Education Commons^™

Fostering Engagement With Voicethread In Online Intermediate Spanish Language Classes, Karen Acosta, Ericka H. Parra Dr

The Coastal Review: An Online Peer-reviewed Journal

It is estimated that more than 1.5 billion students have been affected during the course of the global coronavirus pandemic by school and university closures. As a way to navigate this new instructional landscape, the researchers aimed to find a tool that would allow students to develop and practice communicative language skills in their online Spanish classes. In this research study, participants used VoiceThread over the course of a semester and then reflected on their comfort level using communicative skills in Spanish before and after using the tool, as well as whether they perceived that using the platform in their …

The Out-Of-Classroom Engagement Experiences Of First-Generation College Students That Impact Persistence, Sherolyn Hopkins, Jamie L. Workman, William Truby

Georgia Journal of College Student Affairs

This article is the result of research conducted with first-generation upper-class college students enrolled at a comprehensive university in Georgia. The researcher sought to answer the following research question: How do first-generation college students perceive the impact of out-of-classroom engagement experiences on persistence?

Participants were selected based on a purposeful sampling technique. The researcher utilized a qualitative interpretive approach and collected data via individual interviews and a focus group. The researcher was able to organize the rich data into themes. The article concludes with implications for student affairs professionals and future research on first-generation college students.

Keywords: first-generation college students, …

"It's My Closest Friend And My Most Hated Enemy": Students Share Perspectives On Procrastination In Writing Classes, Jennifer Gray

The Journal of Student Success in Writing

This article presents the results from an IRB-approved study that researched student perspectives on procrastination. Qualitative and quantitative data from over 200 surveys administered to first-year writers illustrated multiple reasons why students procrastinated, and these reasons are much deeper than a strong desire to do something else. Results indicated that when students perceived a lack of engagement with their topic (whether the engagement was actually there or not), they were more likely to procrastinate. In addition, students who had fewer choices in their writing assignments, such as topic choices or format choices, were more likely to procrastinate and avoid the …