During the global COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, many universities shifted their focus to hosting classes and events online for their student population in order to keep them engaged. The present study investigated whether an association exists between student engagement (an individual’s engagement with class and campus) and resilience. A single-shot survey was administered to 200 participants currently enrolled as undergraduate students at Arizona State University. A multiple regression analysis and Pearson correlations were calculated. A moderate, significant correlation was found between student engagement (total score) and resilience. A significant correlation was found between cognitive engagement (student’s approach and understanding of his learning) and resilience and between valuing and resilience. Contrary to expectations, participation was not associated with resilience. Potential explanations for these results were explored and practical applications for the university were discussed.

We attempted to apply a novel approach to stock market predictions. The Logistic Regression machine learning algorithm (Joseph Berkson) was applied to analyze news article headlines as represented by a bag-of-words (tri-gram and single-gram) representation in an attempt to predict the trends of stock prices based on the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The results showed that a tri-gram bag led to a 49% trend accuracy, a 1% increase when compared to the single-gram representation’s accuracy of 48%.

As the COVID-19 pandemic globally altered the way education was accessed by students and facilitated by teachers. Educators understand the importance of students engaging in the learning experiences to promote achievement. In this paper, we address the following objectives: (1) provide a conceptualization of student engagement from the perspective of teachers, students, and families, (2) identify the factors that influence student engagement, (3) identify the distinctions and similarities between in-person and virtual learning, and (4) recommend practices to increase student engagement during virtual learning. Research plans were to collect data in Oujda, Morocco and Arizona, USA to examine educational experiences in two different contexts. In this paper, we present data from the Oujda participants. Results indicated various levels of students’ emotional, behavioral, and cognitive engagement due to factors involving technology, supervision, motivation, and teacher pedagogy. Results reflected various perspectives of teachers, students, and parents regarding student engagement, yet all the perspectives indicated that engagement and preference is higher for in-person learning than virtual learning.

This paper encompasses a reflection of my experience engaging Algebra 1 students in a math classroom. 5 main strategies were focused on: incorporating games in the classroom, asking students to create (projects, word problems, etc), using technology in the classroom, fostering student collaboration, and allowing student choice. Each strategy was implemented three times in the classroom, student feedback collected, and the level of student engagement was assessed.

The college experience is enlightening, empowering, educational, but can also be overwhelming and stressful. If one investigates the atmosphere at your standard university campus, there is no doubt that all students are exhausted in their own unique way. The various responsibilities and obligations inherent in the academic course load, student organizations, sports teams, and other extracurricular activities that a student commits to fosters this stress. A common pattern, especially among students, is the progression from stress to exhaustion to lack of motivation, or helplessness. The Mayo Clinic published an article stating: “when stress begins to accumulate from negative or challenging events in life that just keep coming, you can find yourself in a state of feeling emotionally worn out and drained” (https://www.facebook.com/MayoClinicHealthSystem, 2020). That being said, the implementation of gamification in the college experience can significantly improve intrinsic motivation within students, thus reducing the stress and exhaustion. Gamification with regards to higher education is the use of game design elements in non-game contexts in order to engage and motivate learners. The primary purpose of gamification is to make learning more fun and interesting, as well as to increase learners’ engagement, motivation, and productivity. Video games and the concept of gamification in general have shown positive signs of relieved anxiety and increased enjoyment in many different aspects of life, such as education. The overarching goal of introducing gamification into the college environment is simple: To increase satisfaction, learning, participation, engagement, and retention among the student population.