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The effects, from a students' perspective, of implementing a multimodal project in a Thai EFL writing class were studied. The research objectives included: 1) examining the effects of the multimodal project on student behavioral engagement, both overall engagement and various interactions, including with peers, the teacher, and the course content, and 2) exploring students' opinions on the use of a multimodal project in the writing class. A quasi-experimental mixed-method design was utilized, with 35 grade-11 students, recruited through purposive sampling, from a school in Bangkok. The research instruments comprised a pre-post student behavioral engagement questionnaire to gauge changes in engagement, as perceived by the students themselves, and a student reflection form to gather qualitative insights from the students regarding their experiences. Quantitative data underwent analysis using descriptive statistics and t-tests, while qualitative data were thematically analyzed. The study revealed a significant increase in overall student behavioral engagement. When examining student behavioral engagement in terms of interactions, the results showed the greatest difference in peer interactions, followed by interactions with the teacher, and then the content. Results from the students' reflections showed positive perceptions towards the utilization of the multimodal project in the writing class. The findings of this study also have implications for teaching writing in EFL contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Student interactions in distance learning have been a critical element of the transactional distance theory. Research shows that student interactions have a positive effect on learning outcomes. However, little is known about how student interactions can be improved. The need to understand student interactions and to determine the relationships between the variables that are effective in these interactions has become evident. This study aims to investigate the impact of e-learning readiness and the motivations of students in distance learning on student interactions. In addition, it was examined whether motivation mediated the relationship between e-readiness and student interactions. The study was conducted with 172 students enrolled in a postgraduate program conducted by distance learning. Results showed that students' e-learning readiness and motivation are essential predictors of student interactions in distance learning. Furthermore, it was found that motivation had a mediation effect on the relationship between e-learning readiness and student interactions. The results of the research are helpful for both instructional designers and instructors of distance learning who want to reduce the transactional distance by increasing student interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Implementing research-based teaching practices has been repeatedly cited as an important factor for student success in university mathematics courses. Many research-based practices increase the amount of student–student and/or student–instructor interaction. However, some instructors are hesitant to implement such practices because they anticipate their students reacting negatively to experiencing an interactive classroom. As part of a larger project studying introductory undergraduate mathematics courses in the United States, we investigated students’ perceptions of the helpfulness of various classroom characteristics, particularly those that require interaction. Results From analyzing quantitative student data, we found that students reported interactive classroom characteristics (e.g., group work) as less prevalent than other classroom characteristics (e.g., lecture). Moreover, the students tended to regard characteristics that they reported experiencing often as helpful for their learning. From analyzing qualitative data from student focus groups, we found that students considered several indicators when identifying if a characteristic was helpful for their learning. In particular, students suggested that they can identify a characteristic as helpful for their learning when it supported them in solving assigned problems and understanding why the procedures work, earning good grades, building on their knowledge or applying it in different contexts, and teaching others. Conclusions The key finding from our work is that students are likely to view classroom characteristics that they experience more often as more helpful for their learning and are less likely to view characteristics that they rarely experience as helpful for their learning. Students view the characteristics that they regularly experience as helping them to solve problems and understand why the procedures work, earn good grades, build on their knowledge or apply it in different contexts, and teach others. We discuss important implications for practice, policy, and research as it relates to both student and instructor buy-in for increasing interactions in class.

In-person school research showed that student-student and teacher-student interaction were positively related to student learning, yet unexplored for cyber schools (fully online, primary or secondary schools). The purpose of this study was to explore relationships between synchronous student-student interaction, teacher-student interaction, parents’ interaction concerns, and student achievement for 5,458 students enrolled in 34 U.S. cyber schools located in 28 states. To test hypotheses we performed longitudinal analyses of 2017–2020 data using hierarchical linear modeling (HLM). Results of our analysis of whether positive relationships exist between student-student and teacher-student synchronous interactions and student academic outcomes showed student-student interactions were positively correlated with scores on math and reading assessments, credits earned, and GPA; teacher-student interactions were correlated positively with scores on reading assessments, but negatively with credits earned and GPA. Results of our analysis of whether an inverse relationship exists between student-level interaction concerns and outcomes showed these student-level interaction concerns were negatively correlated with achievement on state assessments in most cases, and with credits earned and GPA in all cases. Results of our analysis of whether an inverse relationship exists between teacher-level interaction concerns and outcomes showed that some teacher-level interaction concerns were negatively correlated with math achievement, credits earned, and GPA in nearly all cases. Unfortunately, cyber school models typically maximize flexibility for students; yet this may come at the expense of student-student and teacher-student interaction, which in turn may be influenced by interaction concerns. Results suggest the need for future research into the mechanisms behind these various relationships.

