This paper describes the findings of a survey of Higher Education teachers and students using the eLearning platform Claroline. This survey is enhanced by direct observation of the tools really used by teachers. Claroline was initially developed (in 2001-2002) to sustain and foster pedagogic innovation at the Universite Catholique de Louvain (UCL)…

The cost of health and safety (H&S) failures to the UK industry is currently estimated at up to 6.5 billion British Pounds per annum, with the construction sector suffering unacceptably high levels of work-related incidents. Better H&S education across all skill levels in the industry is seen as an integral part of any solution.…

Student success was the motivation for evolving an individual project-based course into a project-centric curriculum. A one semester project was first extended across a sequence of three interrelated courses tied together through their focus on the success of small team projects that spanned those courses. This sequence was then targeted as the…

"Informal Forum," grounded in constructivism has been developed to foster active learning and deep understanding. Learning is an interdependent process, and is most effective when students construct their own meaning of knowledge. If one believes in the value of constructivist learning, it is important to teach how we preach in higher education.…

By creating a space for fun, interaction, and trust, teachers and students together can build a learning environment that promotes engagement, deep learning, and meaning. Such a space emphasizes process, not product, personalizes learning, and contributes to whole person development. To facilitate the creation of this space, the teachers show…

Although many of us would like to get beyond lecturing, we often lack concrete strategies for doing so, particularly in our larger classes. This paper suggests one such strategy for creating a discussion-based course. The success of such a course is predicated on students reading and thinking about the course material (receiving "first exposure")…

Active learning is advocated as a better way of teaching for several decades in science education. The purpose of this study was to determine chemistry teachers' thinking and views about student-centered activities applicable in chemistry teaching and learning in the study context. A case study approach was used in this research. At the beginning,…

In this paper we discuss manipulatives and hands-on investigations for Calculus involving volume, arc length, and surface area to motivate and develop formulae which can then be verified using techniques of integration. Pre-service teachers in calculus courses using these activities experience a classroom in which active learning is encouraged and…

Even in self-organized project-based learning, the instructors' role re-mains critical, especially in the initial orientation provided to the students in order to grasp the educational goals and the various roles they may undertake to achieve them. In this paper we survey a few questions proposed to that purpose in a web-based software engineering…

In an effort to improve active learning in introductory statistics, we introduce the use of concept mapping techniques as part of the course. While previous papers have touted the use of this and other interactive teaching methods in statistics education, we add to this literature by providing additional assessment of its efficacy. This comes…

"Integrating Information & Communications Technologies Into the Classroom" examines topics critical to business, computer science, and information technology education, such as: school improvement and reform, standards-based technology education programs, data-driven decision making, and strategic technology education planning. This book also…

This book presents strategies you can integrate into everyday instruction in every subject area and across grade levels. It shows teachers how to motivate and engage students with instructional strategies that promote learning. There are 26 chapters in this book, one for each of the letter of the alphabet. The practical examples make it easy to…

The convergence of mobile technologies into student-centered learning environments requires academic institutions to design new and more effective learning, teaching, and user experience strategies. In this article we share results from an mLearning design experiment and analysis from a student survey conducted at the National College of Ireland.…

This article reports on the results of a mixed method case study investigating the relationship between professional learning community (PLC) activities and teacher improvement in a first-year middle school. Data were collected from core academic sixth, seventh, and eighth grade teachers using a professional development survey, teacher interviews,…

The current paper describes the design and development of a qualitative analysis course and an interactive web-based teaching and assessment tool called VSE (virtual structural environment). The widespread reliance on structural analysis programs requires engineers to be able to verify computer output by carrying out qualitative analyses.…