This article addresses the issue of assessment and how it is becoming such a critical problem for higher education, especially for teachers of the liberal arts. While the common-sense goals of assessment are laudable, the actual consequences of the process are far from beneficial. It is suggested that ongoing assessment diverts teachers from…

The relationship between mathematics homework and learning in middle-school students and the impact on achievement is the focus of this paper. A review of the literature reveals mixed results. Studies support both positive and a negative impacts of mathematics homework on student achievement or no impact at all. The purpose of this paper is two…

States, universities, and school districts have responded to teacher shortages by designing programs that transition college graduates into teaching careers. The result is an increase in the number of graduate preservice teachers preparing for teaching careers in colleges of education. The purpose of this study is to explore graduate preservice…

Existing research identifies that students' approaches to assignments are related to their general approaches to study. It is suggested that students need to better understand the requirements of assignments and acquire new concepts such as "argument". This fine-grained study proposes four qualitatively distinct assignment pathways: gathering,…

Images are powerful means of communicating scientific results; a strong image can underscore an experimental result more effectively than any words, whereas a poor image can readily undermine a result or conclusion. Developmental biologists rely extensively on images to compare normal versus abnormal development and communicate their results. Most…

The aim of the study was to compare two samples of sixth-grade Spanish primary students on coordination of writing processes measured by online or direct retrospection techniques and writing products. One group was comprised of 81 students with learning disabilities (LD), the other was made up by 80 typically achieving students. The results showed…

Introduction: This article reports on the adequacy and specific characteristics of 5th grade students' use of Web literacy skills and strategies after completing a programme in which these skills and strategies were the focus of attention. Method: Data were collected from twenty-one student pairs' Web use during six assignments, and recorded with…

It is widely suggested that feedback on assignments is useful to students' learning, however, little research has examined how this feedback may be provided in large classes or the actual effects of such a scheme. We designed and implemented a voluntary "earlybird scheme" that provided detailed feedback to undergraduate Business students on a…

Overburdened with athletics, play rehearsals, band practice, volunteer work, after-school jobs, friendships, and--if their parents are lucky--quality time with their families, it is hardly surprising that even the most dedicated students resent homework as an incursion on their time. Meanwhile, their teachers watch the growing stacks of unread…

One of the key issues in e-learning environments is the possibility of creating and evaluating exercises. However, the lack of tools supporting the authoring and automatic checking of exercises for specifics topics (e.g., geometry) drastically reduces advantages in the use of e-learning environments on a larger scale, as usually happens in Brazil.…

A qualitative analysis of written reflective assignments during a service-learning project at a Southeastern university provide insight into students' learning, as well as a means of assessing the experience for student growth and change. Expectations and concerns of students prior to the project were compared with post-experience reflections to…

An integrated technical writing and design course has been developed at Rowan University. This course was developed using aspects of project-based learning and recent discussions about design education, as well as pedagogical approaches from the write-to-learn and the writing in the disciplines (WID) movements. The result is a course where the…

We have undertaken an integrated and collaborative approach to developing foundational skills of students in a first year, Introductory Biology course. The course is a large lecture and laboratory course with enrollments ranging from 800-1000 per year. Teaching and Learning experts were brought into the course as weekly "Foundation Skills for…

The Bolman and Deal (2003) Four-Frame Model was adapted in this qualitative phenomenological research study to describe how stakeholders experience student service-learning. The study presents how students perceive the positive benefits and critical challenges encountered in their service-learning experience; how professors perceive the positive…

Teaching about racism creates challenging issues for educators and students alike. Using experiential learning and a public-access curriculum to teach about racism and social inequality, graduate and undergraduate students participated in this elective course. The hybrid "minimester" course focused on affective responses to classroom activities,…