Mercer University School of Medicine utilizes a problem-based learning (PBL) curriculum for educating medical students in the basic clinical sciences. In 2014, an adjustment was piloted that enabled PBL cases to align with their corresponding cadaver dissection that reviewed the content of anatomy contained in the PBL cases. Faculty had the option…

For three weeks each June, the authors' PDS hosts a summer program called the Academy for Future Teachers (AFT), serving high school students interested in a teaching career. Partners across the PDS convene to support high-school AFT participants, including master teachers (P-12 teachers from local school districts and university faculty) and PDS…

This paper draws connections between scholarship on problem-based learning (PBL) and Students as Partners to frame a case study from a graduate seminar in Public Rhetorics for Social Change. Students partnered with each other and the instructor to decide on a public project, approaching the partnership as a pedagogical problem to explore, discuss,…

We present results of a case study in which we analyzed the impact of problem-based learning (PBL) and cognitive scaffolding techniques introduced in our secondary social studies methods course on the perceptions and practices of 12 preservice teachers (PSTs) during their fall practicum and spring student teaching. Our PSTs reported teaching 54…

I describe the first stages of a process of design research in which I employ problem-based learning in a course in engineering ethics, which fulfills a requirement for students in engineering degree programs. The aim of the course is to foster development of particular cognitive skills contributing to moral imagination, a capacity to notice,…

This paper describes the problem-solving studio (PSS) learning environment. PSS was designed to teach students how to solve difficult analytical engineering problems without resorting to rote memorization of algorithms, while at the same time developing their deep conceptual understanding of the course topics. There are several key features of…

In our science for non-science majors course "21st Century Physics," we investigate modern "Hubble plots" (plots of velocity versus distance for deep space objects) in order to discuss the Big Bang, dark matter, and dark energy. There are two potential challenges that our students face when encountering these topics for the…

This paper presents an introductory signal processing laboratory and examines this laboratory exercise in the context of problem-based learning (PBL). Centered in a real-world application, a cochlear implant, the exercise challenged students to demonstrate a working software-based signal processor. Partnering in groups of two or three, second-year…

This article presents an instructional model for teaching a gateway history course that affects students by: 1) improving their ability to think at higher levels; 2) increasing engagement; and 3) enhancing their perception of the relevancy of the course material in comparison to traditional lecture and discussion. The model includes problem-based…

This second report of an ongoing evaluation of "The Wallace Foundation's Principal Pipeline Initiative" describes the six participating school districts' activities in school leader preparation and support and analyzes their progress over two years. The evaluation, conducted by "Policy Studies Associates" and the "RAND…

Engineering has long been recognized as a key to the U.S. economy. Yet for more than 20 years, colleges of engineering have been warned that they are failing to keep their curricula and teaching methods relevant, threatening the profession and, by extension, the nation's economic prosperity. After a close-up look at 40 American engineering…

Finding an effective teaching methodology for leadership educators is daunting. In this experimental study undergraduate leadership students' retention of knowledge was tested after receiving leadership instruction via lecture, experiential learning, and public pedagogy. Results show lecture is an inferior method of teaching leadership while…