Background: Implementing research-based teaching practices has been repeatedly cited as an important factor for student success in university mathematics courses. Many research-based practices increase the amount of student–student and/or student–instructor interaction. However, some instructors are hesitant to implement such practices because they anticipate their students reacting negatively to experiencing an interactive classroom. As part of a larger project studying introductory undergraduate mathematics courses in the United States, we investigated students' perceptions of the helpfulness of various classroom characteristics, particularly those that require interaction. Results: From analyzing quantitative student data, we found that students reported interactive classroom characteristics (e.g., group work) as less prevalent than other classroom characteristics (e.g., lecture). Moreover, the students tended to regard characteristics that they reported experiencing often as helpful for their learning. From analyzing qualitative data from student focus groups, we found that students considered several indicators when identifying if a characteristic was helpful for their learning. In particular, students suggested that they can identify a characteristic as helpful for their learning when it supported them in solving assigned problems and understanding why the procedures work, earning good grades, building on their knowledge or applying it in different contexts, and teaching others. Conclusions: The key finding from our work is that students are likely to view classroom characteristics that they experience more often as more helpful for their learning and are less likely to view characteristics that they rarely experience as helpful for their learning. Students view the characteristics that they regularly experience as helping them to solve problems and understand why the procedures work, earn good grades, build on their knowledge or apply it in different contexts, and teach others. We discuss important implications for practice, policy, and research as it relates to both student and instructor buy-in for increasing interactions in class. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to provide clear and appropriate evidence of factors that trigger student engagement of flipped classroom (FC) learning in higher education (HE), based on an example of a fully flipped business undergraduate degree program in Australia. Qualitative data from the Student Evaluation of Teaching and Units (SETU) of 142 first-year business students over seven consecutive trimesters (2017–2019) were gathered and analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings provide a nuanced understanding on triggers of student engagement in relation to self-efficacy, emotion, well-being and belonging. The findings may guide educators in full adoption of FC in other undergraduate courses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Student-instructor interactions have an influence on student achievement and perceptions of learning. In college and university settings, large introductory STEM courses are increasingly including Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL), an evidence-based technique associated with improved student achievement, recruitment, and retention in STEM fields, especially for underserved populations. Within this technique, peer leaders hold a unique position in a student’s education. Peer leaders have relevant experience in that they have had recent success in the courses in which they facilitate student learning, yet, compared to student-faculty or student-teaching assistant relationships, there is minimal imbalance of authority or power. Students might find their peer leaders to be more relatable than faculty or graduate teaching assistants, and may even consider them to be role models. We explored students’ perceptions of peer leader relatability and role model status in relation to students’ achievement and their perceived learning gains in the context of an introductory biology course with an associated PLTL program. The final course grades and self-assessed learning gains of PLTL students who felt they related to their peer leader were compared to those who did not. We also compared final course grades and self-assessed learning gains between PLTL students who viewed their peer leader as a role model versus those who did not. Self-reported learning gains were significantly higher for students who relate to their peer leader, as well as for students who viewed their peer leaders as a role model. There is some support that this trend is stronger for STEM majors versus those who are not enrolled in a STEM program, though the interaction is not significant. Significant differences in overall course grade were only observed between students who reported that they related to their peer leader versus those who did not relate to their peer leader.

Education, in essence, is an interactive activity in which teacher and student interactions construct a learning path to raise knowledge. However, it is evident that this learning path is not merely cognitive. Thus, the role of interpersonal relationships should not be taken for granted. Teacher-student relationships are among the salient factors in effective teaching. Factors such as these trigger achievement, motivation, and engagement in students (Martin and Dowson, 2009), with student engagement in particular seeming like the keystone for educational achievement. One relative innovation that promotes student engagement and undertakes more effective learning and deeper knowledge of the materials is flipped learning (Kim, 2017). This theoretical review article was written to enlighten scholars, teachers, and learners with key concepts in interpersonal relations and their roles on student engagement in the context of flipped learning. In this study, some pedagogical implications were presented with the prospect of edifying the practice of teachers, students, and syllabus designers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Education, in essence, is an interactive activity in which teacher and student interactions construct a learning path to raise knowledge. However, it is evident that this learning path is not merely cognitive. Thus, the role of interpersonal relationships should not be taken for granted. Teacher-student relationships are among the salient factors in effective teaching. Factors such as these trigger achievement, motivation, and engagement in students (Martin and Dowson, 2009), with student engagement in particular seeming like the keystone for educational achievement. One relative innovation that promotes student engagement and undertakes more effective learning and deeper knowledge of the materials is flipped learning (Kim, 2017). This theoretical review article was written to enlighten scholars, teachers, and learners with key concepts in interpersonal relations and their roles on student engagement in the context of flipped learning. In this study, some pedagogical implications were presented with the prospect of edifying the practice of teachers, students, and syllabus designers.

