In this article, we present a revised version of the active learning classroom observation tool (ALCOT), designed in 2015, to support instructor reflection on instructional approaches applied within active learning classrooms. The design of active learning classrooms and teaching approaches within them have changed significantly since the initial…

Middle school students learned about their community when they created documentaries as part of a state bicentennial celebration. Students gathered multiple primary and secondary resources and worked with community members to interview them for their perspectives through video presentations as part of the inquiry process. Students work with local…

We describe four design principles that guide the Mosaic Fellows Program at Indiana University, a program focused on supporting faculty pedagogy in active learning spaces. The design principles focus on exploring a variety of classrooms with faculty Fellows, engaging Fellows' individual goals, creating shared learning experiences, and encouraging…

We can see why educators are drawn to making; maker environments hold tremendous potential for engaging learners in both (a) building and representing their knowledge and (b) fostering opportunities for seeing the world in new ways. This potential reflects what our team of middle school teachers, university professors, and graduate students…

A laboratory sequence is described that is suitable for upper-level biochemistry or molecular biology laboratories that combines project-based and traditional laboratory experiments. In the project-based sequence, the individual laboratory experiments are thematically linked and aim to show how a bacterial antibiotic sensing noncoding RNA (the…

The Purdue Polytechnic Institute was created two years ago from the former College of Technology. This was more than a name change; it represented a transformation which will have an impact not only the curriculum, but on learning, and teaching methods. Students need technical skills but they must also be able to collaborate, be problem solvers,…

As one of the national leaders in innovative public education strategies focused on future talent development, Indiana is positioned to create a sustainable, collaborative strategy for K-12 Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) instruction, curriculum, and career exploration and exposure. To provide a comprehensive, coordinated,…

Teacher practices created experiences for students to guide their inquiry by creating opportunities to gather data through field notes. Students examined their county and gathered data from the field on a daylong investigation of their county. Students generated questions and considered their observations at multiple stops. Students learned to…

This design case covers a graduate course in educational software design that focuses on semester-long projects in response to client requests. The course was intended to address the need for professionals across disciplines, such as instructional design, computer science, and human-computer interaction design, to usefully collaborate on…

U.S. colleges and universities are facing the challenges of eroding public confidence and financial support, along with high failure rates, especially at a time when increasing numbers of students are matriculating. The demographic profile of students going to college is also more diverse, with students coming from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.…

This article describes four different mechanisms for preparing teacher candidates from a liberal arts institution to teach in project based learning (PBL) classrooms: Observe it, Experience it, Create it, and Become it. For each of the four mechanisms, the authors also provide concrete examples of candidates' PBL experiences and candidates'…

Students used a compass trail to show how they could perform service to their school. When students performed service learning, they completed a real task that was needed for a grateful audience conjoined with academic content in the lesson. Students worked on the school grounds and used content from their regular curriculum while looking for…

Learning is most effective when accompanied by doing. If someone desires to become a baseball player, being told how to play the game, watching others play and even understanding the rules of the game are mostly ineffective if the individual never "swings the bat". This paper outlines the implementation of this method (swinging the bat)…

This paper describes a newly designed upper-level undergraduate and graduate course, Autonomous Mobile Robots. The course employs active, cooperative, problem-based learning and is grounded in the fundamental computational problems in mobile robotics defined by Dudek and Jenkin. Students receive a broad survey of robotics through lectures, weekly…

Superintendents and principals can have a positive and decisive impact on student achievement and higher graduation rates. Their essential leadership can illuminate the path to excellence for faculty and students. In upgrading curriculum and instruction, school leaders need to keep abreast of practices proven effective in other districts and…