Recent controversies have highlighted the importance of local school district governance, but little empirical evidence exists evaluating the quality of district policy makers or policies. In this paper, we take a novel approach to assessing school district decision making. We posit a model of rational decision making under uncertainty that…

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic we implemented a partially online music intervention to examine the feasibility, experiences and short-term outcomes on the challenging behaviour and well-being of adults with intellectual disabilities. Method: This mixed-methods study included 10 participants with mild or moderate intellectual disabilities…

When an external crisis exacerbates an internal crisis, do organizational factors still matter? Given the crises of the COVID-19 pandemic and teacher burnout, it may be unlikely for organizational decisions to matter. However, this research using a representative sample of US K-12 teachers (n = 1,061 teachers instructing youths aged 5 to 18)…

High-order thinking skills are crucial in pursuing competency mastery within Islamic higher education. A viable approach to attain these educational goals is implementing the Peer Instruction strategy. Nevertheless, a comprehensive model for peer instruction in blended learning environments still needs to be developed. This research seeks to…

This article addresses the need for empirical research comparing students' experiences of learning in different hybrid spaces in higher education that blend digital spaces, physical spaces and learning interactions. We focus on hybrid spaces formed around Zoom, non-immersive virtual reality (VR), and on-campus with a telepresence robot (TPR)…

Modern software companies prioritize high-quality products for competitiveness, and Software Process Improvement (SPI) models help achieve this. In Brazil, the Brazilian Software Process Improvement Model ("MPS-SW" model) is widely used, but its complexity and extensive documentation make it challenging to teach in undergraduate courses.…

Background/purpose: This study provides a comparative review of mobile applications and traditional classroom methods in English vocabulary acquisition. It explores whether mobile-assisted vocabulary learning (MAVL) results in better retention, engagement, and productive vocabulary use among ESL learners. The study also aims to identify underlying…

Although online learning has increased in popularity in higher education, attrition rates in this delivery method are also high. An archival study over a 14-year time period was conducted to (a) compare the drop rates in a face-to-face vs. online introduction to physical geology course and (b) explore possible factors related to the probability of…

A small-scale qualitative case study of students at a post-1992 university in England sought to understand the nuanced experiences of returning to face-to-face study following the pandemic. Whilst much has been written about the effects of studying online, much less is known about how students adapted once they returned to campus-based delivery.…

This article discusses findings from semi-structured interviews with writing consultants about their affective experiences working across three different consulting modalities: in person, asynchronous, and synchronous. This study offers affect as a lens for understanding consultants' responses to and strategies for consulting in multiple…

This article examines the impact of emergency remote learning and draws on both current and prior research to suggest ways forward in teaching and learning in higher education. Synchronous online learning was the primary delivery method during the COVID-19 pandemic, but research has identified many limitations in this form of delivery, as well as…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the literature regarding the academic online learning experience under the lens of broad personality traits, in the transition from traditional to online learning due to global coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). Design/methodology/approach: The systematic literature review is based on…

Undergraduate courses on small-group communication often cover group roles, group conflict, and conflict management styles. Although these concepts are valuable to learn, merely memorizing them does not address the practical skills students need to employ conflict management strategies when situated in group conflict. This activity provides a…

We present here two accessible ways for enhanced understanding of complex biological structures and their function in undergraduate Biology and Biochemistry classrooms. These methods can be applied for in-class instruction as well as for remote lessons, as they are cheap, easily available and easy to implement. LEGO® bricks and MERGE CUBE based…

This study investigates the communication strategy (CS) use of English as a foreign language (EFL) learners in videoconferencing (VC), virtual world (VW), and face-to-face environments. The study was conducted with 30 senior Turkish undergraduate EFL students. The data were collected via video and audio recordings of three opinion-exchange tasks,…