This article examines the role of strategic planning in effectively managing learning centers by highlighting the importance of balancing immediate operational needs with long-term strategic goals. It explores the application of practical fundamental planning principles like SWOT analysis and SMART goals. The discussion includes a framework for…

Phonics and fluency instruction are primarily viewed as elementary-centric skills that do not have a place in middle school, which may neglect the usefulness this type of instruction provides to older students. Literacy centers are one method for successfully teaching these skills in a middle school setting. The purpose of this paper is to provide…

Creating a culture of assessment is an essential practice and mindset for postsecondary institutions as well as the units and departments embedded within respective campuses. Although it may sound daunting at first glance, simply put, assessment is "a set of processes designed to improve, demonstrate, and inquire about student learning"…

Finding culturally relevant informational books for a classroom library can be difficult. However, expanding the definition of informational text to include procedural forms, specifically cookbooks, can enhance the cultural relevance, range, and number of books available for students to read. Reasons for placing cookbooks in the classroom library…

This chapter describes institutional and andragogical best practices for preparing students to succeed in hybrid courses through the programming of academic resource centers, offers information on how to create peer support systems for students, and outlines some of the common pitfalls for students encountering a hybrid course for the first time.

In the face of diverse challenges to traditional higher education (HE) models, creating and defining the value of an on-campus student experience has become a key concern for HE institutions. Originating in response to these challenges, The Belonging Project seeks to improve the student experience in the School of Media and Communication at RMIT…

The purpose of this article is to highlight a critical approach for practice, youth participatory action research, that can be used to invite rural youth to collaborate with school administrators, educators, and community leaders to identify and examine challenges, while building upon the strengths of a school and community to address challenges.…

Peer tutors at West Chester University's Learning Assistance and Resource Center have the opportunity to advance in their professional roles by becoming Peer Tutor Coordinators (PTCs). PTCs supervise peer tutors within the learning center and are instrumental to its overall success. PTCs acquire time management, communication, problem-solving,…

This article presents an interview with Rick A. Sheets, who has been working in learning assistance, faculty training, and technology support for over 30 years. He collaborated with Frank Christ as the co-founder and webmaster of the Learning Support Centers in Higher Education (LSCHE) website, a resource established in 1996 for learning center…

In a climate of increased interest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), school libraries have unique opportunities to grow collections and cultivate partnerships in the sciences. At the federal level and in many states, STEM initiatives encourage hands-on exposure to technologies and open the door for student-led discovery of…

The National College Learning Center Association defines a learning center at institutions of higher education as interactive academic spaces which exist to reinforce and extend student learning in physical and/or virtual environments. A variety of comprehensive support services and programs are offered in these environments to enhance student…

This paper focuses on the outcomes of a project funded by the Teaching and Learning Enhancement Office at the University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC). Students were recruited to design a new navigational architecture for the Moodle pages of the Language Centre. They received some training on the key principles of distributive learning and…

The purpose of this narrative is to describe and explain the function of learning centers in American colleges and universities. Since the early 1960's nearly every four-year institution has created or increased support for some kind of learning center with the ostensible aim of improving the academic performance of its enrolled students. In…

The dramatically increasing number of international students at University of California (UC) campuses has had a marked effect on its campus writing centers, causing a reconsideration of personnel, pedagogy, training, services, and cross-campus partnerships. In this article, writing center administrators and staff at 3 UC campuses--UC Irvine,…

At the dawn of the new millennium, American higher education faced a crisis. Dogmatic philosophies of multiculturalism, postmodernism, and statism were sweeping away thousands of years of Western thought. The academy was being scrubbed of free market economics, traditional attitudes toward Western civilization, time-tested methods of scholarship,…