Middle Tennessee State University: Journals@MTSU
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Paws and Pedagogy: Using Pet Photos in a Learning Management System to Enhance Student Engagement
Full text linkIn an era of hybrid and digital learning, maintaining consistent student engagement presents a formidable challenge, particularly in an asynchronous environment where students learn at their own pace and on their own schedule. This paper outlines a creative, low-cost teaching intervention, delivered to an introductory-level Macroeconomics subject at Charles Sturt University in 2025. We use photos of staff pets to build rapport, foster a sense of community, and motivate students to regularly log into the online learning management systems (LMS) platform and read the subject content. This approach demonstrates how integrating light-hearted, emotionally resonant stimuli – such as pet photos – can serve as a behavioral nudge to deepen academic interaction and improve student engagement
40 for 40: Celebrating Forty Years of Evans Library
Full text linkEvans Library celebrated its 40th anniversary during the 2024–2025 academic year with “40 for 40,” a campaign blending commemorative events and fundraising. Highlights included interactive digital content, cultural programs, and community engagement initiatives that showcased the library’s evolution and impact. The celebration strengthened alumni connections, energized donors, and reaffirmed the library’s role as a dynamic, collaborative space for learning and innovation.
Children Growing Up Digital: Applying Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory to Technology and Play
Full text linkThis paper investigates the impact of digital technology on childhood development through the lens of Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory and his later bioecological model. As children grow up immersed in digital environments—from smart toys to online learning platforms—their experiences of play, learning, and relationships are increasingly shaped by technology. The article examines how each layer of Bronfenbrenner’s model (microsystem to chronosystem) is influenced by digital integration, highlighting both the benefits and risks of “technologized” childhoods. While technology offers opportunities for creativity, collaboration, and inclusion, it also poses challenges to traditional play, social-emotional development, and cultural diversity. The paper advocates for a balanced approach that preserves essential elements of unstructured, sensory-rich play while embracing the educational and developmental potential of digital tools
From Access to Empowerment: School Counselors Supporting AI Literacy in Underserved K–8 Communities
Full text linkArtificial Intelligence (AI) literacy is no longer optional; it is a critical equity issue that directly aligns with the mission of the school counselors (and school counseling). As AI continues to rapidly transform K-8 education, access to AI literacy resources remains limited for underserved communities in rural areas. The lack of exposure to AI for students will juxtapose the mission and vision of the school counselors’ role in adequately preparing students for socio-emotional, academic, and career success, thereby widening existing educational gaps and inequities. This article examines a strategic plan for K-8 school counselors to promote AI literacy and career readiness among underserved student populations
INCLUSIVE CLASSROOMS IN ECONOMICS: UNDERSTANDING STUDENT ENGAGEMENT USING MENTIMETER
Full text linkIn this paper, I examine whether different types of non-game-based audience polls affect students’ in-class performance and participation. I administered two types of Mentimeter polls in small group classroom setting for two first-year undergraduate Economics courses, one timed quiz and the other an un-timed quiz. Using ordinary least squares methods, my analysis indicates that students seemed to perform 16-17% worse in timed quizzes. Interestingly, contrary to the existing literature, female students did not perform worse in these quizzes. Students were quite keen to participate in both types of quizzes with an overall average of approximately 80% completion. Finally, students’ gender does not affect their participation or performance conditional on the gender of the tutorial leaders
Wine with Friends: Creating a Signature Fundraising Event for Your Library
Full text linkThe Friends of Sims Library created a signature recurring fundraising event that over the past seventeen years has raised thousands of dollars to support Sims Memorial Library. This article will explore how the Wine with Friends event evolved over the years and outline the work of the Friends board and the faculty and staff of Sims to make it a success
A Mighty Event: Eight Lessons Learned by Bringing People Together Through Music to Support Our Mission
Full text linkOn the evening of November 7, 2025, the University Libraries at the University of Massachusetts Amherst held its annual Fall Reception, attended by an audience of 300. “An Evening with Folk New England: A Tribute to Eric von Schmidt” represented both a return to the longstanding tradition of an event held to showcase the Libraries while thanking our donors for all they make possible and an exceptionally successful and memorable version of that event. Celebrating the partnership of Folk New England and the Libraries\u27 Robert S. Cox Special Collections and University Archives Research Center, the event generated so much interest that it was ultimately moved to a larger venue, and the move impacted all aspects of the event. Although the planning team cannot count on replicating the event or its impact in the near future, the team took away many lessons from the planning and pivoting, as well as from the event itself.
Clemson Libraries’ Campaign Gift for Neurodiversity: A Strategic Model for Library Advancement
Full text linkThis article provides a detailed analysis into the strategy of aligning library-specific needs with the general campaign mission of the University, featuring a major gift from alumni Bob and Beth Shepard’78. Their gift to fund a Neurodiversity and ClemsonLIFE collection in the Special Collections and Archives and a ClemsonLIFE student assistant position in the Libraries marks not only a transformational gift to the University, but symbolizes a first of its kind contribution to the advancement of neurodiversity on a national scale. With the “Fiercely Forward” campaign and the “Clemson Elevate” model, the University aims to enhance student success and development through several avenues, including investment in student programs and solidifying a commitment to inclusivity on campus. Analyzing this specific case highlights how positioning the Libraries as a contributor to campaign-specific goals can solidify its role as an essential partner and asset to the overarching mission of the University. In addition, further examination into this strategy can provide library advancement professionals with an adaptable model to strengthen engagement within the libraries
Introduction
Full text linkThis Fall issue provides readers with insight on the implications of cell phone bans in school, the impact of children growing up in digital world, and how school counselors can support AI literacy in rural school districts. Moreover, readers will have the opportunity to explore the outcomes of an eight-grade math acceleration program that is supported MTSS and understand the numerous definitions of play. Lastly, readers will experience the benefits of connecting art and social emotional literacy in an afterschool program and the power of inclusion for middle school students of color and first-generation immigrants. The International Journal of the Whole Child continues to be committed to promoting holistic learning and the development of the whole child
Exploring the Term: “Children’s Play”
Full text linkThe word “play” is, as play expert Brian Sutton-Smith (2005) explains, “a highly complicated phenomenon and has never yet been adequately explained in any agreeable scientific terms. On the other hand, the one thing that most scholars do agree about (and then forget) is that play is primarily intrinsically motivated . . . play is fun” (p. xiii). Elkind (2003) agrees that play does not have an aim other than the child enjoying the experience. As Johnson et al. (2005) state, “When playing, children are in a special state of being in which they are not concerned about adult evaluations of them or achieving an external goal. They are in a blissful state of play in which external pressures do not matter” (p. xviii)