Few empirical studies have demonstrated the positive consequences of integrating design thinking with project-based learning (PBL) for generating meaningful community impact. Our study fills this void by incorporating a new pedagogical approach--design thinking--into project-based learning (PBL) as an innovative way of structuring class…

Learning how to engage students in educationally purposeful activities has been a challenge for instructors in higher education. It is often hard to push through institutionalized pedagogical boundaries rooted in traditional "teach-at-you" approaches to learning. The demands of a more diverse student body and more effective measures of…

This research brief highlights the findings of a study looking at the impact of a project-based approach to science instruction in middle school. Stanford University experts and middle school teachers developed the project-based program, Learning Through Performance (LTP). Researchers found that the approach boosted student achievement in science…

When a global pandemic hits during a longitudinal study of biology student success, researchers can unearth rich information about student resilience. By sharing case studies from two demographically different midsized 4-year institutions, this article illustrates the aspects of student self-efficacy beliefs that were undercut by the shift to…

There has been much discussion over which environment most effectively provides optimum support and motivates student learning. It was discovered through the review of research literature that traditional face-to-face, a combination of face-to-face and online (blended), and solely online learning each provides a learning environment that appeals…

Use of inquiry-based research modules in the classroom has soared over recent years, largely in response to national calls for teaching that provides experience with scientific processes and methodologies. To increase the visibility of in-class studies among interested researchers and to strengthen their impact on student learning, we have…

"Foundations for Critical Thinking" explores the landscape of critical-thinking skill development and pedagogy through foundational chapters and institutional case studies involving a range of students in diverse settings. By establishing a link between active learning and improved critical thinking, this resource encourages all higher…

This article describes a new hands-on, or "kinesthetic," activity for use in a physiology lecture hall to help students comprehend an important concept in cardiopulmonary physiology known as oxygen carrying capacity. One impetus for designing this activity was to address the needs of students who have a preference for kinesthetic…

Actively engaging students in lecture has been shown to increase learning gains. To create time for active learning without displacing content we used two strategies for introducing material before class in a large introductory biology course. Four to five slides from 2007/8 were removed from each of three lectures in 2009 and the information…

The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) documents dimensions of quality in undergraduate education and provides information and assistance to colleges, universities, and other organizations to improve student learning. Its primary activity is annually surveying college students to assess the extent to which they engage in educational…

This book contains a compilation of papers presented at the International Conference on Education and New Developments (END 2017), organized by the World Institute for Advanced Research and Science (W.I.A.R.S.). Education, in our contemporary world, is a right since we are born. Every experience has a formative effect on the constitution of the…

The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) documents dimensions of quality in undergraduate education and provides information and assistance to colleges, universities, and other organizations to improve student learning. Its primary activity is annually surveying college students to assess the extent to which they engage in educational…

The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) documents dimensions of quality in undergraduate education and provides information and assistance to colleges, universities, and other organizations to improve student learning. Its primary activity is annually surveying college students to assess the extent to which they engage in educational…