An issue for many mathematics departments is the success rate of precalculus students. In an effort to increase the success rate, this quantitative study investigated how class size and teaching approach influenced student achievement and students' attitudes towards learning mathematics. Students' achievement and their attitudes toward learning…

The purpose of this study was to identify and compare instructors' and students' perceptions of factors that contribute to the effective use of Project-Based Learning (PBL) in Thailand. The sample for the study consisted of 247 electrical technology instructors from Thai vocational education institutes and 161 students who were electrical power…

The instructional pattern of Problem-based Learning, which requires teachers to be "organizers, guides and cooperators" of their students' learning, is now becoming a trend in the development of medical education around the world. In order to be competent in all the above mentioned roles, teachers need to be equipped with corresponding…

Authentic learning is touted as a powerful learning approach, particularly in the context of problem-based learning (Savery, 2006). Teaching and learning in the area of instructional design appears to offer a strong fit between the tenets of authentic learning and the practice of instructional design. This paper details the efforts to broaden and…

What is it about small groups that make them so powerful? The answer is straightforward: Groups tend to solve problems better than even the brightest individuals because "many hands make light work," and "two heads are better than one." This is especially true when the groups are diverse and individuals act somewhat independently. In this month's…

This research explores the experiences of a group of academics learning to teach with problem-based learning (PBL) and how a community of practice (COP) supported this transition. An action-research project evaluated both PBL experiences and group processes. Teachers were enthusiastic about PBL but experienced a variety of problems during the…

In a previous study, we established that compared to a written case, a video case enhances observable cognitive processes in the verbal interaction in a postgraduate problem-based learning format. In a new study we examined non-observable cognitive processes using a stimulated recall procedure alongside a reanalysis of the data from the first…

Online learning (e-learning) has a nascent but established history. Its application to interprofessional education (IPE), however, is relatively new. Over the past 2 decades the Internet has been used increasingly to mediate education. We have come past the point of ""should" we use the Internet for education" to…

Research evidence has demonstrated that pedagogical techniques variously known as discovery learning, problem-based learning and constructivism are less effective than explicit instruction, especially when applied to the teaching of novice learners. Nonetheless these ineffective techniques have many devotees and re-enter the educational arena…

Terms to be familiar with before you start to solve the test: protein synthesis, ribosomes, amino acids, peptides, peptide bond, polypeptide chain, N- and C-terminus, hemoglobin, [alpha]- and [beta]-globin chains, radioactive labeling, [[to the third power]H] and [[to the fourteenth power]C]leucine, cytosol, differential centrifugation, density…

The Vermont Community Foundation's (VCF) 2009 report on postsecondary education asserts that college graduates live longer, healthier, more lucrative lives than their peers who did not graduate college. But the report is harsh in its assessment of the readiness of Vermont high school students for college. Vermont's expenditures for high school…

Health Science teams are increasingly interprofessional and infused with technology. These shifts result in a need for health science students to learn online interprofessional teamwork skills early in their training. In response, one interprofessional communication skills course was remodelled from traditional Problem-based learning (PBL) to…

The understanding of complex physiological processes requires information from many different areas of knowledge. To meet this interdisciplinary scenario, the ability of integrating and articulating information is demanded. The difficulty of such approach arises because, more often than not, information is fragmented through under graduation…

Use was made of adapted problem-based learning (PBL) practical exercises to address the disengagement of apprentices with the existing assembly-style electronic laboratory programme. Apprentices perceived the traditional routines as having little real-world relevance. This detracted from the value and benefit to them of the practical component of…

Doctor of physical therapy (DPT) graduates are expected to be competent in professional behaviors, communication, critical inquiry, clinical decision making, and evidence-based practice. The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe the experience of students enrolled in a single, problem-based learning (PBL) course within a conventional…