This study investigates the effects of the learning/teaching environment on students' approaches to learning (i.e. combination of intention and learning strategies) and compares a lecture based to a student-activating setting within the first year of elementary teacher education. Data collection (N = 790) was carried out using a pre-test/post-test…

Traditional lectures generally force students to play a passive role in the classroom. In an effort to promote active learning, we added discussion sections to a large lecture hall course. Field trips, student journals, and group-based assignments, in particular, enhanced the learning experience. To ensure the success of the new format, course…

Many topics in chemistry are difficult for learners to understand, including symmetry. Reasons for this difficulty include its multi-level content, instructional methodologies utilized, and learner variables. This study examined the effect of initial instructional modality and prior knowledge on learning of point group symmetry. Forty-four…

The increased availability of computational modeling software has created opportunities for students to engage in scientific inquiry through constructing computer-based models of scientific phenomena. However, despite the growing trend of integrating technology into science curricula, educators need to understand what aspects of these technologies…

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")…

Although the term "blended learning" is widely used, this article argues against it. Two arguments are advanced. The first is primarily philosophical, although it has several pragmatic implications. It proposes that "blending" either relies on the idea of dichotomies which are suspect within the context of learning with technology or else becomes…

This study describes a technological pilot project providing 160 graduate students with asynchronous access to the ongoing proceedings of a lecture-based course. Exactly half of the students spoke the language of instruction, English, as a second language (ESL). While the asynchronous video-on-demand service proved popular overall, ESL students…

In this article, the author shares his experience teaching senior-level structural engineering courses at the Georgia Institute of Technology's Georgia Tech Regional Engineering Program. The program is a unique partnership of four universities--Georgia Tech, Savannah State University, Armstrong Atlantic State University, and Georgia Southern…

The primary purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of utilizing a combination of lecture and computer resources to train personnel to assume roles as hydraulic system technicians and specialists in the fluid power industry. This study compared computer simulated laboratory instruction to traditional hands-on laboratory instruction,…

For over thirty years, teaching the United States history survey course has been the focus of the author's professional life. At both the high school and college level, he has introduced students to the sweep of American history from Jamestown to Watergate. During those years, he has grappled with the conundrum of how to make this often-unwieldy…

Recent papers document that student problem-solving competence varies (often strongly) with representational format, and that there are significant differences between the effects that traditional and reform-based instructional environments have on these competences [Kohl and Finkelstein, Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res. 1, 010104 (2005); Kohl and…

To what extent do students and teachers hold similar beliefs about excellent teaching? Do differences in beliefs have practical implications (e.g., how students rate their teachers on end-of-semester evaluation forms)? In Study 1, undergraduate students (N=414) and faculty members (N=128) responded to questionnaires assessing their perceptions of…

Students of Coppin State University are using a system that merges video recordings of class lectures with a digital version of the students' own notes. The system, sold by Tegrity Inc. is unusual in its use of an electronic pen along with digital recordings, with administrators and faculty members believing that the technology would improve…

Drawing upon evaluations of a teacher-training program for Muslim participants presented by Edith Cowan University staff in Singapore, this case study provides readers with insights into program design and management. It reports on lecturer and student attitudes as revealed in evaluations of the Singapore short course. In drawing the conclusion…

Duquesne University's department of journalism and multimedia arts supports many of its classes with Mediasite Live, a video conferencing system that captures the output of presentation devices and streams it live to the Web, as well as recording presentations for Web streaming or recording to CD or DVD. Bill Gibbs and Erik Larson examine the…