Purpose: It is vital in today's society that teachers are proactively involved in educational change. Given that proactive motivation is a critical driver of proactivity, this study aims to investigate how teachers' formal and informal workplace-learning experiences were connected with their proactive motivations to implement educational change.…

Awareness of one's knowledge, skills, and dispositions are important for college graduates to excel in the workforce. The purpose of this study was to administer a needs assessment to students enrolled in the Agricultural Sciences department at Clemson University to determine areas of discrepancy based on perceived levels of proficiency and…

As online learning continues to evolve many have proposed that we think differently about our pedagogical approaches, to move beyond the replication of the face-to-face experience. Here we explore the student and faculty visions of the future using a Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation (ZMET) method that uses images to metaphorically represent how…

English language teachers play a major role in enhancing the development of students' speaking skills. However, only if teachers are proficient in speaking English, may they support their students in improving their oral proficiency. This qualitative case study aims at unearthing pre-service English as a foreign language teachers' (henceforth…

Purpose: Toddlers with late language emergence have difficulty acquiring an object vocabulary that is well defined by shape early in development. Without object words, subsequent language growth is delayed. The current study tested an intervention scaffold that highlights object shape during word teaching so that toddlers with late language…

Universities seek to promote student learning, but assessment and credentials can undermine students' intrinsic motivation to learn. Findings from research on how people learn, mindsets, expert performance and good health are seldom incorporated into the way universities organise learning experiences.

We provide evidence to substantiate the learning potential of eportfolios by focusing on instructor variables that influence eportfolio learning experiences. We conducted a mixed-methods study of over 800 students across 30 courses. Using survey, interview, and focus group data, we argue that instructors' approaches to eportfolio activities play a…

With the growing emphasis on developing 21st century skills among today's youth, there is continued optimism about the possibilities granted by increasing access to networked technologies, particularly for encouraging youth to pursue their interests and take ownership of their learning. Yet, research demonstrates the importance of adult support in…

Site visits provide an irreplaceable learning experience to students in both religious studies and the emerging field of interfaith studies. The conceptual core of this thesis is the claim, drawn from feminist epistemology, that an embodied pedagogy--a pedagogy which engages students not only intellectually, but as embodied beings who inhabit a…

We interviewed early adopter no-till farmers in the New England region to assess why they changed tillage practices and what the perceived advantages and disadvantages of doing so were. We then generated word clouds from answers to key interview questions to convey the farmers' experiences. Most of these innovators were influenced to convert to…

As a teacher and designer of leadership classes, the author is often asked to speak at organizations around the world about topics dealing with business, leadership and learning that relate to honesty, ethics, diversity issues, and self-awareness. The authors approach to problems of misconduct of all kinds begins with the root cause: a lack of…

Asking after the self in the process of learning without a definitive endpoint or prescribed path to creating that knowledge presents a way to consider a self that is distinct from assumptions of what constitutes an ideal learner. Thinking of the space and self in motion, rather than as inert and passive, allows the exploration of pedagogical…

This dissertation contributes to the body of knowledge about the utilization of synergistic supervision in practice and about the adult learning experiences reported by participants within the context of supervision. The research questions guiding this study are: (1) What are the synergistic practices of mid-level Student Affairs supervisors at a…

This Handbook serves as a starting point for critical analysis and discourse about the status of women in outdoor learning environments (OLEs). Women choose to participate actively in outdoors careers, many believing the profession is a level playing field and that it offers alternatives to traditional sporting activities. They enter outdoor…

Purpose: This research compared individuals from two first language (L1) backgrounds (English and Japanese) to determine how they may differ in their perception of Mandarin tones (Tones 1 vs. 2 [T1-T2], Tones 1 vs. 3 [T1-T3], Tones 1 vs. 4 [T1-T4], Tones 2 vs. 3 [T2-T3], Tones 2 vs. 4 [T2-T4], Tones 3 vs. 4 [T3-T4]) on account of their L1. Method:…