| Title: Masthead |
| File: Masthead_V1_2022 |
| Title: Student Success and Education, with a capital E |
| Volume: 1 |
| Issue: 1 |
| Abstract: N/A |
| Pages: 1-4 |
| Keywords Student, Success, Education. |
| Authors: Hamid Yazdi |
| File: Yazdi |
| Title: How and Why Mattering is the Secret to Student Success: An Analysis of the Views and Practices of Award-Winning Professors |
| Volume: 1 |
| Issue: 1 |
| Abstract: The students of today are especially in need of resources that will enable them to pursue their goals and overcome recent challenges, including possible setbacks arising from the global COVID-19 pandemic. In the current commentary, review, and analysis, we examine the nature of “student success” and how mattering is a vital relational resource that can facilitate it. We describe the mattering construct and measures for assessing it among college and university students, and then provide a summary of previous research and theory suggesting mattering plays a vital role in their success and performance. We also examine the ways in which 12 award-winning professors perceive mattering and student success and how the promotion of mattering is reflected in their values and teaching practices. Their views paint a portrait of the successful student with a sense of mattering who feels valued, and how this mattering is reflected in self efficacy, outcome expectancies, and abroad success orientation. These professors also provide a list of recommendations for mattering-promotion practices that can put less successful students back on the pathway to success. We also discuss how the proactive development of students who feel like they matter is central to achieving key institutional goals related to student recruitment and retention and alumni engagement. |
| Pages: 5-33 |
| Keywords: Mattering, Success, Students, Performance, Motivation, Learning, Colleges, Universities, Student Retention. |
| Authors: Gordon Flett, Mallory Long, & Elizabeth Carreiro |
| File: Flett et al. |
| Title: Remote Learning and the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Triumphs behind the Tribulations for College Students |
| Volume: 1 |
| Issue: 1 |
| Abstract: With the unexpected onset of the global pandemic in March of 2020, professors and students alike were suddenly forced into a new mode of post- secondary teaching and learning. As researchers and practitioners scurried to resolve challenges associated with virtual learning during a pandemic, positive outcomes in terms of student well-being and academic success were neglected. In this paper, I briefly review the challenges students experienced with pandemic- driven remote learning, then engage in a more in-depth exploration of how virtual learning in fact contributed to positive academic outcomes for some students during lockdowns, as per current literature/research on the subject. These positive outcomes include safe and comfortable learning, flexible and autonomous learning, increased time, increased engagement, innovation, and knowledge retention, and increased support and communication. |
| Pages: 34-45 |
| Keywords: Pandemic, Remote Learning, Mental Health, Academic Engagement, Academic Performance. |
| Author: Maria Lucia Di Placito-De Rango |
| File: Di-Placito |
| Title: Effectiveness Case Study of Teaching Code and the LiveCode Extension |
| Volume: 1 |
| Issue: 1 |
| Abstract: This case study explores the use of the LiveCode Visual Studio Code extension to teach programming in post-secondary education. |
| Pages: 46-54 |
| Keywords: Accessibility, Code, Learning, Programming, Teaching, Technology. |
| Author: Adam Thomas |
| File: Thomas |
| Title: Teaching World Civilizations Through World Literature Theory – Systems and Specifics |
| Volume: 1 |
| Issue: 1 |
| Abstract: This article explores the approach taken in a course I helped create and develop, GHIST 100: World Civilization to 1500 CE. It will explain the method of teaching history as a series of competing narratives using World Literature Theory, allowing for a wider global perspective to be offered to students with a more inclusive approach to understanding history. The course was designed to be inquiry based, each week themed around a question with many possible answers. The course took an interdisciplinary approach that encouraged students to engage in the “detective work” of history to examine how historical narratives are constructed using all kinds of evidence. The article will also discuss some of the assignments and projects the course used to allow students to practice and demonstrate these skills as they developed. |
| Pages: 55-62 |
| Keywords: Teaching, World Civilization, Student, Higher Education. |
| Authors: Erik Mortensen |
| File: Mortensen_Civilization |
| Title: Arts and Cultural Change: A Course Concept Through UDL Theory and Praxis |
| Volume: 1 |
| Issue: 1 |
| Abstract: This article will outline my vision of a course linking the Arts and cultural change together. The idea stems from my experience with a course on literature and social change I took during my undergrad that course had a profound influence on my approach to teaching in the Arts. That original course will be explained along with proposed expansions on it, to build a fully UDL-based course where student groups will ultimately create and/or use various forms of art to inspire cultural change. It will explore the ways the course could be designed to allow for greater student ownership of their own learning, and to allow a strong class community to form. It will also look at potential issues and how they could be resolved if the course is approved and implemented. |
| Pages: 63-70 |
| Keywords: Praxis, Student, Arts, Culture, UDL. |
| Author: Erik Mortensen |
| File: Mortensen_Praxis |
| Title: Critical Thinking Pedagogy in the Age of Conspiracies |
| Volume: 1 |
| Issue: 1 |
| Abstract: The language of critical thinking and free thinking has increasingly been co-opted by people who only oppose established forms of knowledge. As educators, we need to recalibrate our understanding of critical thinking, and how to teach it, to better adapt to the changing media landscape. First, we should investigate how so-called “freethinkers” conceptualize the world. From there, we can develop strategies to revamp our teaching practice. At bottom, critical thinking pedagogy can no longer be ideologically neutral: we need to encourage our students to consider diverse points of view, and to consider ethics and morality when making critical thinking judgements. |
| Pages: 71-77 |
| Keywords: Critical Thinking, Pedagogy, Misinformation, Media Literacy, Information Literacy, Freethinking, Classical Liberalism. |
| Author: Matthew Harris |
| File: Harris |