Background: The "Trickle-Down Engagement Model" posits that instructor engagement promotes student engagement which, in turn, has positive implications for student learning. Objective: Our goal was to provide evidence-based practical recommendations for instructors to communicate their engagement with course material to students,…

The study applies the lens of the ethics of care to understanding pedagogical practice in higher education. It addresses the dilemmas of building and maintaining caring relationships between academic staff and mature students transitioning from further education to a university programme delivered online. Teacher care is considered an important…

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…

Background: The teaching and learning and autobiographical memory literatures both suggest that personal stories can serve a teaching and learning function. Objective: Study 1 explored students' perceptions about whether an instructor's personal stories to enhance learning were mediated by how much the stories were liked and created a positive…

Teacher-student relationships form an integral part of students' learning process in higher education. Using an autobiographical research methodology and critical incident theory, we reflect upon significant episodes during adventure sport fieldwork. We use these to discuss why it is essential for educators to reflect upon this aspect of their…

This study explores the acceptance of collaborative learning among learners in online flexible distance learning environments. This study examines the direct effects of interaction with peers and tutors, social media usage, learners' self-efficacy, and social presence on collaborative learning. The study employed a survey-based data collection…

It is crucial for writing center professionals who discuss community to ask ourselves what we mean by the term as applied to writing centers. In this keynote, I explore various notions of community that are influenced by writing center growth, expansion, and complexity, especially in relation to Iowa's writing center. After relating a personal…

Interactions between deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) students and instructors in online distance education (ODE) increased exponentially during the COVID pandemic. To understand this phenomena, we conducted a comprehensive literature review about evolving ODE formats customized for deaf student's needs. This literature shows increasing multimodal,…

The purpose of this study was to explore the nuances of instructor-student relationships with a nationally representative sample of students. Participants were randomly assigned to describe relationships with their best, worst, and/or last instructor and rate their satisfaction with each relationship, and the level of closeness with the…

Students who feel accepted, valued, and connected to their institution have a more developed sense of belonging. Sense of belonging can be strengthened by building relationships on campus through a variety of ways such as friendships, mentorships, and campus activities. This allows students to feel a connection with faculty and peers. A strong…

This study examines how student engagement and social relationships between teachers and students may enhance the learning experiences of students in a South African university. Two separate sets of semi-structured interviews were held with 27 university teachers and 51 students respectively. The findings revealed that that the relationships…

This study explored and examined students' perceptions of teacher confirmation, those behaviors that teachers engage in that make students feel confirmed as valuable, significant individuals, as experienced in online courses. With over 450 students' written descriptions of experiences in online classes across three different universities, this…

A challenge that exists in higher education is the lack of relatability between students and teachers. This disconnect likely prevents students from asking for help before, during, and/or after class. One way to increase relatability between students and teachers is by having a simple 5-minute conversation during an individual meeting, where I…

Screen-mediated teaching at the university level has necessitated a redesign of learning environments across various dimensions, encompassing epistemological, relational, and pragmatic aspects. How can the Digital Learning Ecosystem nurture these dimensions? Does the ecosystem initiate a feedback loop between the teacher and the student,…

This study investigates student engagement in asynchronous forums in distance learning by focusing on the interactions of 204 students across four classes. It aims to understand interaction evolution and influencing factors over the course of each class. Data analysis reveals an initial high involvement that declines markedly over time for each…