Perceived inclusiveness of the higher education (HE) learning environment plays a major role in the academic outcomes and well-being of cultural minority students. In this qualitative study, we investigated how cultural minority students and teachers perceived inclusiveness of their HE learning environment after the transition to mainly online education as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted online focus group interviews with twelve cultural minority students and with five cultural minority teachers at a large urban university in the Netherlands. Thematic analysis revealed four themes related to perceived inclusiveness in both the offline and online learning environment: inclusive curriculum, culture-related and caring teaching practices, culture representation, and available resources. Students and teachers perceived caring teaching practices to be more important in the online compared to the offline learning environment. Teachers considered access to technological resources particularly important for making online education more inclusive for students. Insights in cultural minority students’ and teachers’ perceptions of inclusive and online learning environments are discussed. Keywords: higher education, online learning environment, inclusiveness, cultural minority, qualitative research

Abstract This basic qualitative study explored the perceptions of 20 online literacy tutors within the United States on the benefits and challenges of implementing synchronous, one-on-one online tutoring for literacy intervention to kindergarten through Grade 6 students and what they feel are elements contributing to success as they engage in this instructional format. Three research questions guided this study. Data were collected via an open-ended, online, confidential Qualtrics questionnaire and analyzed using manual qualitative coding. Findings revealed five themes related to benefits, challenges, and contributors to success, including pedagogy, technology, physical distance, accessibility, and intimacy and familiarity. Keywords: intervention, literacy, online, qualitative, synchronous, tutoring

With more higher education courses being offered online, the design of the learning environment is an essential component of the educational experience. However, not all online learning environments facilitate student engagement. This paper describes the redesign of two online Initial Teacher Education courses in a regional university, using the Online Engagement Framework (OEF) for higher education. Following a design experiment approach, we audited the online course components in the previous offerings and redesigned the courses considering the five dimensions of online learning. To understand the effectiveness of the redesign, we analysed student feedback from 24 course offerings along with course analytics. We identified significant increased student engagement and student data showed they highly valued cognitive, behavioural and emotional elements within online courses. The findings suggest that the OEF could be used to guide the redesign of learning environments to forefront student engagement.

Scholars have often proposed the use of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy (CRP) as a way to improve the experience of Black learners in mathematics classrooms. Prior research shows Black learners show improvement in comprehension, engagement, motivation, and confidence as a result of CRP’s use. However, there is limited research on whether Black learners respond similarly when exposed to CRP in undergraduate remote learning environments. This qualitative teacher-researcher case study examines learners’ experiences in a remote undergraduate algebra course to explore CRP’s pedagogical design in a remote mathematics environment and its impact on three Black learners’ engagement, motivation, and confidence. Results show that as a result of the use of culturally relevant problems as part of the online course, specifically in weekly discussion boards and written reflection assignments, participants showed improved engagement, confidence, and motivation towards learning mathematics.

This study used critical discourse analysis to examine how contingent faculty teaching in online programs talk about the support they need. We interviewed 10 online contingent faculty in the United States. Our findings suggest that our participants are off the radar and not included, their contingent role is a perceived gateway and is one of convenience for both the contingent faculty and the institution, and there is an imbalance of power. Online contingent faculty need to feel more included in the communication from the program or department and need to have more pedagogical and technical support. Additionally, they need more information to help support their students and professional development for themselves.

This study investigated the strategies used by five Chinese EFL teachers in designing practices in utilization of digital tools and visuals for promoting parent-involved interactions in online language learning environments. Qualitative analysis of teacher interview transcripts, recorded videos, student artwork, and teacher–parent–student discourses on digital learning platforms and social media revealed six themes emerged regarding digital-screen-mediated design. The themes indicate that these designs such as using recorded videos to extend instructions and using assignment instructions to create collaborative meaning making environments, facilitates authentic communication and interactions among teachers, students, and parents. The mediation process extended beyond merely illustrating, sharing, or anchoring targeted visual content with parents and students; it also involved co-creation and co-construction of visuals on the screen. The emerging co-constructed learning structures aligned with five types of parent-involved interactive configurations. The findings of this study will assist EFL teachers to develop more effective instructional strategies in online or blended learning environments, particularly for young EFL learners.

