Incorporating the Human Element in Online Teaching and Learning


Book Description

The rapid shift to online learning, accelerated by the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, has brought both convenience and unforeseen hurdles. Despite the appeal of flexible education, the attrition rates in online courses remain persistently higher than in traditional face-to-face counterparts. This escalating issue impacts individual students and threatens the stability of entire learning institutions. The imminent need for a comprehensive solution to address the root causes of high attrition rates has never been more critical. Incorporating the Human Element in Online Teaching and Learning, meticulously crafted for college professors, researchers, graduate students, policymakers, instructional designers, and college administrators, provides a comprehensive roadmap for mitigating the attrition crisis in online education. The book equips educators with culturally responsive pedagogical practices by addressing the critical need for humanistic engagement in online courses, ensuring that online learning spaces become more inclusive and supportive. As a result, the strategies outlined in this book empower educators to create a sense of belonging for diverse student populations and offer a blueprint for colleges and universities to foster professional development opportunities. Ultimately, this transformative guide is a cornerstone in reshaping the online learning experience, ensuring that every student, regardless of background, can thrive in the digital classroom.




Building Resiliency in Higher Education: Globalization, Digital Skills, and Student Wellness


Book Description

In the dynamic landscape of higher education, institutions face a myriad of challenges that threaten to inhibit their ability to nurture the leaders of tomorrow effectively. Academia is navigating new challenges, including the pressures of globalization, the complexities of digital transformation and the imperative of fostering diversity and inclusion. The need for innovative solutions and strategic approaches to these challenges has never been more pressing. Building Resiliency in Higher Education: Globalization, Digital Skills, and Student Wellness offers a comprehensive exploration of these critical issues, providing educators, administrators, policymakers, and researchers with a roadmap for navigating the complexities of the modern educational landscape. The book equips readers with the knowledge and insights needed to address these challenges head-on by delving into topics such as internationalization, innovation, and sustainability. This valuable resource aids understanding and responsiveness to the trends shaping higher education today through in-depth analysis and an interdisciplinary approach.




Emerging Research in Agricultural Teacher Education


Book Description

Struggling to navigate the complex landscape of agricultural teacher education, scholars face a daunting challenge: the need for a comprehensive research synthesis tailored to their specific needs. While valuable, existing resources often need to provide the focused guidance required to address this discipline's myriad issues. This gap leaves scholars needing a clear roadmap for advancing agricultural teacher education, hindering progress and innovation in the field. Emerging Research in Agricultural Teacher Education revolutionizes the field of education through agricultural research. Offering a comprehensive synthesis of current research and proposing crucial areas for future investigation, this book serves as the definitive solution to the challenges plaguing scholars in the field. Consolidating decades of research and expertise into a single accessible volume, it provides scholars with the tools they need to navigate the complexities of agricultural teacher education with confidence and clarity.




Empowering Teams in Higher Education: Strategies for Success


Book Description

Many businesses and organizations struggle with implementing effective teamwork, leading to confusion, stress, and subpar results. In higher education, students often graduate without the necessary teamwork skills, leaving them unprepared for the demands of the modern workplace. Empowering Teams in Higher Education: Strategies for Success addresses these challenges head-on, offering a practical guide for improving teamwork and creating a collaborative learning environment. By providing insights, strategies, and real-world examples, this book equips students and educators alike with the tools they need to succeed. Employers increasingly value teamwork and collaboration, and do not have the resources to train recent graduates who need these essential skills. This book fills the gap between higher education and the workforce by providing a roadmap for transforming students' educational experiences. With a focus on practical strategies and real-world applications, this book effectively prepares students to excel in team-based environments. Educators will also benefit from this book, gaining valuable insights into effective team dynamics and how to nurture innovation in their classrooms.




