A unit operations laboratory course was significantly modified to be an open-ended problem-based experience with an emphasis on teamwork and communication skills. Students were surveyed to assess gains in engineering self-efficacy as well as to indicate which course structure components were most beneficial to learning. Students showed significant…

Establishing optimal challenge enhances intrinsic motivation, interest, and the probability of success in the learning activity. In K-12 problem-based learning (PBL), students may struggle to address associated tasks that are beyond their current ability levels. This paper suggested learner-centered scaffolding systems (LSS) to improve K-12…

This quantitative study examined factors underlying middle and high school teachers' choices about whether to use problem-based learning (PBL). Survey items measured respondents' perceived competence, autonomy, and relatedness, and the value and costs they placed on implementing PBL. Teachers who have taught with PBL (n = 126) had significantly…

A promising approach to increase students' motivation for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is integrated STEM education (iSTEM). This is an instructional approach that emphasizes the deeper connections between the STEM disciplines by involving students in design challenges centered around real-world problems. However, the…

This report summarizes the results from the 2018-2019 Austin Independent School District (AISD) Professional Learning (PL) Department evaluation.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to address the challenges of teaching sustainable development to computer engineering students. Part of the problem is that they perceive the topic as irrelevant for their future profession. Design/methodology/approach: To address this challenge, we introduced a project element into a course on sustainable…

The modern world requires engineering specialists with excellent hard skills as well as soft skills that contribute to better communication, creativity, and self-realisation of a person. The authors discovered that modern educational standards are starting to focus on soft skills development, proposing requirements for educational programs that…

Research has shown that a multiliteracies pedagogy creates more chance for students to meaningfully read and write to develop their critical perspective on cultural issues. This study experimented such a practice in an EFL college context applying a problem-based approach. Sophomore English majors were engaged in recursive reading and writing…

The article describes a project that employs problem-based learning (PBL) to teach the Lean Six Sigma (LSS) methodology as part of an undergraduate or graduate business course. It is scalable to a variety of course delivery and schedule formats, and uses data sets that can create distinct problem-solving scenarios for up to 16 student teams. It…

The research has shown a model of learning activities that can be used to stimulate reflective abstraction in students. Reflective abstraction as a method of constructing knowledge in the Action-Process-Object-Schema theory, and is expected to occur when students are in learning activities, will be able to encourage students to make the process of…

Facilitating students' acquisition of higherorder thinking skills is imperative in the 21st century. Although some types of text have been shown to enhance higherorder thinking, the effects of many novel forms of text have yet to be investigated. As such, the purpose of the present study was to explore the extent to which a relatively novel form…

This study presents students' feedback and learning impact on design and development of a multimedia learning in Direct Problem-Based Learning approach (mDPBL) for Computer Networks in Dian Nuswantoro University, Indonesia. This study examined the usefulness, contents and navigation of the multimedia learning as well as learning impacts towards…

We used problem-based or experiential learning in our undergraduate Health Policy course to examine food deserts via a health impact assessment (HIA) assignment. An HIA evaluates potential effects on population health before a policy/program is implemented, to improve health and reduce adverse outcomes. We investigated if the HIA assignment…

This article explores some key attributes of effective online tertiary educators. Using qualitative research methods, data were collected via semi-structured interviews which were conducted with a small sample of university academics in New Zealand and Australia, and analysed using an inductive approach and open and closed coding techniques. In…

In the last decade, a powerful tool has been given to physics teachers to visualize thermodynamic phenomena. Thermal imaging cameras are fascinating devices opening the world of (even small) temperature changes and being able to uncover hidden manifestations of many processes around us. This paper describes a few qualitative thermal imaging…