The Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications recognizes the importance of a curriculum that prepares students "to apply current tools and technologies appropriate for the communications professions in which they work, and to understand the digital world" (ACEJMC, n.d.). Infusing experiential learning into…

This paper shows the planning, the teaching activities and the evaluation of the learning and teaching process implemented in the Chemical Process Design course at the University of Cantabria, Spain. Educational methods to address the knowledge, skills and attitudes that students who complete the course are expected to acquire are proposed and…

Open education has revolutionized the educational environment. Massive open online courses have become the main showcase for open educational resources, but the competition to establish a position in this movement has led to the rapid publication of many courses of arguable quality. This paper presents and analyzes the process of creating a small…

Coming-out scenarios have been described as potentially traumatic events that change the parent-child relationship (MacDonald, 1983). Little research in the field of communication studies has been conducted on how the process of coming out unfolds within families (Valentine, Skelton, & Butler, 2003). The exercise described in this article…

In response to pedagogical challenges in higher education, blended learning has become a prevalent practice in colleges and universities. Flipped learning (FL) represents a newly emerging form of blended learning, where students individually watch online lectures prior to class and then engage in classroom learning activities interacting with…

The stars closest to Earth are not particularly remarkable or exciting. They are average stars typical of the spiral arms of our Milky Way galaxy. In fact, until recently, most astronomy and Earth science textbooks ignored all but the largest of them to focus on distant, more exotic objects like red supergiants or black holes. The recent discovery…

This article describes an authentic, social, inclusive writing activity for young children (preschool to second grade) with and without disabilities engaged in what the second and third authors called "Big Paper." In addition to detailing the activity, recommendations for maximizing the participation of all students and monitoring…

McDougall found learning about Stephen and Matilda fascinating, was sure that her pupils would also and designed an enquiry to engage them in "the anarchy" of 1139-1153 AD. Pupils enjoyed exploring "the anarchy" and learning about it enhanced their knowledge and understanding of the medieval period considerably. However,…

Recently, with the development of more powerful and accurate computational tools, the inclusion of new didactic materials in the classroom is known to have increased. However, the form in which these materials can be used to enhance the learning process is still under debate. Many different methodologies have been suggested for constructing new…

One way to engage all students and ensure that they feel valued within a classroom is to provide opportunities for learning that tap into varied intelligences. According to Howard Gardner, "It is of the utmost importance that we recognize and nurture all of the varied human intelligences, and all of the combinations of intelligences."…

The term "scaffolding" is often used loosely to describe a broad range of interventions or devices for learners and in many instances the actual nature of the scaffold is unclear. In the true sense, for "scaffolding" to take place the activity needs to be for the learner's own intentions, i.e. a task that he or she sets…

In order to understand the complex workings of the three branches of American government, young citizens need early exposure in the elementary years to hands-on lessons that include real life examples and opportunities for students to apply what they have learned. To that end, the authors designed a five-day, inquiry-based unit for fourth grade…

"I didn't know that was bullying." Brianna turns to the author, her eyes wide. "I'd never thought of it that way." The author glances around the room and asks the 23 other students, "Quick show of hands: How many of us had thought of that as bullying before?" About five students raise their hands. "How many of us…

In a remarkably brief period of time, humans have developed technology that allows space travel to become a reality. Rockets have been built, energy systems designed, and planetary forces understood. In the activities described in this article, students investigate space travel by designing their own rockets and manipulating variables to determine…

Perfect for self-help and professional learning communities, this handbook makes it much easier to apply the teaching practices from the ASCD-McREL best-seller "Classroom Instruction That Works: Research-Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement, 2nd Edition." The authors take you through the refined Instructional Planning Guide, so you…