Evaluating Global Accreditation Standards for Higher Education


Book Description

Higher education institutions must urgently overcome the difficulty of negotiating the complex web of international accreditation standards in a rapidly globalized world. Academic researchers, teachers, and administrators struggle with the intricacy of making sure their programs adhere to strict standards while still attempting to maintain their competitiveness on a global level. These organizations run the risk of stagnation and missing out on possibilities for advancement and recognition if there is no clear path forward. Evaluating Global Accreditation Standards for Higher Education, is a comprehensive guide for overcoming the modern accreditation conundrum. This invaluable resource equips academic scholars and professionals with the tools and knowledge they need to successfully navigate the accreditation process at both local and international levels. From program criteria and curriculum development to faculty professional development and alumni engagement, this book offers a roadmap to excellence. By following the expert guidance within these pages, institutions can unlock their potential, achieve accreditation, and gain the recognition they deserve.




Preparing Students From the Academic World to Career Paths: A Comprehensive Guide


Book Description

In today’s educational field, to ensure students are prepared to make the transition from education to the workforce, students must develop skills that support them in the working world. Further research on these skills is required to assist learners moving forward. Preparing Students From the Academic World to Career Paths: A Comprehensive Guide provides a comprehensive guide to preparing minority and first-generation students to transition from the academic world into their chosen career path. The book also provides post-secondary educators and student support staff with suggestions to incorporate the recognition and development of transferrable skills in curriculum and advising. Covering key topics such as career readiness, minority students, and student success, this reference work is ideal for administrators, principals, researchers, scholars, academicians, practitioners, instructors, and students.




Empowering Students and Elevating Universities With Innovation Centers


Book Description

As educational institutions strive to prepare students for an unpredictable future, traditional models of teaching and learning face obsolescence. The digital age demands a large shift in educational approaches, necessitating creative solutions to equip students with the skills required to navigate an era defined by rapid technological advancements and societal complexities. It is within this context that Empowering Students and Elevating Universities With Innovation Centers unfolds, offering a detailed exploration into the pivotal role of innovation centers in reshaping the educational narrative. The educational crisis is further exacerbated by the disconnect between academic learning and the demands of the real world. As universities grapple with bridging this gap, innovation centers provide a transformative space where students can bridge theory with practical application. This book contends that the establishment of innovation centers is not just a strategic choice but a necessary response to the evolving needs of a globalized society. Through a critical lens, it scrutinizes the contemporary challenges faced by universities and argues that the integration of innovation centers is not a luxury but a necessity for institutions to remain relevant, competitive, and responsive to the demands of the 21st century.




Connecting in the Online Classroom


Book Description

Building rapport with students can revive the promise of online education, leading to greater success for students, more fulfilling teaching experiences for faculty, and improved enrollment for universities. More students than ever before are taking online classes, yet higher education is facing an online retention crisis; students are failing and dropping out of online classes at dramatically higher rates than face-to-face classes. Grounded in academic research, original surveys, and experimental studies, Connecting in the Online Classroom demonstrates how connecting with students in online classes through even simple rapport-building efforts can significantly improve retention rates and help students succeed. Drawing on more than a dozen years of experience teaching and researching online, Rebecca Glazier provides practical, easy-to-use techniques that online instructors can implement right away to begin building rapport with their students, including • proactively reaching out through personalized check-in emails; • creating opportunities for human connection before courses even begin through a short welcome survey; • communicating faculty investment in students' success by providing individualized and meaningful assignment feedback; • hosting non-content-based discussion threads where students and faculty can get to know one other; and • responding to students' questions with positivity and encouragement (and occasionally also cute animal pictures). She also presents case studies of universities that are already using these strategies, along with specific, data-driven recommendations for administrators, making the book valuable for faculty, instructional designers, support staff, and administrators alike. The science-backed strategies that Glazier provides will enable instructors to connect with their students and help those students thrive. Speaking to the paradox of online learning, the book also explains that, although the great promise of online education is expanded access and greater equity—especially for traditionally underserved and hard-to-reach populations, like lower-income students, working parents, first-generation students, and students of color—the current gap between online and face-to-face retention means universities are falling far short of this promise.