Students in introductory courses generally respond favorably to novel approaches to learning. To this end, I developed and used three crossword puzzles in spring and fall 2009 semesters in Introductory Soil Science Laboratory at Colorado State University. The first hypothesis was that crossword puzzles would improve introductory soil science…

The purpose of this study is to investigate student attitudes towards and perceptions of using the Internet and information technology to mediate a design studio course and to propose guidelines and suggestions for developing Internet-mediated design studio courses. Two classes of third-year undergraduate industrial design students in two…

Research shows that introductory courses in college provide an opportunity to invoke transformative learning, enhance students' ability to take the role of the "other," and encourage an authentic learning experience (Mezirow 1997). Few studies, however, have examined transformative approaches wherein students examine heterosexist ideologies. This…

This study investigates primary school students' perceptions of interactive whiteboard technology and its influence on their learning during mathematics instruction. Using Bubble Dialogue templates, group interviews and lesson observations to gather data on student views and the classroom context, a theme-based description of student perceptions…

This article examines student responses to a technique for summarizing electronically available information based on word frequency. Students used this technique to create word clouds, using those word clouds to enhance personal and small group study. This is a qualitative study. Small focus groups were used to obtain student feedback. Feedback…

Providing students with supplementary course materials such as audio podcasts, enhanced podcasts, video podcasts and other forms of lecture-capture video files after a lecture is now a common occurrence in many post-secondary courses. We used an online questionnaire to ask students how helpful enhanced podcasts were for a variety of course…

This action research project investigated the effects of daily teacher read-alouds on first graders' ability to sustain silent reading for an extended length of time. Students' enjoyment of silent reading was also investigated. The data on ability to sustain silent reading was collected from timed silent reading experiences, and a pre and post…

Previous research on the effectiveness of clickers has found their use to be positively associated with exam scores but not without methodological issues that hinder the conclusions that can be drawn. To address these limitations, the current studies isolated the effects of clickers from the effects of questions presented with clickers. Study 1…

Testing strategies centered around open-ended assessments are generally thought to result in deeper learning compared with close-ended questioning. However, the time requirements involved in grading open-ended assessments on exams often limit the feasibility of using such assessments. This article presents an index card questioning strategy…

The ever-growing popularity of Facebook has led some educators to ponder what role social networking might have in education. The authors examined student reactions to friend requests from people outside their regular network of friends including professors, parents, and employers. We found students have the most positive reactions to friend…

Many assessment experts believe it is essential to develop faculty-driven assessment tools in order to engage faculty in meaningful assessment that can improve student learning. Tennessee Technological University (TTU) has been involved in an extended effort during the last ten years to develop, refine, and nationally disseminate an instrument to…

The use of electronic audience response systems (ARS) in undergraduate science instruction is increasing. In this article, we argue for combining such a teaching approach with a more active use of student small-group discussions, demonstrating with examples from a Norwegian physics course how "talking physics" is central to the…

Older students who struggle with reading are more motivated to participate in instructional intervention if they are interested in the program. This mixed methods study examined opinions and reactions of 41 female juvenile delinquents on a 1-hour demonstration of the START-IN (STudents Are Responding To INtervention) reading program. Following a…

This article describes an effort to explore and enhance argumentation skills of Taiwanese grade 6 students through instruction in socioscientific issues. An experienced elementary school teacher was given 8 months of personalized instruction on argumentation skills and socioscientific issues, then subsequently implemented a 17-h classroom unit on…

Many educators understand how to gauge learning by paying close attention to student talk. Few know how to interpret and attend to student silence as a form of participation. In her new book, Katherine Schultz examines the complex role student silence can play in teaching and learning. Urging teachers to listen to student silence in new ways, this…