Although group work is considered beneficial for problem solving, the listening that is needed for jointly solving mathematical problems is under-researched. In this article, the usefulness of two communication frameworks for understanding students' listening is examined, using data from an educational design research study in an upper secondary mathematics classroom in Sweden. From the analysis, it was apparent that these frameworks did not provide sufficient information about the complexity of listening in this context. Consequently, a new framework, "productive listening," is described which focuses on observable features connected to students' ability to show willingness to listen and to request listening from others. This framework included the purpose for listening, connected to problem-solving stages, and social aspects to do with respecting the speaker's contribution as being valuable and feeling that one's own contribution would be listened to. These two aspects are linked to socio-mathematical norms about expecting to listen to others' mathematical thinking and to ask clarifying questions about this thinking. By using this framework on the data from the earlier study, it was possible to better understand the complexity of listening in group work about mathematical problem solving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Chemical engineering design project undertaken by remote-learning. • Formal and informal educator – student remote learning engagement. • Student access to software and high-power computing through cloud services. • Student cohort grade performance comparable to previous face-to-face classes. • Teams that engage in online forums achieved better grade outcomes. The design project represents the culmination of a chemical engineering student's degree, which is intended to enable students to demonstrate technical competency and achieve team-based learning outcomes. Conventionally the design project is taught through face-to-face learning, however recent circumstances around Covid-19 have required engineering degrees to pivot to remote learning and here the outcome of chemical engineering design project taught through remote learning is reported. The class was tasked with designing processes for vitamin B2, B3 or E production, based on teams of 5 students. The structure of the design project consisted of three major assessments tasks around process feasibility and development, unit operation designs and economics, with students required to undertake group as well as individual assessments. The process by which the design project was taught remotely is presented here; in terms of educator-student engagements, promotion of student interaction within teams, online tools and ensure students had access to appropriate software. The outcome was a successful final year design project for chemical engineering students, which achieved comparable performance outcomes to previous years' face-to-face teaching as well as demonstration that student interactions within teams are vital to a successful outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the study is to explore student–content, student–interface, student–instructor, and student–student interactions in a flipped classroom (FC)‐based undergraduate engineering course using the transactional distance (TD) theory. Understanding student interactions that occur in and out of the classroom to reduce the TD can help one design and develop high‐quality FC‐based courses and, thus, produce better learning outcomes and teaching experiences. A mixed‐methods case study was implemented in a Probability and Statistics course, and 37 undergraduate students from a developing university's faculty of engineering participated in the study. Data were collected via an anonymous online survey and focus group interviews. The initial findings indicated that the FC approach facilitated the students' learning process and increased their interest in the course. Furthermore, the students found favorable student–content, student–instructor, student–interface, and student–student interactions. Based on the findings, all interaction types and their relationship with each other in the scope of the FC approach were discussed. Recommendations for reducing the TD include preparing videos that are understandable and comprehensive enough to be studied by students, provision of sufficient support, and positive attitude to students by instructors, encouraging collaboration among students, and utilizing easy‐to‐use digital platforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Students identified with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBDs) often have difficulty with social adjustment and academic achievement, engaging in problem behaviors such as defiance, rule-breaking, and truancy, yet one particularly challenging behavior is aggression. Researchers assert that verbal aggression (VA) is the most frequent form of aggression in schools; however, little is known about student perceptions of VA among students with EBD. We surveyed 144 secondary students with EBD finding infrequent reporting to teachers about VA victimization. According to students, the most effective teacher responses to a report of VA victimization were moving the victim away from the perpetrator, providing advice, and punishing the aggressor. Students reported that the content of teacher instruction about VA most often included reporting victimization to a teacher, avoiding the aggressor, and ignoring the verbally aggressive behavior. We discuss implications for teacher education and practice including what strategies deter VA and effective teacher responses to victimization. We conclude with recommendations for future research such as examining risk and protective factors for VA involvement, assessing whether students’ attitudes and beliefs contribute to VA, and conducting longitudinal studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mathematics is the engine, vehicle, driver, and language of today’s initiatives, innovations, and human endeavors. In this mathematical-driven world, the ability to perform mathematical tasks and logical reasoning is also essential in solving quotidian tasks and problems. Therefore, mathematical competency and problem-solving skills are kept as an integral component in almost every educational curriculum around the globe. However, there are numerous stumbling blocks along the way to successful teaching, conducive learning environment, and good student performances in almost all disciplines, but more prevalent and visible in mathematics. The major concerns of educators responsible for teaching mathematics and mathematics-related courses are to find effective and innovative ways to deliver mathematical content, to extend the concepts and theories beyond the classrooms, to integrate mathematics with