Traditionally political knowledge was regarded as an important potential outcome for civic education efforts. Most of the currently available research, however, tends to focus on non-cognitive goals, despite the fact that studies repeatedly have shown that political knowledge is an important resource for enlightened and engaged citizenship. In…

This study is a comparative analysis of the environmental philosophies of college undergraduates enrolled in a Midwestern university. Two courses were used for the research, one from a recreation management curriculum and the other from environmental studies. The study utilized a survey instrument called the Environmental Action and Philosophy…

This paper will share the research on the use of social media (specifically Facebook) in an effort to promote critical thinking and reflection. It purports that although often overlooked as a teaching, learning and assessment strategy, social media is a viable method that supports cooperative learning through the encouragement of thoughtful…

This study investigates technology-enhanced blended learning in an English as a Second Language (ESL) program from the theoretical perspective of Diffusion of Innovations theory. The study first established that the use of a learning management system (LMS) in two ESL classes represented an educational innovation. Next, the innovation attributes…

Student engagement is required for effective distance learning. Amongst other things, it is built by fostering connectedness amongst tutors, academic advisors, and students, and by providing high-quality content and materials through appropriate technologies. Students are more likely to succeed when they experience these different aspects as a…

Pair programming is a strategy that grew out of industry and has shown promise for performance and retention in computer programming courses at universities and in industry. In this study, we examine whether pair programming is effective in K-12, what it is effective for, and how partners influence each other. We collected the data from 320 middle…

Online students often experience feelings of isolation and a lack of a sense of community from the institutions they attend (Palloff & Pratt, 1999). However, by implementing a variety of multimedia tools into the online classroom, students can hear and possibly even see their instructors. In this present study, a combination of live video…

The new global economy depends on workforce competencies in science, technology, engineering and mathematics more than ever before. To prepare a strong workforce, attracting and educating underrepresented minority students in science is a challenge within our traditional American educational approach. To meet this challenge, fostering significant…

This study designed learning activities supported by a mobile learning system for students to develop listening and speaking skills in English as a foreign language (EFL). How students perceive learning activities and a mobile learning system were examined in this study. Additionally, how different practices relate to students' language…

The paper aimed at assessing the effectiveness of the teaching practice model in the University of Buea, which is different from that of other teacher education institutions in Cameroon. Teaching Practice is an important component of a teacher education programme and the quality of supervision and duration are key in achieving effectiveness which…

The action research study described in this report outlines the design and implementation of a unit of blended instruction in a traditional high school English classroom. Twenty technical high school students in an 11th grade Honors English class engaged in a variety of internet-based activities in conjunction with traditional learning activities…

This study evaluated the degree to which a range of social emotional learning skills--academic self-efficacy, academic motivation, social connections, importance of school, and managing psychological and emotional distress and academic stress--could be used as an indicator of future academic outcomes. Using a sample of 4,797 from a large urban…

Student teachers' desire to learn is affected by a variety of motivational factors. In this study, the effect of some internal and external variables on Academic Intrinsic Motivation (AIM) was explored. First, the validity and reliability of the scale of AIM was determined, then the effect on AIM of variables such as grade levels, academic grade…

This article presents a qualitative evaluation of the EcoSchool program in the Czech Republic. In order to analyze the way in which pupils interpret the purpose of their membership in EcoTeams, eight focus groups in schools highly involved in the program were interviewed (N = 83). The study is based on the assumption that the implementation of the…

This study used the Community of Inquiry (CoI) model proposed by Garrison to investigate students' level of knowledge construction in asynchronous discussions. The participants included 36 senior students (27 males) majoring in information management. The students attended 18 weeks of an online information ethics course. In this study, four types…