High-quality teacher-student relationships are instrumental to the success of social and emotional learning interventions. Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory (1986), is a theoretical framework that focuses on self-efficacy, collective efficacy, vicarious learning, and triadic reciprocal determinism (i.e., behavior, personal factors, and…

The purpose of this single instrumental case study was to understand the differential use of Blackboard tools for residential faculty members at a large private nonprofit university in the Southeastern part of the United States. The differential use of Blackboard tools was generally defined as the tendency of residential faculty members in…

The National Council for the Social Studies recommends high-quality access to academic content in the social studies domains (history, government, economics, and civics) to improve in-school performance and postschool civic and community outcomes for students in K-12 schools. To date, limited research information exists to inform social studies…

Response to intervention, direct instruction, and data-based decision-making are all effective teaching practices that can impact student math performance. When educational technology is implemented in classroom settings, it can address both the needs of teachers and students. However, there is little information detailing how educational…

Computer-based learning technologies are now being used worldwide, but are mostly researched in a small number of countries and contexts. Increasing research suggests that modifications are needed to make computer-based learning responsive for all students worldwide. In this article for the inaugural special issue of Computer-Based Learning in…

One of the main reasons for Tongans immigrating to the United States (U.S.) was to enter into tertiary schooling and further one's knowledge within colleges and universities (Hafoka, 'Ulu'ave & Hafoka, 2014). As this has been an aspiration for many Tongan people entering the U.S. for themselves and/or their posterity, another location of…

Survey respondents use different response styles when they use the categories of the Likert scale differently despite having the same true score on the construct of interest. For example, respondents may be more likely to use the extremes of the response scale independent of their true score. Research already shows that differing response styles…

Important educational policy decisions, like whether to shorten or extend the school year, often require accurate estimates of how much students learn during the year. Yet, related research relies on a mostly untested assumption: that growth in achievement is linear throughout the entire school year. We examine this assumption using a data set…

To inform the development of gamified assessments, this study explored how students with or at risk for reading difficulties in Grades 6-8 (N = 202) perceived and interacted with a decoding assessment designed with gamification characteristics. Three data sources enhanced the methodological triangulation: observations and scores from testing,…

Purpose: A team member might exert little effort and exploit teammates' work (free riding), which can discourage their efforts. The purpose of this paper is to examine whether free riding devalues team projects and whether an online assessment system for individual scores (OASIS) system can reduce student perceptions of free riding and its harmful…

Purpose: In this essay, the authors will describe several facets of their experience as women faculty of color in the academy during the pandemic, in order to explore how institutions might think of equity and diversity initiatives during the pandemic time. Design/methodology/approach: This essay discusses structural, leadership and individual…

The purpose of this study was to develop a reliable and valid survey instrument that would prove useful in identifying faculty with the capacity and inclination to succeed in team-taught, hands-on, transdisciplinary course programming. Using an exploratory, mixed-methods design, the qualitative component consisted of semi-structured interviews of…

Learner-centered instructional strategies in social studies are currently ineffective in meeting the learning needs of the ELL population in an urban school in the northeastern United States. Despite English language learner (ELL) supplemental instruction on Saturdays and evenings and professional development for teachers, strategies being used to…

Research over the last decade has indicated that active learning and student-centered instruction lead to better learning outcomes in undergraduate biology courses than traditional methods such as lecturing. This shift in pedagogical approach has been applied to both high-enrollment lecture-based courses as well as smaller laboratory courses. In…

Research has proven that teacher professional development is needed for improved teacher performance and quality instruction. However, there are challenges regarding teacher training effectiveness. The literature indicates a gap in describing an effective training model. This mixed methods study describes a teacher training model that is both…