important concepts such as gamification, data mining, learning analytics, deep learning, and effective tools such as mobile devices, learning management systems, and digital technology, and to maintain a good record of students’ performance. In online deliveries, these concerns are further escalated due to no or limited one-to-one interactions and lack of face time, to mention a few. This article investigates the efficacy and effectiveness of traditional and innovative pedagogical practices used in online mathematic courses at the University of the South Pacific (USP). It examines the interdependence of embedded activities and students’ achievement. The results indicate that these online mathematics courses were highly dominated by conventional approaches and were less interactive and engaging, resulting in lower success rates when compared to the courses from other disciplines. To recommend possible ways to enhance the quality of learning and teaching in online mathematics courses, selected online courses from the information system discipline were explored. The reasons for the high online presence in the course were investigated and activities that could lead to collaborative and active learning beyond the passive materials were data mined. The evidence drawn from the statistical analysis highlights the importance of including selected interactive and engaging activities in online learning space of mathematics courses to promote student engagement and help create a sense of community among geographically dispersed students. Overall, based on the observations and theoretical foundation from literature, it can be said that including regular and frequent active assessment strategies, such as weekly quizzes and discussion forums, could extend and promote interactive and engaging learning in online learning space.

Engineering degree programmes include a significant amount of practical work for which national accrediting bodies stipulate a set of laboratory-learning outcomes. This paper sets out to understand how students' interactions in the laboratory contribute to the attainment of laboratory-learning outcomes. The investigation was conducted in the traditional face-to-face laboratory mode. Results from surveys of final-year students and instructors are reported. Students' and instructors' perspectives of the relative importance of four main types of student interaction to meet each of the Engineers Australia laboratory-learning outcomes are also presented. Students primarily expected to interact with instructors more than with students (directly or through observation of interactions) or equipment for their achievement of the learning outcomes, whereas instructors reported that all of the interactions are important to achieve the learning outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The laboratory instruction sheet (sometimes called a laboratory manual), together with the equipment used by students, is an essential resource for laboratory work. It has a direct influence over all the interactions that can occur in the laboratory activity, of which student-equipment is the only common synchronous interaction in both face-to-face and remote-access laboratories. This article offers a student perspective on the function, utility, and importance of laboratory instruction sheets in Engineering along with their preferred design for both face-to-face and remote modes. Both qualitative and quantitative investigations were made for studying students' perceptions. The laboratory sheet was found to be a contributing factor to student satisfaction for student-equipment interactions in face-to-face laboratories and important to students' experience in remote-access laboratories in giving them a feel of operating real equipment. Further important findings include the need for the instruction sheet to meet different content requirements and emphases that depend upon the laboratory mode and different levels of student academic achievement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Positive and constructive feedback is a form of positive reinforcement essential to effective instruction and classroom management. This article provides practitioners with a range of realistic positive and constructive feedback strategies and descriptions of how such feedback can be implemented in schools and classrooms, with a special focus on the reinforcement of students with emotional and behavioral disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The opening up of online education in the Australian tertiary sector has made higher education accessible for a wide range of students, including those living in rural and regional areas. While student numbers continue to grow as a result of this opportunity, there are increasing concerns regarding low student retention and progression rates for online students in comparison with on-campus students. Reasons for this vary, however, online students report a sense of isolation and disconnection with their studies highlighting the need for educators to utilise effective facilitation to enhance student connections to an online community. In this paper, we investigated facilitation strategies using two case studies. This illustrated how two online instructors used design-based research to evaluate the impact of facilitation strategies on instructor presence, instructor connection, engagement and learning in maths education and human biology subjects. Findings indicate that focusing on social, managerial and technical facilitation strategies resulted in an increased instructor presence and active involvement, which in turn were influential in motivating students to engage with learning online. The findings have implications for higher education providers and instructors who are tasked with engaging online students. This identifies the importance of targeted online facilitation to enhance learner-instructor and learner-content engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This multi-institutional study of undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in online degree programs explored student perceptions of required student-to-student interactions. Using a semi-structured interview methodology, thirty three students participated in the study. While all of the students had experience with the required discussion board interactions of posting and responding, a majority of the students reported experience with other types of required student-to-student interactions including group projects, group presentations, peer reviews, and, for a few, discussions within the required synchronous sessions. The findings indicate that while most students value the concept of peer-to-peer interaction in online courses, many found the required assignments lacking in authenticity and not a good use of their time. Some students reported satisfaction with one or more of the requirements such as small group assignments when time was allowed for coordination, small group discussions, and selected discussion board posts. The students valued the interactions most when those interactions were relevant to their careers. These findings encourage taking the demographic realities of students studying online into consideration when incorporating student-to-student interactions into courses. Many have family and other obligations, so they are particularly sensitive to work that appears to be trivial or unnecessary. Hence, learning elements such as peer-to-peer interactions should be incorporated into courses intentionally and with purpose so that the interactions do not appear to be busy-work or checking an interaction box. