Student performance in two different introductory biochemistry curricula are compared based on standardized testing of student content knowledge, problem-solving skills, and student opinions about the courses. One curriculum was used in four traditional, lecture-based classes (n = 381 students), whereas the second curriculum was used in two…

A 2-credit service-learning biotechnology course designed as a general education elective for students of all majors and at all levels was offered as an 8-week, half-semester course. The course met for a total of 3 hours of lecture/discussion and 2 hours of service-learning workshop weekly, during which students participated in discussions about…

Lectures remain the primary method of instruction in higher education despite several limitations: Students typically lose interest during hour-long lectures, lectures lead to rote learning by some students, and lectures do not lead to development of higher-level conceptual thinking skills. As an alternative to a lecture on the topic, an active…

In a litigious society, it is of particular importance that students understand the law of sexual harassment and sexual harassment investigations. Sexual harassment litigation can create a heavy financial burden on employers. Sexual harassment investigations and litigation also cause a social impact on employers. In order to provide students with…

This article uses student feedback to explore student attitudes towards the use of lecture breaks. The survey illustrates that undergraduates genuinely value such breaks, finding them educationally useful and enhancing their enjoyment of the lecture experience. By comparing and contrasting the perceived value of different types of lecture breaks,…

Four experiments examined the utility of real-time text in supporting deaf students' learning from lectures in postsecondary (Experiments 1 and 2) and secondary classrooms (Experiments 3 and 4). Experiment 1 compared the effects on learning of sign language interpreting, real-time text (C-Print), and both. Real-time text alone led to significantly…

The purpose of this study was to identify and compare the teaching concerns of two groups of preservice teachers who were taught language arts methodology through the use of different approaches. A traditional approach (lectures and demonstrations by the professor) was used with one group (n=43) and a field-experience approach (lectures by the…

This study was conducted to explore the relationship between teaching methods and students' grades at the college level. Subjects, 58 undergraduate students enrolled in 2 introductory education courses, were organized into groups and exposed to one of two teaching methods: the lecture format and reciprocal teaching. Reciprocal teaching engages…

This paper reports on the use of a semistructured but open-ended format to gather students' perceptions about the activities and behaviors they experience in different tertiary learning environments and the reasons why they feel the way they do. Tertiary students were asked to write about events they liked, did not like, felt helped their…

This study was designed to demonstrate whether students attain a higher level of learning when they are required to synthesize information through a process of inquiry and believe they will be evaluated with essay questions. The control section of an introductory educational psychology class was taught about accommodating student differences,…

These two documents present (1) a user's guide to the Personal Teaching Improvement Guides Program developed at the University of California, Berkeley and (2) a sample guide. The program uses results of student evaluations (keyed to 24 teaching practices) and descriptions of successful teaching practices to individualize instructional improvement…

Prompted by the lack of research on learning in large college classes in terms of the cognitive processes and strategies students use, an experimental, preliminary study implemented generative activities in an undergraduate educational psychology class of approximately 70 students. The activities involved such things as stopping in the middle of a…

The six editions of the newsletter provide a forum for the sharing of research findings and instructional strategies by faculty of Western Michigan University. Topics addressed include: active learning; lecture variations; lecture techniques; grading student participation; leading discussions; overcoming silence; discussion challenges; course…

The use of of the Automatic Interaction Detector (program AID3 of the OSIRIS statistical package) to study a university program is discussed. The performance of students who took general physics lecture and laboratory concurrently is compared to the performance of those who took them separately. Five years of data are analyzed, covering 1,997…

High school social studies students (n=160) were each assigned to 1 of 8 groups defined by possible combinations of 2 teacher uncertainty conditions (uncertainty vs. no uncertainty), 2 teacher "bluffing" conditions (bluffing vs. no bluffing), and 2 lecture notes conditions (students receive lecture notes handout vs. students do not…