We develop a dynamic economic model based on contemporary understanding of learning and motivation. The model and resulting comparative static analysis show the instructor's role in providing a productive learning environment. Instructors should set the complexity of course assignments and assessments to be consistent with student preparedness. Learning is enhanced when the rate of change in challenge is based on the rate of change of how rapidly students are learning. Instructors steer students toward a productive trajectory with tasks that cause students to work hard and by consistently providing feedback and fostering a culture of learning.

This research evaluates the use of online examinations in college courses from both instructor and student perspectives. Instructional software was developed at Kansas State University to administer online homework assignments and examinations. Survey data were collected from two classes to measure and evaluate the level of student preferences for online examinations. The statistical determinants of student preferences for online testing were identified and quantified using logistic regression analysis. Strategies for the effective use of online examinations are summarized for potential adopters of online examinations.

Feedback to students is an important feature of assessment in higher education. Constructive and timely feedback guides students to improve on a continuous basis in the process of their tertiary education. This paper outlines an exploratory study based on survey research, which was conducted on a large sample of undergraduate students on management courses in a New Zealand university. Following a review of the relevant literature a conceptual model was developed using systems thinking principles. A questionnaire was designed consisting of 20 closed Likert questions and two open questions designed to explore students’ perceptions of the feedback given to them on their formative assessments. Quantitative and qualitative analyses were undertaken of the data collected from over 600 valid responses. The quantitative analysis consisted of descriptive statistics, an exploratory factor analysis and Pearson's correlation analysis. The four main factors to emerge were: improvement of work quality, improvement of results, need for feedback and quality of feedback. The qualitative analysis was based on these themes. The results of these analyses are discussed in this paper. This paper attempts to contribute to the ongoing discussion regarding the better understanding of the complex relationships between feedback and student learning in tertiary level management education.

This paper seeks to provide a perspective on environmental education in Aotearoa New Zealand. To contextualise this perspective, it illustrates how environmental, socio-cultural and political imperatives have shaped the development of environmental education in this land. These imperatives illuminate the natural history of the country, the connectedness within the worldviews of the indigenous Māori people, the pioneering views of some enlightened European settlers, and tensions between development and conservation. We connect this context with an overview of research in Aotearoa New Zealand into one aspect of environmental education – student learning in schools. Examples from recent research in this area are provided to show how these approaches are contributing to the Aotearoa New Zealand-ness of environmental education.

This paper demonstrates the development of a simple model of carbon flow during plant growth. The model was developed by six undergraduate students and their instructor as a project in a plant ecophysiology course. The paper describes the structure of the model including the equations that were used to implement it in Excel®, the plant growth experiments that were conducted to obtain information for parameterizing and testing the model, model performance, student responses to the modeling project, and potential uses of the model by other students.

Today's learners live in a digital age and there is much anecdotal evidence to suggest that students in the 21st century would prefer the electronic delivery of learning materials and lecture content using a range of tools that enable them to access information anywhere anytime (see, e.g., Oblinger & Oblinger, 2005). This study is an evaluation of tourism marketing students' expectations and experiences of lecture podcasting. The aim of the study was to quantify students' expectations of podcasting, and compare and contrast this with their actual usage of the new learning technology. The study was designed specifically to answer two questions: is podcasting just a fad or does it enhance student learning, and will it be widely embraced by both domestic and international undergraduate students?