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, virtual learning environments, laptops, tablets and mobile devices have been introduced in the classroom. These technologies start a snowball effect: the old tools teachers used to fathom the students' learning progress, since so much happens online, are not enough. Thus, the need for new tools to analyse the students' activity on the online learning environments arises. The field of learning analytics can provide some of these tools. In this paper, we introduce the Student's Progress Snapshot (SPS), a Learning Analytics Dashboard that allows teachers to analyse the activity of their students on Moodle courses. The SPS running as software as a service, includes both charts and automatically generated explanatory texts of these charts. During the academic course 2015-2016 a pilot was conducted to validate the SPS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital technology offers new teaching methods with controversial results over learning. They allow students to develop a more active participation in their learning process although it does not always drive to unequivocal better learning outcomes. This study aims to offer additional evidence on the contribution of business simulation games to students' learning outcomes, considering student interactions in online discussion forums. We conducted a qualitative research with the online discussion forums of 5 different courses at bachelor and master levels, which involves 41 students' teams. The final sample was composed of 3681 messages posted by the students. The results reveal that some generic and specific managerial skills exert a positive influence on learning outcomes. Students mostly highlighted teamwork, decision-making, information processing, reaching agreements, and dealing with uncertainty as the most relevant contributions of the game towards their learning. These results have instructional and pedagogical implications for determining the best way to enhance students' motivation and learning outcomes when using digital techno [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper relates to students’ productive disciplinary engagement (PDE) within the teaching of gymnastics in Tunisia. Students’ engagement is investigated from the pragmatist and social-interactionist perspective of the didactic joint action framework in conjunction with productive disciplinary engagement. Data were collected through ethnographic observations using video recordings and teacher interviews during a 12th grade gymnastics unit conducted by a female teacher in a senior high school. Analyses of students’ actions were carried out during significant episodes when they worked without the direct presence of the teacher. The study draws attention to how breaches of the didactic contract initiated by students promote knowledge content development and how students contribute to the situated didactic process. The analyses of students’ contrasted cases (two high-skilled, two low-skilled students) highlight how students actively participate in shaping their learning. The discussion points out some generic patterns that keep students engaged in a PDE. The paper is concluded with a consideration of the utility of the two theoretical frameworks for understanding student learning in physical education lessons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to use the Joint Action Studies in Didactics (JASD) to understand how teachers’ and students’ interactions co-construct knowledge during Cooperative Learning (CL). The basis of CL is that students learn with and from each other through a structured interdependent relationship. A case study approach was used to examine how a group of three year-5 students and their teacher from an ethnically diverse primary school in New Zealand co-constructed knowledge within a 3-month CL intervention in physical education. The JASD protocol included collecting data on the teacher’s intention, practical epistemology and student interactions as they engaged in CL task structures. Data analysis included a search for patterns in the evolution of the didactic contract of content learned as students interacted in the co-construction of knowledge. Findings revealed that the CL tasks provided a pedagogical structure where student interactions were generally aligned with the didactic intent of the tasks. The teaching techniques of the student coach served to make the development of content more dynamic, with an increased frequency of breaches in the didactic contract. This dynamic may facilitate student learning during productive group problem-solving tasks. When the intended content was more specifically defined, the topogenetic technique of teacher intervention within tasks was critical to re-align students’ interpretation of the knowledge at stake in the CL tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An exploratory study of undergraduate students enrolled in marketing courses at a Southeastern regional university was conducted to determine the motivations and characteristics of marketing students who plan to be online learners and examined for differences between those who have taken and those who have not taken online classes. An online survey of Likert scales, open-ended questions and demographic questions was sent via class learning management websites. A total of 165 students of the 438 invited to participate completed the survey. A structural model was developed using SMART-PLS to estimate the relationships of constructs that predict taking online courses. Results of the study showed differences in predictors of those that have taken online courses compared to those who plan on taking online courses. A significant predictor of those planning on taking online courses is quality of learning while a significant predictor of those who have taken online courses is scheduling and timing. The results can be used to examine ways to improve/enhance the student’s educational experience, as well as an institution’s effectiveness in attracting the growing body of online learners.

