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Full-Text Articles in Education

Optimizing Student' Satisfaction In Online Courses: Using A Two-Factor Theory As A Lens, Firm Faith Watson Oct 2015

Optimizing Student' Satisfaction In Online Courses: Using A Two-Factor Theory As A Lens, Firm Faith Watson

Firm Faith Watson, Ph.D.

What experiences do students perceive as satisfying and dissatisfying in online courses? The answer to this question continues to gain significance because students’ satisfaction is a very important indicator of the caliber of online courses, a learning modality which has escalated in the last decade. This presentation will address practical, theory-based approaches that will help online practitioners to design and assess course experiences that maximize online students’ satisfaction while minimizing or eliminating online students’ dissatisfaction.


The Digital Mind And The Future Of Liberal Arts Education, Harlan Stelmach, Martin Anderson Oct 2015

The Digital Mind And The Future Of Liberal Arts Education, Harlan Stelmach, Martin Anderson

Harlan Stelmach

Today higher liberal arts education is challenged by the continuing emphasis on vocational, business, and science majors among administrators and the decline in the demand for humanities majors among students anxious about their economic future. More fundamental and far-reaching, however, are the historic changes in the physical form in which ideas are preserved and communicated, the time people allocate to contemplating those ideas, and the ways people process them as society shifts from the book age into the digital age.1 Those who grew up in the book age can visualize the problem by thinking of this question: What is your …


Big History As General Education, Nicola Pitchford, Mojgan Behmand Aug 2015

Big History As General Education, Nicola Pitchford, Mojgan Behmand

Nicola Pitchford

A presentation on the emerging discipline "Big History" and how it could be integrated into the general education curriculum, using the First Year Experience at Dominican University of California as an example.


Breaking Down The Ivory Tower: The (Past And) Future Of Liberal Arts Education, Nicola Pitchford Aug 2015

Breaking Down The Ivory Tower: The (Past And) Future Of Liberal Arts Education, Nicola Pitchford

Nicola Pitchford

The first compelling point Dominican illustrates is that private liberal arts universities can effectively serve the needs and interests of first-generation college students and students of color (respectively, 25% and 46% of our student body). This has been a deliberate commitment at Dominican, but it also demonstrates that broad-based and contextualized learning can be just as appealing and just as relevant as more narrow pre-professional programs to those students and families who are often under the most pressure to consider immediate return on their college investment. There is more to be done yet, in terms of our supporting students and …


Student Perspectives Of Political Bias In The College Classroom, Darren Linvill Aug 2015

Student Perspectives Of Political Bias In The College Classroom, Darren Linvill

Darren L Linvill

The purpose of this study was to explore how students experience political bias in the college classroom and the extent to which this bias is perceived by students in one midsized, public, land-grant university in the Southeastern United States. The current study addressed the issue of politically biased college professors in U.S. college classrooms, a matter that has gained attention in academia and the general public in recent years. A review of literature explored both partisan research and the limited available peer-reviewed research addressing political bias in the classroom. The research model, the sequential, exploratory mixed methods model, was described …


The Digital Mind And The Future Of Liberal Arts Education, Harlan Stelmach, Martin Anderson Mar 2015

The Digital Mind And The Future Of Liberal Arts Education, Harlan Stelmach, Martin Anderson

Harlan Stelmach

Today higher liberal arts education is challenged by the continuing emphasis on vocational, business, and science majors among administrators and the decline in the demand for humanities majors among students anxious about their economic future. More fundamental and far-reaching, however, are the historic changes in the physical form in which ideas are preserved and communicated, the time people allocate to contemplating those ideas, and the ways people process them as society shifts from the book age into the digital age.1 Those who grew up in the book age can visualize the problem by thinking of this question: What is your …


Reducing Dependence On Big Brother: Higher Education Looks For Innovative Funding Opportunities, Ralph E. Mckinney Jr., Lawrence P. Shao, Patrick A. Tissington Jan 2015

Reducing Dependence On Big Brother: Higher Education Looks For Innovative Funding Opportunities, Ralph E. Mckinney Jr., Lawrence P. Shao, Patrick A. Tissington

Ralph E. McKinney

This paper presents innovative programs that business schools can utilize to reduce dependence on public funds. A review of the literature shows the theoretical and empirical foundation of higher education funding dilemmas. While higher education is moving towards a global ambition, scarcity hinders governments to fully support programs long-term; thus, cost-sharing and cost-shifting measures must occur for higher education to support current programs. In this study, we examine two universities (one U.S. and one UK.) and provide practical summaries of programs that have provided additional funds. We show that diversity of funding sources is essential for survival of higher education …


