This article presents a method for teaching the theory of symbolic interactionism in a high-school course--Introduction to Sociology. The role-playing game used as a method for teaching the theory is grounded on a philosophy of education whose principles call for meaningful and relevant learning, based on experiential activity and investigation of…

Actively engaging students in lecture has been shown to increase learning gains. To create time for active learning without displacing content we used two strategies for introducing material before class in a large introductory biology course. Four to five slides from 2007/8 were removed from each of three lectures in 2009 and the information…

Many researchers have advocated the use of games (and simulations) to enhance students' learning. Research has shown that in order to promote a deeper understanding of material, students ought to be engaged with what they are doing. However, there are limited interactive games for classroom teaching, especially within the operations management…

Much has been published in recent years about the desirable nature of facilitated interactions in online discussions for educational purposes. However, little has been reported about the roles that tutors actually adopt in real-life learning contexts, how these range between "tutoring", "managing" and "facilitating",…

A journal-club-based class has been developed to promote active and cooperative learning and expose seniors in biochemistry and cellular molecular biology to recent research in the field. Besides giving oral presentations, students also write three papers: one discussing an article of their own choosing and two, discussing articles presented by…

Planning time for giving students effective feedback is an important and challenging aspect of the teaching and learning process. In our article we describe and analyze how we engage students as partners in providing formative feedback in time for students to modify their own thinking or behavior to improve learning. We have found ways to provide…

Course-integrated information literacy (IL) instruction can be enhanced via the use of student response devices, or "clickers". The first phase of this study focused on how first-year undergraduate students perceived the use of clickers as a mechanism to encourage active learning and engagement in order to establish a baseline of…

Following the return of Hong Kong to Chinese sovereignty in 1997, the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region developed wide-ranging curriculum reforms, including project learning. A recent survey has indicated that over 80% of Hong Kong primary and secondary schools have adopted project learning as a curriculum task. Such an…

This article focuses on the practical issues in implementing instructional approaches based on constructivist views of learning. The authors do not view this as a procedural guide, but rather believe that the design of these inquiry based learning (IBL) approaches must be guided by the view of learning represented in constructivist frameworks.…

Research reflects that graduates are leaving high school deficient in math, science and problem solving skills necessary for the demands of the workforce. In order to maintain a competitive position in high tech industries and attract new business, it is important to have a system where all students develop a confidence in learning math, science…

The past decade has seen a substantial increase in the enrolment figures of tertiary level colleges and universities in OECD countries and it is predicted that this increase will continue. One of the likely consequences of these increases is the maintenance and/or increase of class sizes in colleges and universities, especially at undergraduate…

Boulder Creek runs literally in the backyard of Donnelly Elementary School and happens to be on the EPA list of impaired water bodies. Therefore, a unique opportunity for problem solving opened the door to an exciting chance for students to become scientists, while also becoming active in their community. With the help of the Idaho Department of…

In the present article, I report on my experience in teaching and learning physiology in the first year of a new modular curriculum at the Faculty of Medicine of the National University of Rwanda. With self-reported questionnaires, I collected learning experience perceptions from 112 students who attended the module of physiology in 2008. The…

This paper describes the creation and evolution of an undergraduate dynamics and vibrations course for civil engineering students. Incorporating vibrations into the course allows students to see and study "real" civil engineering applications of the course content. This connection of academic principles to real life situations is in…

The purpose of this paper is to analyse an innovative teaching and learning practice in which pre-service student teachers at the CPUT used digital stories to reflect on their experiences of diversity in their classroom. Managing diverse classrooms is one of the main challenges for all teachers. Digital storytelling can help manage such…