Rich educational environments encourage students to construct their own knowledge, to solve problems collaboratively, and to heighten their interest and motivation to continue to learn. This paper presents the findings of a qualitative study that investigated the formation of collaborative problem solving through social interaction during a…

This paper discusses the role of high school chemistry teachers' beliefs in implementing computer visualization software to teach atomic and molecular structure from a quantum mechanical perspective. The informants in this study were four high school chemistry teachers with comparable academic and professional backgrounds. These teachers received…

Describes personal contributions made by the author in individualized instruction, including: Individually Prescribed Instruction (IPI), the Doctor of Arts program, and the development of educational videodiscs. Innovations in these areas are discussed: education for the handicapped, personal development education, industrial and military…

The key faculty teaching skills needed at McMaster University are those of facilitating problem-based, self-directed learning in small groups. A series of interdisciplinary workshops, offered to the school's medical faculty and to faculty from other health sciences centers to help them improve their skills, allows for direct observation, practice,…

A course at Hampshire College was designed to simulate the decision-making environment in which constituencies in a medium-sized city would respond to the closing and relocation of a major corporate plant. The project, constructed as a role simulation with a computer component, is described. (MLW)

Contends that the rising number of college students makes it imperative that teachers try to increase their own and nondisabled students' awareness of learning, physical, and emotional disabilities. Discusses course content and classroom techniques used to achieve this goal. (CFR)

Reviews the computer simulation, "Civilization," and asserts that it offers exciting possibilities as an interactive introduction to world history and historical thinking. Includes a course syllabus in which "Civilization" serves as a central feature and two writing assignments based on the simulation. (CFR)

Asserts that a common problem facing educators is finding suitable pedagogical tools that capture the realities of cities in developing countries. Presents a role-playing simulation exercise that supplements and complements the case study approach to this topic. (CFR)

Summarizes the animal rights argument that objects to the use or killing of animals for educational purposes. Reviews and evaluates alternative approaches that include the nonanimal options of videotaped experiments, self-experimentation, and computer simulations. (MDH)

Describes the experiences of one high school class as they attempted to sort out the conflicting representations of Christopher Columbus. The students examined several textbooks and other histories. They then conducted a mock trial to determine if Columbus should be considered a criminal, a hero, or both. (MJP)

Describes an undergraduate economics course experiment designed to teach the concepts of comparative advantage and opportunity costs. Students have a limited number of labor hours and can chose to produce either wheat or steel. As the project progresses, the students trade commodities in an attempt to maximize use of their labor hours. (MJP)

In this study, the authors investigated the effect of Zarco, an operations management "mock factory" experiential learning activity, on student recollection of operations management concepts. Using a number of single-factor and multiple-factor analyses of variance, the authors compared the recollection of students treated with the Zarco activity…

"simSchool" is a classroom simulation program funded by the Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Teach with Technology (PT3) program of the U.S. Department of Education. Just as a flight-simulator immerses a player in the complexities of flying a plane, "simSchool" immerses novice teachers in some of the complexities of teaching 7th-12th grade…

The term "game-based learning" has emerged as a general name for the use of computer games in education. Despite early work showing rich inferential learning taking place as a result of gameplay, most game-based learning has been geared towards using a game as a host into which curricular content can be embedded. This approach can be problematic,…

The article examines a set of active learning activities that use a simulation format in conjunction with writing assignments. Students act as interviewers and interviewees to acquire an understanding of human resource management. Objectives include developing student understanding of process (be it hiring or application) and the tools of the…