Purpose: Employability is a major educational goal, but employability programmes emphasise skill development, while employers value performance. Education acts as a model for employment, so educational performance assessment should be aligned with employment models. Consequently, the aim of this paper is to examine the relationship between…

This five-year study of the peer-led team learning (PLTL) paradigm examined its implementation in a Calculus I course at an all-male HBCU institution. For this study we set up a strong control group and measured the effect of PLTL in the teaching and learning of Calculus I through two points of measure: retention and success rates and learning…

This review examined the effectiveness of peer-mediated pivotal response treatment (PM-PRT) to increase social-communication skills for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). A systematic review was conducted of all published studies examining PM-PRT in school-aged children with ASD, based on an established rubric. Five PM-PRT studies…

In an effort to measure the effectiveness of faculty development courses promoting student engagement, the faculty development unit of Penn State's Online Campus conducted a pilot study within a large online Bachelor of Science in Business (BSB) program. In all, 2,296 students were surveyed in the spring and summer semesters of 2014 in order to…

This Record of Study summarizes my journey in the program and my investigation of the problem of improving mathematics instruction. The exploration of the problem space spanned three years before culminating in the problem statement. Using a positive deviance approach and understanding the values of stakeholders narrowed the scope of the problem…

The Perry Beeches Coaching Programme aimed to improve the reading and writing skills of Year 7 pupils with low levels of attainment in four English secondary schools. Across the project, 16 coaches were employed to provide academic support to pupils who had not reached level 4c in English at the end of Key Stage 2. Originally it had been intended…

Equal representation within higher education science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields and the STEM workforce in the United States across demographically diverse populations is a long-standing challenge. This study uses two-to-one nearest-neighbor matched-comparison group design to examine academic achievement, pursuit of…

Objectives: In a sample of primary care participants with chronic physical conditions and comorbid depressive symptoms: to describe the cross-sectional and longitudinal associations of activation and self-efficacy with demographic, physical and mental health status, health behaviors, depression self-care, health care utilization, and use of…

A college degree is often viewed as a key step toward better employment and higher earnings. Many community college students, however, never graduate and cannot reap the financial benefits associated with a college degree. Although existing research suggests that financial aid interventions can modestly improve students' short-term academic…

The State Compensatory Education (SCE) program is designed to reduce dropout rates and increase academic performance of students identified as being at-risk of dropping out of school. SCE operates as a funding source to supplement instructional services and offer academic support to students who meet the SCE at-risk criteria established by the…

There is growing potential for the development of practitioner-based doctor of education (EdD) programs as potential students in the field recognize that they do not need to leave their current work positions to obtain a doctorate particularly if it enhances their work. This article chronicles 1 university's process in developing an innovative…

In this introduction to the special issue on evolving changes in our field, we have intentionally chosen to use the power of a vastly different metaphor to promote deep reflection. Specifically, we will introduce the notion of selection pressures and its impact on an evolutionary process, illustrating how special education teacher education has…

The chemistry department at Washington & Jefferson College implemented an "organic first" curriculum in the fall semester of 2005. Assessment data suggest that the net impact of this change for the department and associated constituencies has been positive: (i) Student outcomes have generally not been impacted by the curricular…

In order to meet the South Dakota Board of Regents requirements for an upper level writing course with global perspective for all graduates, the administration at the University of South Dakota established an interdisciplinary course to be taken by all majors. Two faculty members from different disciplines were assigned to teach each section with…

Children living in poverty or born to teenage parents are at increased risk for developmental delays as well as child neglect. Research has shown that one effective avenue for preventive intervention is teaching parents to recognize and respond to their young children's communicative signals using responsive caregiving behaviors (e.g., warmth and…