyze first impressions of a professor and student motivation for taking a college course. The researcher hypothesized that a course syllabus with a professor welcome statement would have a more positive effect on first impressions of the professor and student motivation as compared to a course syllabus without a…

There is an increasing trend in course design for reading and writing classes to include multimodal texts such as comics, television programs, music videos, and social media posts on course syllabi. Often the practice is justified by arguing that students need to develop critical literacy skills and multiliteracies and that these popular texts are…

The present study investigated how course policies and enforcement strategies designed to curb classroom digital distraction affect undergraduates' perceptions of student-instructor rapport. Data gathered from online surveys completed by undergraduates at four United States universities revealed that student perceptions of rapport can be…

Syllabus-boundness constitutes an important attribute of a so-called surface approach to learning, whereby students are seen as highly assessment-oriented, doing what is minimally required from them, and wanting well-organized courses and clear instructions. When this concept emerged in the late 1960ies, it was linked to a discussion on issues of…

Finding ways to motivate learners in online courses can be difficult when the interaction between the instructor and the learner is conducted through written text. The use of syllabi is an important component to help guide learners and provide them with course expectations. A poorly written or misinterpreted syllabus can contribute to a negative…

Co-creation involves giving students an active role in the design of entrepreneurial courses, with important consequences in terms of autonomy support and entrepreneurial intention. In study 1, we manipulated cocreation and hypothesized a positive influence on autonomy support and entrepreneurial intention. Results showed a positive influence of…

Nowadays, few professionals understand the techniques and testing criteria to systematize the software testing activity in the software industry. Towards shedding some light on such problems and promoting software testing, professors in the area have established Massive Open Online Courses as educational initiatives. However, the main limitation…

The purpose of this study was to examine teachers' use of mediated immediacy in a syllabus to determine effects on students' communication apprehension with instructors and student out-of-class communication with instructors. Participants viewed either a basic course syllabus with high levels of mediated immediacy or low levels of mediated…

Strong faculty-student relationships are an important predictor of student retention and success in higher education. Faculty often work to establish these relationships by developing rapport with students in the classroom, but minimal research has been done on whether syllabus design and language can affect these relationships. The goal of…

Purpose: Feedback is crucial in a learning process, particularly in an online interaction where both learners and instructors are distantly located. Thus, this paper aims to investigate the association between feedback strategies, embedded course syllabus and learning improvement in the Sakai Learning Management System.…

This study investigates the influence of instructor mindset on student perceptions. Due to the need for increasing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) student retention and the issue of underrepresentation of minority groups in STEM disciplines, we also examined whether instructor mindset impacts underrepresented students more…

Purpose: This study was designed to assess the efficacy of pedagogical and relationship-building strategies employed to foster student engagement and success. Also, it was meant to demonstrate the importance of faculty to engagement and success, and emphasize a faculty member's role in lessening the power divide that can exist in classrooms.…

Student impressions formed during the first day of class can impact course satisfaction and performance. Despite its potential importance, little is known about how instructors format the first day of class. Here, we report on observations of the first day of class in 23 introductory science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) courses. We…

Three real-world datasets are introduced for a petroleum engineering capstone design course, providing detailed problem statements, assessment criteria, team-building practices, and required software packages. Two surveys reveal that students prefer real datasets over synthetic ones, and despite initial challenges, students feel proud of their…