Positive teacher-student and student-student relationships are among the most significant factors contributing to learning, motivation, wellbeing, and graduation rates in higher education. Trust is commonly understood as a key element for the development and sustenance of positive educational relationships, yet relatively little empirical research…

Providing consistent, individualized feedback to teachers is essential for improving instruction but can be prohibitively resource-intensive in most educational contexts. We develop M-Powering Teachers, an automated tool based on natural language processing to give teachers feedback on their uptake of student contributions, a high-leverage…

Most of the literature has viewed large classes as a problem and a challenge. Furthermore, large classes are often presented to be an obstacle to students' experiential learning and a multitude of solutions can be found in the literature to manage large classes; solutions that include innovative technologies, alternative assessment designs, or…

Both digital and non-digital games have been shown to be effective for supporting student engagement in mathematics. However, little is known about educator preferences for a particular game mode (i.e. digital versus non-digital), and what factors influence these preferences. To address this gap, 111 Australian primary school educators completed a…

Previous studies have indicated the challenges posed by large classes in promoting quality education and better student learning. This paper argues that empirically exploring other latent variables inherent in the pedagogical triangle of the teacher, the learner and the content hold a number of promises in elucidating the dynamics of large classes…

This paper examines challenges linked to teaching and learning in a large class and how using a business simulation, with co-teaching as an instructional method, helped increase engagement. The instructional team was able to address the concerns of student engagement by making changes right from the design of the course to the final assessment…

Studies have demonstrated the positive impact of the Learning Assistant (LA) model on student learning across various disciplines, demographics, and course types. In order to investigate the effect of exposure to the LA program on student learning and success in a large Chemistry course, a pilot was launched in one of two sections of General…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of embedding special interest areas (SIAs) in whole-group (WG) instruction on engagement and out-of-seat (OOS) behaviors for young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in general education classrooms. A multiple baseline across participants design was used to evaluate the functional…

Larger class sizes in higher education can generate many challenges for educators, notably increased negative student evaluations of teaching. This study suggests that one strategy for countering some of the shortcomings of the large classroom is to take a relational teaching approach. We coded the relational communication behaviours of professors…

Purpose: Online resources can be helpful for students and can augment the content presented in learning environments. A team consisting of four biologists, a graduate student, instructional designer and media developers collaborated on the design, development and evaluation of first-year biology online tutorials in a Canadian University. The…

While uncertainty is inherent to doing science, it is often excluded from science instruction, especially postsecondary chemistry instruction. There are a variety of barriers to infusing uncertainty into the postsecondary chemistry classroom, including ensuring "productive" struggle with uncertainty, evaluating student engagement with…

In education, space exists for a tool that valorizes generic student course evaluation formats by organizing and recapitulating students' views on the pedagogical practices to which they are exposed. Often, student opinions about a course are gathered using a general comment section that does not solicit feedback concerning specific course…

The flipped classroom is proposed as an answer to challenges in higher education. However, studies that explore its influence on first-year student motivation are largely lacking. Using the self-determination theory, this study examines the influence of "large-scale flipped lectures," here called 'expert labs', on first-year student…

Employers want graduates who excel in communication, collaboration, and teamwork. But implementing activities and assessments to support this skill development can be challenging in higher education large-enrollment classes where the balance between the extra work it creates for faculty and perceived value for students must be carefully…

Clicker questions are a commonly used active learning technique that stimulates student interactions to help advance understanding of key concepts. Clicker questions are often administered with an initial vote, peer discussion, and a second vote, followed by broader classroom explanation. While clickers can promote learning, some studies have…