We have undertaken a multi-semester study of student ideas in an undergraduate general education astronomy integrated lecture and lab course with a focus on active learning at an urban, minority serving institution. We collected individual interviews ("N" = 15) and course artifacts ("N" approximately 60), such as pre-course…

Undergraduate biology lab courses have long been criticized for engaging students in "cookbook" experiences in which students follow a given protocol to collect data that help answer a predetermined question. Recent reform documents in biology education have suggested that students should engage in lab courses that provide more authentic…

Field practicum is an active learning process. This study explores the different learning stages or processes students experience during their field practicum. First-year master's of social work students in field practica were asked how much they had engaged in educational learning activities such as observation, working independently, process…

This case study briefly describes the journey that one professor took in transitioning from face-to-face course instruction to a blended model at the graduate level. The blended lesson format was based on the 14 Learner-Centered Psychological Principles developed (1993) and revised by the American Psychological Association Work Group of the Board…

This paper presents the results of an ongoing study which has been carried out with a group of German Foreign Language students at the University of Cadiz since 2012. The purpose of the study was to analyze the impact of videogame-like applications on foreign language learning and their motivational potential to increase learning beyond the…

This study utilized an explanatory mixed-methods research design to investigate the effect of learning environment on student mathematics achievement, and mathematics self-efficacy, and student learning style in a ninth grade Algebra I classroom. The study also explored the lived experiences of the teachers and students in the three different…

Each edition of the IDRA Newsletter strives to provide many different perspectives on the issues in education topics discussed and to define its significance in the state and national dialogue. This issue focuses on Student Leadership and Engagement and includes: (1) Project Based Learning for Student Success--Teaching Across Content Areas for…

Teaching office applications such as word processing, spreadsheet and presentation skills has been widely debated regarding its necessity, extent and delivery method. Training and Assessment applications such as MyITLab, SAM, etc. are popular tools for training students and are particularly useful in measuring Assurance of Learning (AOL)…

This article presents an account of biodiversity education in a national teacher education project in Jamaica. Four case studies are examined here. Document analyses and interviews of educators and student teachers are used to explore how biodiversity was addressed in teacher education curricula, the processes and outcomes of learning in education…

This mixed methods study was designed to compare the effect of using an inquiry teaching methodology and a more traditional teaching methodology on the learning gains of students who were taught a five-week conceptual change unit on density. Seventh graders (N = 479) were assigned to five teachers who taught the same unit on density using either a…

This report describes a program for improving retention of essential concepts exhibited by junior high and high school students. The purpose of the study was to increase cognitive retention in order to increase student success. The target sample consisted of junior high students in the seventh grade and high school students in grades nine through…

"Technology Enhanced Elementary and Middle School Science" ("TEEMSS") is a physical science curriculum for grades 3-8 that utilizes computers, sensors, and interactive models to support investigations of real-world phenomena. Through 15 inquiry-based instructional units, students interact with computers, gather and analyze…

The State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) published a series of case studies from 28 states to showcase examples of how ARRA EETT ("American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 Enhancing Education Through Technology") grant funds have impacted teaching and learning. SETDA collected data for the case studies through…

The focus of this research is in the area of student engagement and character at schools affiliated with the Coalition of Christian Colleges and Universities. As the researcher, I specifically used a data set purchased from the National Survey of Student Engagement. Such a study is important in order to test my hypothesis that the more engaged a…

Over the last two years, the University of Urbino, Italy, has been implementing Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) courses in English across all disciplines. This study focuses on the online self-study CLIL scaffolding designed to help students involve in an Internationalization Project to build academic language and content-specific…