College and university classrooms, curricula, and credentials have always been an ideological battleground of clashing values and perspectives that shift the answers to the question of what the learning environment should be. A crucible moment of legislative attacks on diversity initiatives, congressional interventions into university leadership,…

The Texas community college systems served culturally diverse students in asynchronous courses. However, attrition rates remained low for culturally diverse students. Instructors had the potential to increase attrition rates of culturally diverse students. However, there was limited research exploring the implementation of such approaches by…

Effective social studies education involves inquiry into and discussions of controversial social and political issues and difficult topics. In the current polarized political climate, exemplified by the emergence of divisive concepts legislation, the ability of social justice-oriented social studies teachers to provide highly effective instruction…

As the COVID-19 pandemic caused severe disruption to education enterprises throughout the world, the main response by educational institutions was to move to online learning environments. The purpose of this study was to understand better how instructors could improve online learning for a professional-level week-long short course in a highly…

Numbers of online postgraduate coursework students are increasing within higher education and this raises questions of identity - what being a student means to this more mature cohort. This in-depth qualitative investigation explores postgraduate student identities within online learning. We conducted interviews (14) and collected completed…

As democracies have deteriorated worldwide, understanding preservice teachers' perceptions regarding teaching about the 2020 US presidential election helps teacher educators better guide them to make informed and intentional pedagogical decisions for democratic education. Through a survey study, we found that early childhood and elementary…

Global health and political crisis lead to the development of educational practices. This study examined pre-service teachers' beliefs concerning online learning and their future teaching in online environments. Seven hundred sixty four participants responded to online questionnaires at three points in time during the COVID-19 period. It was found…

The biggest difference in statistical training from previous decades is the increased use of software. However, little research examines how software impacts learning statistics. Assessing the value of software to statistical learning demands appropriate, valid, and reliable measures. The present study expands the arsenal of tools by reporting on…

This design case describes the thought processes associated with redesigning an educational technology course for undergraduate preservice teachers from a 15-week hybrid course to a 5-week online course. The redesign is part of a push to create more flexible courses for working and rural students to remain competitive despite multiple alternative…

Emotions are a complex multi-faceted phenomenon. To assess the complexity of emotions from different facets, multi-modal approaches are necessary. However, multi-modal approaches are rarely used for assessing emotions, especially in the context of computer programming. This study adopts a multi-modal approach to understand the changes in students'…

While test anxiety is a problem in asynchronous online courses, few studies have systematically investigated learning factors influencing test anxiety in asynchronous online courses. Additionally, emotional engagement has been identified as a mediator between learning factors and test anxiety. Therefore, this study clarified the mediating role of…

This study delves into the intricate dynamics of controversial issues in environmental education, challenging conventional notions. It explores the relationship between "controversy" and the field of environmental education, elucidating its multifaceted dimensions in and ambitions of teaching practice. In dialogue with previous research…

Increasing numbers of international students attend American universities. Many study business. This article advocates comparative law examples in an introductory Business Law or Legal Environment course, toward signaling respect and inclusion to international students and fostering in American students critical thinking and a global mindset. The…

This study investigates the effect of offering multiple means of representing content, one aspect of Universal Design for Learning (UDL). Students across the full range of the dis/ability spectrum all too often struggle to achieve course success. UDL-based course design promises to help students with disabilities (whether disclosed or not) as well…

In 2017, the Department of Biology at Virginia Wesleyan University modified its two-course introductory sequence in response to high DFW rates (>50% scoring a D, F, or withdrawing) in the first semester. The revised curriculum created a new third course and moved content that many students struggled with from the first semester to the third…