The current study sought to determine dimensions of student-to-student confirmation. Results of open-ended surveys revealed that students confirm one another in unique ways based on the setting of their relationship (the classroom). Findings revealed three dimensions of student-to-student confirmation (acknowledgment, assistance, and individual attention) each of which has two subdimensions. Factors determining the use of confirmation and the self-reported outcomes were also examined. Notably, traditional instructional communication outcomes (affective learning, cognitive learning, motivation) emerged from the data regarding the perceived effect confirmation has on the student experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An exploratory study of undergraduate students enrolled in marketing courses at a Southeastern regional university was conducted to determine the motivations and characteristics of marketing students who plan to be online learners and examined for differences between those who have taken and those who have not taken online classes. An online survey of Likert scales, openended questions and demographic questions was sent via class learning management websites. A total of 165 students of the 438 invited to participate completed the survey. A structural model was developed using SMART-PLS to estimate the relationships of constructs that predict taking online courses. Results of the study showed differences in predictors of those that have taken online courses compared to those who plan on taking online courses. A significant predictor of those planning on taking online courses is quality of learning while a significant predictor of those who have taken online courses is scheduling and timing. The results can be used to examine ways to improve/enhance the student's educational experience, as well as an institution's effectiveness in attracting the growing body of online learners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Online counselor education is growing, but there has been little conclusive research about its effectiveness. This paper reports on an exploratory study in which the perceptions of students in a hybrid career development and counseling class were compared to those of students in a face-to-face offering of the same class. Student-to-student and student-to-instructor interactions were examined and several themes were identified: nature of interactions, sufficiency of interactions, different types of communication, impact of interactions on learning, and enhancement of relationships. Both delivery formats were found to have benefits and challenges. The paper concludes with a discussion of the practical implications and areas in need of future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While there has been increased scholarship in recent years on diversity in higher education, most of this research has failed to include 2-year institutions in its analyses. This study examined whether the racial composition of the community college student body is correlated with an institution’s normative climate toward three diversity outcomes: student conversations with racially different peers, student conversations with peers holding different beliefs, and student understanding of racially different others. The results indicate that having a more diverse student body had a positive, statistically significant relationship with each outcome. This finding suggests that community colleges, like 4-year institutions, can be positively influenced by enrolling a more racially heterogeneous student body. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This investigation examines teacher—student relationships among African American youth from low-income backgrounds (N = 193). Students and their teachers completed measures of teacher—student relationship quality and measures pertaining to emotional, behavioral, and school-related adjustment. Results indicated that African American youth who fell above the clinical cut point on the externalizing scale of the Child Behavior Checklist (n = 64) reported lower trust in relationships with teachers than did similarly matched students who did not have clinically significant externalizing symptomology. In addition, teachers rated students in the externalizing subgroup as lower in relational closeness and greater in relational conflict. Multiple regression analyses applied to data obtained from the behavioral risk group indicated that both student and teacher perceptions of teacher—student relationship quality were associated with student- and teacher-rated emotional, behavioral, and school-related adjustment. The strength of these associations varied as a function of data source and the specific relationship dimension investigated. Implications for future research and practice efforts aimed at building positive teacher—student relationships are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]