The main focus of this paper is to put forward an argument about the value of asset-based, culturally relevant/responsive and sustaining pedagogies in science education, especially in former colonial contexts. Countering the framing hegemony of science education through a historically Euro-dominant lens, we call for a critical analysis of the…

Applying the fundamentals of motor skill development for children in the classroom setting can prove beneficial for both student and teacher. Herein, the authors will focus on what motor development is, how this manifests itself in young learners, the concept of the nonlinear pedagogy design principles, and the importance of the movement as it…

This paper presents a qualitative-quantitative study that investigates whether an active and collaborative design can help university students positively evaluate the course, even in a large-size online class for special ed teachers. The analysis of the collected data (a fact-finding questionnaire created on purpose; a standard questionnaire for…

This brief is one in a series aimed at providing K-12 education decision-makers and advocates with an evidence base to ground discussions about how to best serve students during and following the novel coronavirus pandemic. It offers design principles to improve practice with instructional coaching based on a review of research. Links to research…

Multiple meta-analyses have now documented small positive effects of teacher professional development (PD) on pupil test scores. However, the field lacks any validated explanatory account of what differentiates more from less effective in-service training. As a result, researchers have little in the way of advice for those tasked with designing or…

With the increase in online course enrollments each year, there is a continued examination of online course persistence, particularly in accelerated online courses. This examination of online course persistence has typically examined individual learner factors as contributors to persistence. However, research examining the institutional and…

The federal government now offers a multitude of complicated income-driven repayment (IDR) plans that are difficult to understand, enroll in, and stay in. Many students who would benefit from IDR do not enroll, and others will have large amounts of debt forgiven despite earning high wages. The current problems with IDR are not an indictment of the…

The Higher Education Policy Institute polled 1,105 students via the National Union of Students (NUS) for their views on careers services and employment. The results have been published in this report. The results show a large majority of students want to see more higher education courses co-designed with employers. But there is also a large…

The paper shares the results of the process of forming a cross-disciplinary collaborative team and using a user-centered design framework to co-create a self-directed, self-paced, personalized, flexible learning environment as an alternative approach to preparing PK-8 preservice teachers to teach computational thinking. It is part of a larger…

Responsive teaching is an approach to instruction that foregrounds listening for, attending to and engaging with student disciplinary thinking and ideas in the classroom. This style of teaching differs from how many traditional STEM classes are taught, especially at the college level. Entry-level college science courses that are taught by graduate…

At a large, public, 4-year college in the United States, the attrition rate for students taking online classes is 10% greater than for those taking face-to-face classes. Although the college ranks among the top in graduation rates both statewide and nationally, the research problem was the gap in attrition rates between online and face-to-face…

This qualitative, instrumental case study explored existing instructional design practices as related to the accessibility of synchronous, virtual instructional content for adult learners with disabilities within a federal government agency. The purpose of study was to explore the experiences and perceptions of a group of learning professionals…

This dissertation explored how senior faculty members (tenured associate professors and full professors) who work in Education, Engineering, Architecture & Design, Arts, and Pharmacy academic disciplines at the University of Kansas transitioned from in-person to online when the COVID-19 Pandemic started in March of 2020. This dissertation…

For decades, education policy has prioritized the need to improve reading and math achievement while science teaching and learning have received far less emphasis. In 2013, schools across the United States began implementing Next Generation Science Standards (or similarly structured, state-adopted science standards). These new science standards…

The purpose of this study was to examine the application of the high-quality components of an online course rubric and impact on student success. Using a mixed method design and a practitioner analysis, this study explores the connection between components of a quality online course and student final semester grades in an online classroom. Using…