In this article, the author contends that there are three types of students: (1) students who are truly self-motivated; (2) students who go through the motions; and (3) students who "tune out." It is the latter group that is the most challenging for teachers. The author believes that all students have something in their lives that is really…

Working together and exchanging ideas is inherent in interactive learning. The focus of interactive learning is on what learners believe is important to learn, the various processes learners use to learn and how learners use learning in other settings and situations. Active learning processes that promote reflection, writing, demonstrations,…

In this paper, an early component of the teacher education practicum program in the College of Education and Professional Studies at Jacksonville State University is described. This program includes an on-campus one-on-one tutorial that is facilitated through the Teaching/Learning Center (T/LC). The T/LC was established so that the JSU College of…

TACTICS (French and Spanish acronym standing for Collaborative Work and Learning in Science with Information and Communications Technologies) is an ongoing project aimed at investigating a distributed community of learning and practice in which information and communications technologies (ICT) take the role of collaborative tools to support social…

"Chronicle of Higher Education" presents an abundant source of news and information for college and university faculty members and administrators. This January 16, 2004 issue of "Chronicle for Higher Education" contains the following articles: (1) "Gymnasium, Ecology Lab, Sentinel" (Selingo, Jeffrey); (2) "Fewer…

"Chronicle of Higher Education" presents an abundant source of news and information for college and university faculty members and administrators. This March 25, 2005 issue of "Chronicle of Higher Education" includes the following articles: (1) "The Walkable Campus" (Sparling, Phillip B.); (2) "The Sitting Is…

This manuscript reports the findings from a web-based, issues-centered project created by teacher education students for high school seniors in a government class. The university students compiled web pages that formulated an issue facing the Kansas Legislature and authored questions to be evaluated by the high school government students. The…

The primary objective of this study was to determine the degree to which academic motivation predicted the executive help-seeking, instrumental help-seeking, perceived benefits of help-seeking, and avoidance of help-seeking of high school students enrolled in computer science (n = 314). Task goals were positively associated with instrumental…

The TeachScheme! Project aims to reform three aspects of introductory programming courses in secondary schools. First, we use a design method that asks students to develop programs in a stepwise fashion such that each step produces a well-specified intermediate product. Second, we use an entire series of sublanguages, not just one. Each element of…

In this paper, we investigate the question of what assessment tools are being used in practice by United States computing programs and what the faculty doing the assessment think of the tools they use. After presenting some background with regard to the design, implementation, and use of assessment, with particular attention to assessment tools,…

A novel approach to improving instruction in an introductory computing course for freshmen non-computer-science majors is to couple it with a logic course as part of a Learning Community. Research has shown that effective Learning Communities can lead to higher academic achievement, better retention rates, diminished faculty isolation, and…

Online communities are meeting places for learners on the Internet designed to facilitate interaction and collaboration among people who share common interests and needs. Most participants are drawn by an opportunity to share a sense of community with like-minded strangers, regardless of were they live. School communities can be distinguished by…

Purpose: To provide practical information on two electronic journal-related products implemented in Library and Information Services at University of Wales Swansea. Design/methodology/approach: An overview is provided of the evaluation of electronic journal management products undertaken and subsequent implementation. Findings: Serials Solutions…

In the past decade, the most important technological innovation in higher education has been the enhancement of academic courses with Web-based information and tools. Given the success and popularity of numerous Web-based innovations, the author and two colleagues wondered whether the benefits of technology use could be scaled up from the course…

This study examines the effects of using Texas Instruments' Voyage 200 calculator (V200), a graphing calculator with a built-in computer algebra system (CAS), on attitudes towards CAS and achievement in mathematics of junior college students (17 year olds). Students' attitudes towards CAS were examined using a 40-item Likert-type instrument…