This paper reviews the literature in three areas of change in college teaching--peer teaching or tutoring, individualized instruction, and cooperative learning. The focus of the paper is how knowledge is acquired, and acted upon, by students. The advantages and disadvantages of each type of teaching are explored, as well as the rates of successful…

A truly interactive approach in the classroom involves giving students the freedom to add their own "twist" to course materials and allowing them to decide to some degree how the information will be used. Two learning activities employed in a psychology course serve to illustrate how interactive techniques can encourage students to…

Supportive relationships between adults and young children are at the heart of the High/Scope educational approach. This guide assists viewers in using the videotape "Adult-Child Interactions: Forming Partnerships with Children" as a professional development tool. The guide describes Part I of the videotape, which introduces adult-child…

This document consists of two booklets, one for teachers and one for students. These booklets are part of the Middle Grades Program of Junior Achievement, Inc. The booklets are designed to help students understand the principal characteristics of the United States economic system and the role of business. The activities are designed to reinforce…

Project work involves content, products, and processes. Teacher educators may notice that those new to project work adopt ideas and practices related to content and products more readily than they adopt ideas and practices related to the processes embedded in good project work. To fully implement the Project Approach, teachers need to develop an…

Students designed and manufactured compact, shell-and-tube heat exchangers in a project-based learning exercise integrated with our heat transfer course. The heat exchangers were constructed from common building materials available at home improvement centers. The cost of materials for a device was less than $20. The project gave students…

Several articles in previous editions of "Teaching History" have touched on the themes of cross curricularity, Assessment for Learning and the most able. Tony McConnell and Mandy Monaghan bring these themes together in describing how the English and history departments in their school have taken advantage of a natural area of overlap to…

A red sphere is seen at the bottom of a sealed glass tube filled with a colorless, transparent liquid. Holding the tube for a short period makes the sphere rise slowly from the bottom until it finally floats on the surface of the liquid. Instructions for preparing the demonstration are given, together with an explanation of the phenomenon. A…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects self-assessment on kindergarten students learning of high frequency words. The sample consisted of 30 randomly selected kindergarten students. The students were then randomly assigned to a control group or experimental group. The experimental group used self-assessment method to learn high…

This issue brief looks at evaluations of 34 academically focused summer programs in order to distill challenges and compile promising strategies for creating quality summer programs. While many summer programs face similar implementation challenges, each program has different components and needs, and not every strategy is feasible or even…

Like a spirited idea exchange among experienced professors, "Teaching Tips: Innovations in Undergraduate Science Instruction" brings the best thinking from campuses nationwide about how to engage undergraduate science students. Published to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Society for College Science Teachers (SCST), "Tips"…

An analysis of college students' perceptions of learner-centered educational practices can help instructors to develop strategies for making a successful transformation to learner-centered education. Approximately 45 freshman and sophomore students enrolled in a college composition course or an introductory humanities course at a Midwestern…

This study uses two national data sets to explore the relationship between faculty practices and student engagement. Our findings suggest that students report higher levels of engagement and learning at institutions where faculty members use active and collaborative learning techniques, engage students in experiences, emphasize higher-order…

This study examined the relationship between a constructivist/hands-on elementary methods course in science and preservice teachers' dispositions toward science content and teaching. The study investigated how an active learning and teaching style in science methods courses would affect preservice teacher self-efficacy and attitude. Data came from…

Noting that preparing teachers to be expert practitioners is a complex task, this handbook is intended to assist teacher educators in creating a comprehensive staff development program within a school or district, or in designing a course for teachers at the preservice or advanced degree level. The handbook gives step-by-step instructions for…