In creating crossword puzzles themselves, students gain an understanding of a concept in order to create the clue for it. The instructor can make this activity either chapter- or domain-specific, for instance, to encourage reading the textbook and researching concepts. In this unique application of the self-generated crossword, students use free…

The development of a student's ability to make data-driven decisions has become a focus in higher education (Schield 1999; Stephenson and Caravello 2007). Data literacy, the ability to understand and use data to effectively inform decisions, is a fundamental component of information competence (Mandinach and Gummer 2013; Stephenson and Caravello,…

Problem posing is a higher-order, active-learning task that is important for students to develop. This article describes a series of interdisciplinary learning activities designed to help students strengthen their problem-posing skills, which requires that students become more responsible for their learning and that faculty move to a facilitator…

Recent college graduates are entering a competitive workforce that demands strong communication, teamwork, and problem-solving skills. However, many recent surveys and reports describe college graduates as deficient in these skills. For two courses at separate institutions, we each framed a course as a job, playing the role of a supervisor or…

Recommends that teachers wishing to develop the problem-solving expertise of students make concentrated and sustained efforts to develop students' knowledge base, skill base, resource base, strategy-experience base, and behavioral base. Application in a General Physics course resulted in improved problem solving performance which is partially…

The strength of collaborative learning is in involving students in intellectual problem solving. In a college-level U.S. literature course at East Stroudsburg University (Pennsylvania), traditional lecture and Socratic questioning establishes background; and collaborative learning is used to help students examine the central questions about the…

A course at the University of Georgia is described that helps students acquire problem-solving skills so that ultimately the entire remedial program would be improved, giving students with major deficiencies in basic skills a better chance to succeed in their regular university courses. (MLW)

The development and structure of 6 interdisciplinary world civilization courses by 14 faculty at San Jose State University are described. The curriculum provides a framework for investigation of common problems facing all cultures, analysis and assessment of attempted solutions, successful and unsuccessful, and evaluation of contemporary attempts…

An individualized faculty development program using a peer consultation approach is reported. The 25 faculty participants to date represent most of the institution's academic programs. Results show the consultation format to be useful and attractive to a significant portion of the faculty. (MSE)

Argues that one of the richest vehicles for enhancing students' classroom learning is the diversity of the student body itself. Integrating diversity into the classroom process also increases motivation and facilitates development of social, cognitive, and communication skills necessary for today's multicultural workforce. Classroom experiences,…