Master-level postgraduate professional development (PPD) programs have grown rapidly in many parts of the world. Being able to complete written assignments successfully is a significant concern for students pursuing PPD studies. Yet the nature of written assignments in such programs has been under-researched. This paper reports a study conducted…

Objective: The objective of this study was threefold: (a) to create a rubric for response complexity (RC), defined as an admixture of response length, grammatical diversity, categorisation, and sophistication; (b) to measure behavioural and cognitive engagement through students' written responses on a school-based written activity, and (c) to…

This teaching note presents an assignment in which students write an op-ed on a course-related issue and submit it to a newspaper. I argue that an op-ed assignment dovetails with pedagogical goals around democratic citizenship and public sociology. I explain the project's objectives, instructions, and timeline. I present evidence from three…

To increase student interest and engagement in introductory chemistry courses for non-science majors, we incorporated a children's book project based on the chemistry discussed in class. Students were given agency in topic, target age range, and book format to encourage creativity, to integrate student interest and major, and to challenge…

Teacher feedback is of little use without student engagement. Few studies have, however, empirically considered how direct interventions may enhance student engagement with feedback. This study explored whether and to what extent the use of a rebuttal-writing task can serve as a learning tool to promote student engagement with teacher feedback.…

Large variations in mobile users, mobile devices, and course content make generalizations about mobile learning difficult. Prior to the international pandemic that forced more virtual and mobile instruction, this exploratory study measured how students in one journalism and one English composition course at two universities responded to completing…

Error correction has been one of the central themes in accounting for potential gains in second language (L2) writing. While a wide range of empirical studies focused on the effects of written corrective feedback (WCF) on learners' writing outcomes, few of them have specifically examined the feedback process, or its potential role as a shaping…

Evidence suggests that active engagement with material as it is being taught improves learning. In-class multiple choice questions are a common way to introduce active learning. Low-stakes writing is another. The author of this article provides evidence that using a content-based low-stakes writing prompt with immediate group feedback during the…

The author of this article describes an intermediate economics course structured around outside readings, which include academic journal papers, policy briefs, and news articles. Students complete low-stakes, high-frequency writing assignments that promote accountability and encourage critical thinking about the readings. This pairing of outside…

Goal setting is an important component in successful teaching and learning, but relatively little is known about its impact on course persistence and achievement in massive open online courses. Using an experimental design and employing a variety of data including student writings, content-related assignment attempts, and quantitative achievement…

Incorporating writing into an economics course is a beneficial goal of economic educators. The potential benefits of using writing to enhance learning among economics students have been emphasized in the literature. Writing to Learn (WTL) is an act of using writing activities to help students think through key concepts presented in a course. The…

Practical Implications: Detailing the steps of a reading response unit designed to prepare students for literary analysis based on their own ideas can provide insights to current writing teachers and teacher educators regarding ways in which they can design/modify their assignments to be more purposeful and therefore more engaging for those they…

Due to pressure to meet goals, some test-takers preparing for the IELTS (International English Language Testing System) Writing test solicit written feedback (WF) from an expert provider on their rehearsal essays, in order to identify and close gaps in performance. The extent self-directed candidates are able to utilize written feedback to enhance…

With the shift to remote teaching, many instructors used Zoom for synchronous work. However, this presented issues (fatigue, turning cameras off, inequitable technical hurdles) that motivated quantitative reasoning (QR) instructors to look for asynchronous alternatives. A common technique has been textbased online discussions, which can be…

Building on previous research that has demonstrated close connections between constructivism, technology, and artificial intelligence, this article investigates the constructivist underpinnings of strategically integrating GenAI experiences in higher educational contexts to catalyze student learning. This study presents a new model for leveraging…