A study examining student perceptions of cooperative learning surveyed 210 college students. Results were contradictory, with positive evaluations of some specific techniques and less than positive evaluations of cooperative learning in general. Less than half perceived it to affect motivation positively. Colleges should promote a shift in student…

In matrix teaching, teachers utilize elements of cooperative learning and project-based learning, but all students are held responsible for their own final products. A hypothetical story illustrates a worst-case scenario for cooperative learning, then the story is analyzed for its difficulties. Offers strategies for avoiding ineffectual group work…

A 13-week teacher education program that incorporates Norwegian concepts of "friluftsliv" involves living outdoors and travelling to experience first-hand the land and different cultures. Understanding cultural forces that shape people, the meaning of community, and the inextricable relationship between people and nature initiates a…

This study examined the multicultural classroom practices of two novice secondary English teachers employed by the same U.S. school district that serves a diverse student population. Findings indicated a high level of consistency between the teachers' intended multicultural practices and their implemented practices. Based on classroom…

Teachers in all academic disciplines face increasing expectations to integrate technological applications into their lessons. These applications can be used to supplement face-to-face instruction or as stand-alone learning modules. Either way, technological applications can facilitate student-centered, inquiry-based instructional approaches.…

Reform efforts are often unsuccessful because they failed to understand that teachers play a key role in making educational reforms successful. This paper describes a long-term teacher professional development (PD) program aimed at educating and training teachers to teach interdisciplinary topics using case-based method in science. The research…

Student motivation is correlated with learning. Douglas McGregor's Theory X and Theory Y as a basis for understanding and improving motivation in the business world can be directly applied to the science classroom. Teachers with a Theory Y perspective (students naturally want to learn) provide increased motivation for students and promote more…

In this article, the author introduces Birka, a strategic trading game for high school economics students in either regular or advanced placement classes. For the game, students assume the role of Vikings who have returned to the medieval outpost of Birka to trade the loot from villages they have plundered. Playing cards represent the loot:…

E-learning and Internet-based distance learning are the latest revolution in higher education. The combination of reasonably priced hardware, readily available bandwidth, and the perception that traditional face-to-face education is not cost effective have driven many educators and administrators to incorporate web-based components into their…

ICT has the capability to transform the way pupils understand and learn mathematics. When used with sensitivity and careful planning, it can act as a catalyst, contributing to a stimulating classroom climate which can bring mathematics alive. This paper takes a fresh and critical look at the use of ICT in mathematics teaching in Primary schools,…

The study of theory is often a daunting and uninviting, if not terrifying, introduction to sociology courses. Most students do not see theory as helpful intellectual hardware that can facilitate understanding, interpretation and construction of social knowledge. This is true not only in theory courses, but also in many sociology courses including…

This paper presents a teaching methodology involving an independent research project component for use in undergraduate Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy laboratory courses. The proposed project introduces cooperative, active learning in a research context to comparative vertebrate anatomy. This project involves pairs or groups of three students…

Eighty blindfolded healthy female subjects participated in an active and a passive straight-ahead pointing task to study the estimation of the subjective sagittal middle in the presence or absence of an active haptic exploration. Subjects were to point straight-ahead with their left or right index finger starting from different right- or…

Achievement goals and interests are recognized as primary motivators for learning in physical education. The study examined the dynamics of the motivators as associated with organized outside-school physical activity experiences and learning outcomes. Data of achievement goals, personal interest, learning outcomes, and outside-school experiences…

This article reports on the 2004 National Academies Summer Institutes on Undergraduate Education in Biology. The second Summer Institute was held at UW-Madison on August 16-20, 2004. There were three dominant themes of the meeting: (1) active learning--ways to promote interactive student engagement during class in place of standard lectures; (2)…