Meeting The Needs Of Chinese English Language Learners At Writing Centers In America: A Proposed Culturally Responsive Model, Crystal Machado, Peizhen Wang Dec 2014

Meeting The Needs Of Chinese English Language Learners At Writing Centers In America: A Proposed Culturally Responsive Model, Crystal Machado, Peizhen Wang

Crystal Machado

This paper describes the ways in which Writing Centers (WC) currently serve English Language Learners (ELL) at American universities. The authors argue that the pedagogy offered at these centers does not always meet the needs of the Chinese ELLs who make up the largest population of ELLs at American universities. The proposed supplemental model they recommend, which is grounded in Culturally Responsive Pedagogy (CRP), has the potential to better meet the needs of Chinese ELLs. The authors identify obstacles to successful implementation of the proposed model and ways in which these, and gaps in research, …


A Candid Conversation With Harvard Researcher Robert Putnam About Schools, Culture, And The Widening Opportunity Gap In America, Frank Shushok Jr. Dec 2014

A Candid Conversation With Harvard Researcher Robert Putnam About Schools, Culture, And The Widening Opportunity Gap In America, Frank Shushok Jr.

Frank Shushok Jr.

Robert D. Putnam talks with Executive Editor Frank Shushok, Jr. about the worsening problem of inequity in American society. Though it is a daunting problem that goes far beyond the realm of higher education, Putnam shares a hopeful message of the potential to return to our core values of fairness and equity.


Creativity Exercises In The Field Of Entrepreneurship, Todd A. Finkle, Mark Shrader Dec 2014

Creativity Exercises In The Field Of Entrepreneurship, Todd A. Finkle, Mark Shrader

Todd A Finkle

The purpose of this article is to provide entrepreneurship educators with examples of exercises to foster creativity within their entrepreneurship programs. We discuss attributes that develop creativity as well as those that deter creativity. We also outline 10 specific exercises that instructors can use in their classrooms to stimulate creativity. The practical implications of the article will allow entrepreneurship educators to become more proficient in stimulating student creativity in today’s ever-changing environment.


Social Media, Higher Education, And Community Colleges: A Research Synthesis And Implications For The Study Of Two-Year Institutions, Charles H.F. Davis Iii, Regina Deil-Amen, Cecilia Rios-Aguilar, Manuel González Canché Dec 2014

Social Media, Higher Education, And Community Colleges: A Research Synthesis And Implications For The Study Of Two-Year Institutions, Charles H.F. Davis Iii, Regina Deil-Amen, Cecilia Rios-Aguilar, Manuel González Canché

Charles H.F. Davis III

The boundaries between on-line and “real-world” communities are rapidly deteriorating, particularly for the generation of young people whose lives are pervaded by social media. For this generation, social media exchanges are a primary means of communication, social engagement, information seek- ing, and possibly, a central component of their identity and community-building. Given these realities, postsecondary educators should begin to seriously explore the potential to intentionally and strategi- cally harness the power of these revolutionary transformations in technology use to better serve the needs of students to enhance their success. Therefore, this review of books, academic journals, higher education news, research …


Responding To Gendered Dynamics: Experiences Of Women Working Over 25 Years At One University, Ellen Broido, Kirsten R. Brown, Katie Stygles Dec 2014

Responding To Gendered Dynamics: Experiences Of Women Working Over 25 Years At One University, Ellen Broido, Kirsten R. Brown, Katie Stygles

Kirsten R. Brown, Ph.D.

In this feminist, constructivist case study we explored how 28 classified, administrative, and faculty women’s experiences working at one university for 25−40 years have changed. Participants ranged from 45- to 70-years-old at the time of their interview, with more than half older than 60, and 84% identified as White. Women with extended history of service to a single institution provide a unique lens for examining institutional change and gendered structures as they have, in their longevity, thrived or survived. In this article we explore a subset of the findings focused on how women recognize gendered dynamics within the university, and …


Engaging Students With Disabilities, Kirsten R. Brown, Ellen Broido Dec 2014

Engaging Students With Disabilities, Kirsten R. Brown, Ellen Broido

Kirsten R. Brown, Ph.D.

Students with disabilities are a rapidly growing, yet historically underrepresented population in postsecondary education. Historically underrepresented groups share a common experience: all faced unwelcoming environments when initially entering higher education (Hall & Belch, 2000). Ableism (the oppression of people with disabilities) plays a powerful role in shaping the way student with and without disabilities experience the educational environments, because “[b]y assuming one normative way to do things (move, speak, learn, and so forth), society privileges those who carry out these functions as prescribed and oppresses those who use other methods” (Evans, Forney, Guido, Patton & Renn, 2010, p. 242). To …