Analyzes effectiveness of learning communities (LCs), which deliberately restructure the curriculum to build a community of learners among students and faculty. Reports that, although LCs have been praised, there continues to be a lively debate among community college educators as they examine and assess how LCs might best help them serve…

Points out the importance of socioscientific aspects of laboratory activities for the development of understanding of different cultures' contributions to science. Describes a lesson on gene splicing using the 5E Learning Model. (YDS)

Focuses on the use of economic reasoning in the social studies classroom. Presents an activity to help teachers incorporate economics into social studies. Explores how the issue of slavery can be taught by focusing on the economic importance of slavery and its impact on present-day society. (CMK)

Evaluated how teacher education promoted active learning from the perspective of Finnish student teachers, teacher educators, classroom teachers, and students. Data from surveys and interviews indicated that schools and teacher education departments were in the midst of a cultural change. While there were many indicators of active learning, there…

Describes a course designed to teach students qualitative methods and to engage them in collecting data and reflecting on the experiences of students at their college. Explains that during the semester course, students spent one month engaged in participant observation followed by one month conducting qualitative interviews. (DAJ)

Describes the results of a controlled experiment that tested the effectiveness of Lord's teaching model in: (a) helping students achieve better grades on standard midterm exams; (b) developing higher level thinking skills; and (c) modifying attitudes towards biology at a large urban university. (Author/SOE)

Describes classroom-developed science and mathematics backpacks, self-contained educational packets developed around a theme or concept and designed to be completed at home. Presents generalized contents, a sample backpack on colors, and the backpack's advantages, including promotion of active learning, family involvement, curriculum integration,…

Presents a range of exciting ideas for encouraging active learning, for illuminating new concepts, and for making science lessons fun. Topics include modeling, matter, heat, diffusion, changes of state, heat transfer, energy changes, atomic structure, waves, gravity, enzymes, and habitats. (JRH)

Notes that students with a history of failure may be hampered by feelings of incompetence and diminished expectations. States that teachers using responsive instruction become attuned to these perceptions and encourage students to regain control of the problem-solving process. Notes that to succeed, teachers must propose certain goals and…

Discusses a methods kit for interactive problem-solving exercises in engineering education as well as a methodology for intelligent evaluation of solutions. The quality of a system teaching logistics thinking can be improved using artificial intelligence. Embedding a rule-based diagnosis module that evaluates the student's knowledge actively…

Moving active learning forward calls for a focus on learners' actorship, not program activities, and requires distinguishing between active learning and active teaching. Experiential education offers an alternative to didactic approaches, not a more attractive form of it. Accepting traditional principles and procedures of…

Describes the instructional method, Client-Life Cycle GIS Project Learning, used in a course at Indiana University of Pennsylvania that enables students to learn with and about geographic information system (GIS). Discusses the course technical issues in GIS and an example project using this method. (CMK)

Presents and analyzes a detailed example of classroom dialogues such as peer instruction, and describes the format, procedures, and curricular materials required for creating the desired lecture-room environment. (Contains 94 references.) (Author/YDS)

Provides background information about Mark Boyer, the winner of the fourth Rowman and Littlefield Award for Innovative Teaching in Political Science. States that Boyer has focused on developing active learning approaches for international relations and demonstrates his leadership in the use of technology. (CMK)

Describes a congressional committee simulation used in an introductory U.S. politics course. Explains the simulation enabled students to discover how Congress operates. Discusses the outcomes of the simulation, student responses, and recommendations for using it in upper-level courses. Includes the personality descriptions for the commerce…