Discipline problems, limited resources, crowded classrooms. Teachers face many issues each day that can wear down their love of education. How can they stay focused and energized day in and day out? In this book, Joseph Ciaccio shares an approach that transformed him from a burned-out veteran teacher struggling joylessly through each day to a…

This report examines the problem of a lack of motivation in secondary mathematics students. A large percentage of our students view upper level math courses as only a means to an end. They lack self motivation and are driven by either parental concerns or the desire to score well on college entrance exams. They see very little transfer from the…

Discusses barriers and benefits to active learning teaching approaches. Gives some suggestions for implementing change. Contains 16 references. (DKM)

Heroes may be proxies for an individual's value system. An accounting course attempts to make ethics more salient by having students identify a personal hero who serves as a model for ethical behavior. Active learning and critical thinking are also engaged. (SK)

Presents a weather forecasting activity in which students experience the original view and style of weather forecasting. (YDS)

Provides a comprehensive view of active learning based on the premise that learning to do a task via instruction is a cumulative process. Five lesson elements are discussed, around which trainee activities may be designed: motivation, orientation, information, application, and evaluation. (Author/JKP)

In an introductory nursing course taught using a phenomenological approach, analysis of student narratives revealed their learning patterns moved from detachment to active participation. Stories shared by nurses in practice introduced students to the world of learning and facilitated their sense of belonging. (SK)

Describes how a nursing school employs active learning in a nursing skills lab and in a physiology lab, increasing student motivation. (SK)

Presents a course designed to effectively utilize active learning techniques to accent a more traditional style of presenting scientific information. Uses research-based principles and techniques to facilitate active learning. (SAH)

Examines practice play, symbolic play, games with rules, and constructions and their relation to Piaget's active education, the intentional social process of constructing understanding involving interest, experimentation, and cooperation within the play context. Recommendations for identifying the type of knowledge being constructed (physical,…

Recent research suggests that thinking of learning as an activity of the brain will lead to greater understanding of how and why students learn and how faculty can better facilitate learning. Discusses: genetic contributions; epigenetic growth; the synapse; stabilizing synapses; pedagogy; the role of emotions; kinds of learning; active learning;…

Introduces an activity on the rock cycle. Sets 11 stages representing the transitions of an earth material in the rock cycle. Builds six-sided die for each station, and students move to the stations depending on the rolling side of the die. Evaluates students by discussing several questions in the classroom. Provides instructional information for…

Describes a card game that illustrates natural selection acting on random mutations with or without cumulative selection. (YDS)

Claims that oral communication across the curriculum (OCXC) offers unique pedagogical advantages in three areas: (1) active learning; (2) discipline-specific application of communication; and (3) continued instruction and practice throughout college for non-communication majors. Provides a guide for administrators and faculty in developing OCXC…

As the pieces by Di Chiro, Plevin, and Sze in this issue have illustrated, feminist pedagogy offers a productive framework through which to explore environmental justice issues. Environmental justice issues, in turn, offer invaluable sites for feminist praxis. The mutually enriching relationship between the two fields results from their similar…