For many semesters, the author taught an introductory class titled "The Global Perspective: The World since World War II." In this article, she describes a successful approach she found for teaching first-year and non-major students to enjoy reading about the world and to appreciate a global perspective. She chose a source-based approach and she…

Although the title of the course, Combating Loneliness among Older People in Contemporary Society, states a clear goal, our service-learning class was shaped by five guiding parameters. By avoiding certain things, we allowed the course to self-organize and evolve into a learning experience beyond the one originally envisioned. This paper…

Preparing students for a complex and dynamic future is a challenge for educators. This article explores three crucial issues related to agroecological education and learning: (1) the phenomenological foundation for learning agroecology in higher education; (2) the process of students' interactions with a wide range of various learners within and…

I explore the ways in which RE teachers understand and implement a multi-faith Religious Education curriculum in Botswana junior secondary schools. The multi-faith RE curriculum came about as a result of an educational policy change in 1994. The study is based on case studies and draws its data from classroom observations, interviews and documents…

A substantial body of research emphasizes the importance of humor in teaching/learning processes; however, research on the reasons for non-use of humor in academic contexts has enjoyed scant attention. Addressing this gap, this study examines the reasons for instructors' humor avoidance taking into account student perceived benefits of using humor…

In this article, the author shares a content-based English as a Second/Foreign Language (ESL/EFL) workshop that strengthens language acquisition, increases intrinsic motivation, and bridges cultural divides. He uses a rock and roll workshop to introduce an organizational approach with a primary emphasis on cultural awareness content and a…

Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) is the first Open University in Asia and established in 1974 on the model of UKOU. AIOU uses different media for the delivery of instruction. It has a well established Institute of Educational Technology which has radio and TV production facilities and advance level of work in computer technology. AOU offers…

The purpose of the course presented here is to introduce freshmen to embedded systems using LEGO Mindstorms, under an ANSI-C programming environment. The students build their own LEGO robots, make programs for them using ANSI-C, and operate them. By creating these LEGO robots, the students become more motivated, learning the basic concepts of…

Many disciplines in the social sciences and humanities can offer profound insights into what it means to be human. History, however, encompasses the totality of human experience: economics, politics, philosophy, art, ethics, sociology, science--all of it becomes part of history eventually. Therefore, the opportunities for incorporating…

Just as the popular television show "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" targets the demolition and reconstruction of a home so that it better meets the needs of its owners, Fink's approach to integrated course design (ICD; 2003) provides higher education faculty with the tools to deconstruct and do a major remodel of their college courses. Teaching…

This paper outlines an integrative approach to teaching (qualitative) comparative methods at the introductory undergraduate level. The integrative approach does not view methodological instruction as a topic to be treated cursorily at the outset of a course, but rather one to be intertwined throughout an academic term as students simultaneously…

World history has become part of the "revolution in historical studies" since the 1960s, and a fast-growing area of college teaching in recent years. This article reports the author's research on his own world history-based course at Fisk University under the rubric of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). This SoTL research suggests…

Educators from various institutions responded to key questions concerning learning style as it was implemented in their institutions and communities. Among those items explored were the impact of learning styles on teaching practices, syllabi, and values and whether the construct improved instruction or student outcomes, how it improved students'…

This article seeks to inspire humanities and social science faculty to explore ways of utilizing existing scholarly online communities to engage students in the process of academic inquiry. The author discusses her own experience using a discipline-specific listserv, shares successful assignments, examples of student postings and a grading rubric.…

In designing an EAP (English for Academic Purposes) course it is necessary that we consider several factors: students' objectives, needs, levels and interests, course and institution's goals, and availability of resources. In this paper it is strived to elucidate the differences between EGP (English for General purposes) and ESP (English for…