Background: Attentiveness during class is critical for learning. Teachers have strategies to promote active engagement and active learning, yet little control over students' baseline level of alertness and focus upon arriving to class. Objective: To evaluate the effect of pre-lecture cognitive exercise on attention and learning in lectures.…

This paper explores barriers to student in-class attention during lecture. It also tests how these barriers can be reduced for better student learning outcomes. Analyzed using quantitative and qualitative techniques, data were randomly collected from 129 university undergraduate students through a questionnaire consisting of 20 open- and…

A blended teaching mode is necessary to improve the study efficiency of nursing students. This study aimed to explore the effects of the use of case-based learning (CBL), involving microlectures and flipped classroom teaching methods (flipped CBL mode), via online tools on the teaching of physiology to nursing undergraduates. A total of 207…

An animal reproduction course is a common degree program requirement of animal science majors though variation exists as to how learning outcomes are achieved. Universities either offer laboratory experiences as a part of their lecture content or as a separate course, which may or may not be required depending on the university, and others offer…

This study explores the influence that an educational intervention has on students generating requirements for a design task. An experiment was performed in a fourth-year mechanical engineering design course by giving the participants a design problem from which they had to generate a list of requirements. A lecture on requirements was given and…

The lecture approach remains a common teaching method in chemistry education. This study aimed to investigate its impact on students' attitudes towards chemistry, focusing on overall, cognitive, affective, and behavioral dimensions. A pre-test and post-test control group design was employed. This study involved 30 first-year undergraduate…

Research shows that active-learning methods (e.g. discussion) are often superior to passive methods (e.g. lecture) with respect to learning outcomes. However, students sometimes report preferring and learning more in lecture-style classes compared to those in which they play an active role. These and related findings suggest students may lack…

The COVID-19 pandemic produced a unique opportunity to examine undergraduate students' notetaking practices for online courses. In this large survey study (n = 584), we examined how students' notetaking changed from before to during emergency online instruction and how students used their notes during this time. Our findings suggest that students…

Measurement in the social sciences involves assigning values to particular empirical cases and plays a vital role in the research process, but it can be tricky to teach. Unless an undergraduate social sciences research methods course includes the collection of original data, many of the issues of measurement can seem abstract and arcane to…

Traditional lecture-based teaching methods have been used in college classrooms for a long time despite the increasing evidence that active learning is more beneficial for student learning outcomes. One teaching method that has been linked to active learning is using flipped classroom approach where students initially receive material on their…

Academic institutions are increasingly adopting active learning methods to enhance educational outcomes. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we investigated neurobiological differences between active learning and traditional lecture-based approaches in university physics education. Undergraduate students enrolled in an introductory…

In large lecture courses, it can be challenging to imagine assessing student learning in ways other than multiple-choice exams and traditional point-based grading. Inspired by major pedagogical principles shared by Maria Montessori and Thomas Jefferson and supported by current understandings of effective teaching, assessment was reimagined in a…

A comparison of student performance in an introductory biology class that used a lecture-based approach (N = 15 classes; 462 students) with those that had a no-lecture approach (N = 9 classes; 238 students). All classes were taught by the principal researcher. In the no- lecture environment, shifts in student perceptions of science were…

Many have investigated the effectiveness of teaching methods across different disciplines. In a previous study, we found the superior effectiveness of a two-part learning sequence consisting of self-study followed by discussion in humanities education. To examine the possibility of similar findings in science education, we compared that sequence…

This short brief describes conversational interview podcasts as an alternative to traditional guest lectures in the context of an online undergraduate course that shifted from in-person to virtual course delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic. The informal format of conversational interviews counters the impersonal tone that can often pervade…