The SQL-Explore Learning Module detailed in this teaching tip provides an opportunity for students to apply database course knowledge beyond solving traditional pre-determined Structured Query Language (SQL) coding questions. In this unique constructivist activity using the apropos 5E Instructional Model, students explore tables to locate data…

Many students possess their own unique potential and "genius," but seem to base their worth on the status of grades instead of their connection to education itself. Antonio Salieri, for instance, created wonderful, emotionally binding music throughout his lifetime. Salieri however, never saw the beauty in his work because Mozart, a child…

In today's society, education institutions must strive to develop graduates that are capable of facing the challenges they seek, and who are adaptable to the changes they will encounter post-graduation. Inherently, both institutions and educators must contain and exhibit these same attributes. Developing learners with high-level capabilities…

The purpose of this article is to describe a hybrid model designed to assist in developing students as their own best individual and peer coaches. As students interact with the content through a hands-on approach, they are able to develop higher-order thinking skills by analyzing and evaluating skill performance using a games-centered approach.…

This paper presents a participatory action research project in which teacher-researchers, student-researchers and student-subjects collaborated on a research project in a working-group format to investigate constructs related to the translator's psychological 'self'. The pedagogical approach adopted for managing the working group, based on social…

This article provides information on a team-building activity in which student teams make salsa. I usually use this exercise on the day that I form teams to provide an opportunity for teams to work on something that is not graded prior to completing the graded team assignment. The activity is built on several theories, such as social learning,…

In this article, Wieland and Bauer discuss a teaching activity that helps students understand how meanings of work (MOW) are socially constructed through commonplace texts: children's books. The activity helps students consider how children's books shape future workers' understandings of what work is, what kinds of work are most…

Although expectations for graduate students' writing abilities are high, their actual writing skills are often subpar (Cuthbert & Spark, 2008; Singleton-Jackson, Lumsden, & Newson, 2009), even though academic writing is considered integral to graduate education and necessary for career preparedness (e.g., Mullen, 2006; Stevens, 2005).…

Majority of learners in our classrooms are digital natives or Millennials--a category of learners who tend toward independence and autonomy in their learning styles. The primary challenges then facing instructors include: How do digital natives learn and how do you teach them? The answers to these questions will help instructors to: (a) identify…

Guided by the principles of the Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation (ADDIE) instructional design (ID) model, this creative instructional product presents a learning/teaching approach that is fundamentally constructivist. For the purposes of designing effective instruction in an academic preparation course, a…

During the 1998-99 academic year, five teacher education institutions participated in the first year of a study to determine the impact of teacher preparation programs on beginning teachers. This collaboration, known as the Teacher Research Network (TRN), met several times during the academic year and the following summer to investigate recent…

Principals can better learn to support an instructional reform when classes for professional development use the new instructional method, giving them a first hand understanding of its effectiveness. Constructivist teaching is supported by the National Research Council's "How People Learn" and the Students at the Center initiative.…

This paper examines the decisions, benefits, and difficulties in teaching educational psychology through a constructivist case study approach. Recent interest in and inquiry into constructivism, pedagogical content knowledge, and case study methodology are influencing the content and goals of educational psychology in teacher preparation. The…

Describes a professional development program using interactive multimedia workshops to develop teachers' understanding of a constructivist epistemology in science education. Discusses teachers' perceptions; how they changed their classroom practices; software and database development; and the development of a new survey to assess reactions to…