While multisensory environments (or sensory rooms) are gaining traction in the learning environments, few studies have assessed the comparative effectiveness of specific elements and the link to individuals' unique sensory needs. This study describes the creation and evaluation of a sensory well‐being hub for diverse learners with developmental disabilities and distinct sensory profiles in a Chicago public high school. The sensory well‐being hub is a simple and adaptable freestanding structure with various sensory affordances, supporting a wide range of atypical sensory processing in neurodiverse individuals. Data were collected during one academic year using surveys, focus groups, field observations, sensor data, log‐in sheets, and student records. Results show that the hub was used for both scheduled (preventive) visits and unscheduled (spontaneously needed) ones. The most visited elements in the hub were a beanbag with weighted blanket, sensory cocoon with tensile fabric and a media wall, and a fidget wall with various components. The sensory affordances most often sought by users were compression, quietness, tactility, and proprioception. Students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) differed from those without ASD in the ways they used sensory intervention even though the two groups were equivalent in sensory profiles (in thresholds for registration and active‐to‐passive response to stimuli). Based on the study findings, design suggestions were included to inform sensory hub design in other learning environments.
The current study examined relationships among online quiz parameters and students' classroom exam scores. The authors analyzed data from undergraduate courses across four semesters. The results revealed that regardless of the different parameters set for the online quizzes, the number of attempts that students made on quizzes was unrelated to their classroom exam scores, yet the amount of time they spent on quizzes was correlated negatively with their classroom exam scores. The results also revealed that students' scores on the online quizzes predicted their classroom exam scores, above and beyond the number of attempts, length of time allowed on quizzes, as well as their SAT Reading and SAT Math scores. The implications of these results are discussed subsequently. Future researchers may wish to provide empirical evidence on how not counting all of students' online quiz scores toward their final grade may influence students' quiz performance, given the anxiety that time limits can foster.
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