Fully online courses and degree programs are popular with students. These courses should provide the rigor and value of traditional learning in a face-to-face classroom to ensure mastery of concepts and learning objectives. This research expands previous work to investigate the effectiveness of online laboratory exercises in enhancing student understanding of core concepts taught in fully online introductory astronomy, physics, and biology courses. Identical classes, with or without an online laboratory, were compared to determine gains in content mastery. A Likert-style survey was also used to quantify student perception of the laboratory component for those courses. Results indicated astronomy and physics students in online laboratory courses showed significant gains in mastery of learning outcomes whereas biology students in online courses showed more mixed results. Further, surveys indicated student perceptions strongly support the belief that the labs helped to learn the course material and labs were an effective “hands-on” experience, directly contributing to student satisfaction in all disciplines studied.

The shift to distance education during the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the potential and preference of online learners for remote assessment. Yet, concerns about academic integrity, especially with tools like ChatGPT, prompted a reevaluation of remote evaluation methods. Universities responded by returning to on-campus exams or relying on technological surveillance, with the limits of such approaches from a pedagogical and values perspective. This research offers a third path, re-imaging with the main stakeholders in higher education (teachers, students, institutional leaders, and pedagogical experts) what quality remote assessment could look like in the future. To address this, we took a collaborative speculative design approach. The two-day workshop comprising 34 education stakeholders identified four key characteristics of quality remote assessments: (1) ensuring authorship, (2) designing meaningful assessments, (3) fostering a feeling of autonomy, and (4) reducing stress by fostering a feeling of competence and giving space for failure. We show that the last three characteristics align with the first two psychological needs of Self-Determination Theory (SDT), autonomy and competence. Therefore, by designing assessments with such characteristics, teachers will support autonomous motivation and, thus, engagement, performance, and academic integrity. However, the third need of SDT, relatedness, was largely overlooked and should be considered in further work. The results also highlight the need for structure and a space for failure, which may thwart autonomous motivation. Teachers must carefully balance these seemingly contradictory requirements of remote assessment design. Finally, the collaborative nature of the research led to a change in the practice of some participants.

This study addresses critical gaps in English proficiency assessments, particularly for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students, by focusing on the foundational aspect of needs analysis in designing a platform to assist EFL students in preparation for real English proficiency tests. The existing tests, such as TOEFL and IELTS, often fail to align with the practical language skills necessary for test preparation. By conducting a needs analysis, this research aims to lay a robust foundation for the development of a gamified platform tailored to the specific linguistic demands of EFL learners. Employing a cross-sectional survey method, 120 participants from various academic levels were purposively selected from the Faculty of Letters at Universitas Negeri Malang. The findings reveal both positive and negative insights into learner preferences and goals, highlighting the importance of interactive learning experiences and practical application opportunities. The study underscores the transformative potential of gamification in language learning, emphasizing its ability to enhance learner engagement and motivation. The implications of the study extend to language educators, curriculum developers, and policymakers, advocating for the integration of learner-centred approaches and gamified elements into English proficiency courses. Recommendations include the development of tailored instructional materials and the implementation of innovative pedagogical strategies to address the diverse needs of EFL students effectively.

Studies in online STEM education have shown the benefits of instructional platforms enhancing communication and students’ engagement. Despite the relevance of these platforms as communicative tools to support online learning, this instructional technology alone has limitations to ensure an equitable learning environment for online asynchronous students. Mathematics online education has been studied for decades; however, scarce research has focused on how the complement of an instructional platform and an instructional team may promote participation and enhance students' performance. In our study, we explored this connection in the context of an online asynchronous math course across eight semesters. We studied how students' participation and performance were influenced by the introduction of an instructional team followed by the use of Microsoft Teams. Our findings showed that the combination of these technological and human resources (Microsoft Team and an instructional team) favored online students over the main campus students enrolled in the course in the different areas studied. We hope our findings inform online math teaching to improve students' learning experience and provide new research opportunities to study the reasons behind the differences found in this study. Keywords: Mathematics Education, Learning Assistants, Online Learning, undergraduate.