A goal of higher education is to advance learning. This study examined the role “comfortability” plays in that process. Defined as the level of comfort students experience with their classmates, instructor, and course material, comfortability addresses how secure a student feels in the classroom. Comfortability was assessed multiple times during one semester with undergraduate students and found student comfortability significantly increased across the course of the semester and significantly predicted affective learning. These findings suggest the importance of the classroom environment in the learning process and support the need for faculty to consider “non-academic” factors in addition to course content.

This study describes a university capstone course designed to increase student critical thinking skills and preparation for the workforce. Principles of action research and qualitative methods were used to focus on how pedagogical choices of the instructor would influence student learning in these areas. Through extensive use of case studies, direct instruction in questioning techniques (e.g. pre-quizzes and thinking routines), and introduction to the concept of mindfulness, students were encouraged to transition from the role of student to the role of professional. Findings revealed that the capstone experience enhanced students' demonstrated critical thinking skills and contributed to their willingness to cultivate a professional perspective. Although undertaken in a human service field, the results can inform pedagogical choices made in any content's capstone.

Like most professions in the 21st century, human service fields are rapidly evolving. Increasing diversity of populations and needs, along with advancements in technology, are altering the daily work of professionals in these fields. The one constant for success, however, is the ability to make sound judgments that best meet the needs of individuals. Judgment requires critical thinking skills, including evaluation of data, recognition of various viewpoints, and mindful formulation of solutions. Traditional higher education practices have not overtly addressed these skills. This article will give examples of instances in which critical thinking is directly taught in counseling, medicine, and education preparation programs. The authors argue that these critical thinking skills are non-negotiable requirements for human service professions to meet the needs of today’s society.

This article documents the initial attempts to establish reliability and validity coefficients for the Comfortability in Learning Scale (CLS). To meet the needs of institutions of Higher Education that students achieve and demonstrate specific educational outcomes, it is conceived that the students must be actively involved in their learning and with the faculty. To achieve this, the authors believe that an environment where students, even those with differing viewpoints, feel supported and comfortable is a critical component. To understand this dimension, the authors have developed an instrument to measure CLS and analyzed the data acquired.

The current paper qualitatively examines how students thought about and completed coursework. In total, 53 undergraduate and graduate students participated in a twosemester study. The findings suggest students employ learning strategies, both cognitive and affective, which provide support to complete coursework. Time management skills and seeking an increasing comfort with content are the most cited cognitive and affective learning strategies. Students are keenly aware that grading could help and hinder learning and believed assignments are the best indicator of understanding but also may not be a valid performance measure. Practical applications to increase student involvement in teaching and learning are provided.

Basic coaching principles such as practicing skills daily, providing feedback, and collaborating are valuable to athlete development. This article will investigate these principles and the scholarship of teaching and learning as a method to examine rehabilitation counseling education. The article concludes with andragogical examples and questions for educators to investigate when planning their teaching.

It is safe to say that most educators would like to be scholarly teachers. Staying current professionally, updating course material, and examining student understanding are all examples of scholarly teaching. However, scholarly teaching is not synonymous to the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL). Huber and Hutchings (2005) define SoTL as an emerging construct with its foundation in pedagogy, assessment, and in classroom and action research. SoTL involves critically questioning practice, collecting and analyzing appropriate data, implementing action(s) based on data analysis, and disseminating results (Huber & Hutchings, 2005). The transformation from scholarly teaching to scholarship of teaching and learning requires a deliberately constructed research context, a lens to view and apply content and pedagogical knowledge in a learning environment focused on student understanding. Inherent in developing research are the integration of past research from multiple disciplines and the dissemination of findings (Kelley, 2008). A unique aspect of SoTL research is the ease with which this integration can happen because of the diversity of sources at the SoTL researcher's fingertips. Arguably, most SoTL research can integrate content from SoTL, education, assessment, classroom research, and the content domain of the researcher. Because of their similarities, research from the fields of SoTL, instructional communication, motivation, and counselor education can be effectively integrated to gain a deeper understanding of the intricate interaction among students, teachers, course material, and the learning environment. SoTL, communication, and counselor education research all deal, at least in part, with interactions between two or more individuals. Moreover, motivation theory is linked to these disciplines as it seeks to describe how motivation influences communicating, learning, and changing. Therefore, utilizing research from multiple disciplines to examine SoTL research questions can provide a rich context to view phenomenon under investigation and can yield outcomes potentially beneficial to multiple disciplines. In counselor education, Sexton (1998) and Guiffrida (2005) have called

This paper examines applications of action research to rehabilitation education. An overview of action research is provided, and specific examples of action research in rehabilitation and other professions are illustrated. Emphasis is placed on utilizing action research to evaluate teaching and student learning and develop scientist practitioners who engage in active self-reflection about their practices.

The purpose of this article is to present action research as a means for rehabilitation counselors to evaluate and improve their practice. The authors define action research, provide examples of potential applications that can benefit all rehabilitation counselors, and describe characteristics of the action research process. Readers will recognize the value that action research has as a mechanism for addressing effective practice, collaborating with stakeholders, and actively involving consumers in their rehabilitation plans.

Under the principles of the scholarship of teaching and learning and action research this study sought to examine how an instructor created and facilitated engagement in his students. The research was primarily undertaken to further define the middle range theory of mutual engagement. Theoretical sampling was used to analyze approximately 100 pieces of data that included instructor notes, teaching observations, feedback from conference presentations, student assessments, and end of semester student evaluations. Engaging conversationally (EC) emerged as the phenomenon that described the instructor’s engagement in the learning process. EC was an ongoing cyclical pattern of inquiry that included preparing, reflecting and modeling. Interconnected in the pattern of inquiry were personality traits, counselor education, and teaching philosophy.

Counseling Association by Dr. Garry R. Walz and Dr. Jeanne C. Bleuer of Counseling Outfitters, LLC. Its purpose is to provide a means of capturing the ideas, information and experiences generated by the annual ACA Conference and selected ACA Division Conferences. Papers on a program or practice that has been validated through research or experience may also be submitted. This digital collection of peer-reviewed articles is authored by counselors, for counselors. VISTAS Online contains the full text of over 500 proprietary counseling articles published from 2004 to present.

This article describes a university course, Methods of Inquiry, that teaches strategies and techniques for students to become self-regulated learners and thereby enhance their active and dynamic approach to school. The purpose of this study was to examine if this course was successful in increasing the students' learning strategies. Pre- and post-tests were administered to 680 students over four semesters, and results verify that the course did significantly increase the students' learning strategies. Demographic variables were shown not to have a significant impact on student learning strategies. This article concludes with a discussion of the transferability of this skill and the benefits it has to high education retention rates.

Counseling Association by Dr. Garry R. Walz and Dr. Jeanne C. Bleuer of Counseling Outfitters, LLC. Its purpose is to provide a means of capturing the ideas, information and experiences generated by the annual ACA Conference and selected ACA Division Conferences. Papers on a program or practice that has been validated through research or experience may also be submitted. This digital collection of peer-reviewed articles is authored by counselors, for counselors. VISTAS Online contains the full text of over 500 proprietary counseling articles published from 2004 to present.