The author of this article relates how she presents a lesson she termed as "Arthurian Information Quest" to her college-level children's literature class. To have an idea of how books on King Arthur affect her students, the author asks them to read one of the numerous books on the topic and asked them write their personal responses prior to…

Graduate students should be exposed to molecular-based equations of state (EOS), in addition to commonly used empirical equations. We present a project for a graduate thermodynamics course where students are asked to determine the vapor-liquid equilibria, including the critical point, of a pure substance using three different EOS: (a) cubic, (b)…

A team of secondary school language teachers and a teacher trainer developed a new method for Dutch writing instruction. The principles underlying the method were derived from insights regarding activating instruction and self-directed student learning. The development entailed two phases. In the first phase, the exploration of actual problems in…

This paper examines the attitudes of student teachers in social studies towards an educational research assignment, undertaken in an educational research methods course given at the Fatih Faculty of Education at Karadeniz Technical University, Turkey. A questionnaire containing open-ended questions and an interview were used in the data-collection…

In this study, we assessed small and large group discussions and repeated writing assignments with the intent to objectively measure the values of these learning pedagogies. We crafted a model where students researched a question, formulated a written answer, discussed it with their peers, and revised their answers. Then, we did it with repetition…

During the spring semester of 2006 the Department of Physical Education (John Jay College of Criminal Justice) and a writing fellow, an English doctoral candidate (CUNY Graduate Center), began working together, with the goal of creating a new writing assignment for an integral course at the college. PED 103, Personal Physical Fitness and Dynamic…

This qualitative study examines current community college library practices in developmental education. Based on semistructured telephone interviews with 27 librarians across the United States, analysis of the results shows that there are librarians who proactively integrate basic library skills into developmental education and academic success…

The commerce faculty at the University of Cape Town (UCT) offers a 1-year, postgraduate management diploma that is regarded as a mini-MBA. It appeals to a wide variety of mainly English-as-second language (ESL) students. In the past, core course diploma lecturers in marketing, tourism and leisure, enterprise management and sport management…

Research on persuasive writing by elementary children posits primarily a developmental perspective, claiming that elementary-age children can effectively argue through talk but not through writing. While this view is commonly held, this article presents counterevidence. Drawing on two cases of third and fourth grade children writing persuasive…

To increase the perceived relevance of pre-clinical science courses to undergraduates, a context-based assessment item was introduced to a genetics course that occurs early within a five-year veterinary science programme. The aim was to make a direct link between genetic concepts and the future clinical profession of the students. In the…

Purpose: This paper aims to show the process of designing and measuring learning competencies in program development. Design/methodology/approach: The paper includes cross-sectoral comparisons to draw on programmatic and pedagogical strategies, more commonly utilized in vocational education, and transfer the application of these strategies into…

This paper reports on the students' experiments of using blogs to encourage themselves to do pre-class reading assignment and reflections after class. The sample in the study included five ESL (English as a Second Language) graduate students in a course of teaching methods, and 90 software engineering students in an undergraduate information…

This paper describes a graduate course using biographical materials for teachers to work through their understandings of reading and writing as personal, valuable processes. The course consists of three parts; each session begins with the reading of a children's picture book that deals with reading and writing; next, the class reads the…

The authors address two informal writing assignments implemented in introductory economics classes. One assignment involves students writing short reflection papers, and the other assignment involves students writing short journal entries for a designated period of time. Both assignments are designed to help students realize that economics is…

The author began his experience with survey design in 1998 when, having been awarded a post-doctoral teaching fellowship, he was assigned to teach a variety of literature surveys, including the standard British literature survey from Chaucer to Milton, the poetry survey from Donne to the twentieth century, major British novels, early English…