It is increasingly important in the twenty-first century for graduates to be able to take their place in the changing world scene and to be adaptable and creative within the organisation that employs them. This paper describes some of the initiatives introduced into the curriculum of a first-year science course, taken by 1300 students at the…

Continuing developments in educational technology and increasing undergraduate numbers in the UK have facilitated the use of computer-based learning packages. One of the effects of the increasing use of these packages is the shift in teaching of material from being primarily lecturer-led to student-driven. This has a number of implications…

A general Web-based system for use in education, the tutor-web, has been developed for storage and presentation of electronic slides for classroom use, along with reference material, examples and quizzes. The primary novelty of the system is the structured linkage between the various pieces of information, to maintain coherence and focus on the…

A key factor in the transition to university is the enculturation of new students into both the discipline they are studying and effective study practices. Most significantly, students, whatever their chosen discipline, must learn to become autonomous learners. Too often this process is either left to chance or seen as a natural attribute of the…

The Chemistry/Physics Program at Evanston Township High School was designed to provide an environment for the rigorous teaching of advanced science and mathematics to accelerated students. This type of student makes up the bulk of students in the Advanced Placement Chemistry and Physics classes. However, there is a small number of students who…

More instructors at every educational level are developing online courses and adding online components to face-to-face courses on an ever-broadening array of topics each semester. This paper provides recommendations for designing and maintaining online learning environments that encourage active learning, interaction, and academic integrity based…

Life-long learning, reflection, and teamwork are all attributes that enhance leadership capacity and school reform efforts. Yet, the skills and the process to build these skills are not traditionally integrated into university coursework in teacher education or aspiring leader programs. A framework has been developed that incorporates social…

Metacognition, an awareness of one's own thought processes, plays a central role in explaining and describing the learning process. As it shapes learners' beliefs about and attitudes toward learning which in turn affect their behaviours, it directly relates to language learning and teaching as well. Thus, cautious teachers should understand and…

OBJECTIVE: Brief cases designed for independent study were developed to allow third-year medical students some exposure to important concepts in emergency psychiatry during their required psychiatry clerkship. METHODS: Five independent study cases were given to University of Michigan third-year medical students during their psychiatry clerkship,…

This study tries to assess the roles of the Open and Distance learning subject specialists in the Polytechnic University of the Philippines Open University (PUP OU) in promoting self-directed and independent learning as perceived by themselves. Results of analysis showed that PUP OU subject specialists were also active teachers with an accredited…

This paper uses Baxter Magolda's (1992) framework on ways of knowing to examine the effects of using multimedia case studies with beginning pre-service teachers (PSTs). Baxter Magolda referred to these ways of thinking as absolute, transitional, independent, and contextual. The written responses to two sets of tasks were analysed for 36 PSTs…

Contrary to conventional expectations, the reality of computing education in Taiwan's vocational schools is not so practically oriented, and thus reveals much room for improvement. In this context, we conducted a quasi-experiment to examine the effects of applying web-based problem-based learning (PBL), web-based self-regulated learning (SRL), and…

These occasional papers focus on open learning and distance education. This volume contains four papers on a variety of topics: bridging courses, issues for researchers in evaluating interactive multimedia, designing study materials to address the special needs of distance students, and faculty attitudes concerning technology. Papers are:…

A rubric is a descriptive measurement for defining what a learner should know and can do. This document was created to define the knowledge and ability of every student in how they: construct meaning from information; create a quality product; learn independently; participate as a group member; and use information and information technologies…

These workbooks are part of a Mexican series of instructional materials designed for Spanish speaking adults who are in the process of becoming literate or have recently become literate in their native language. These workbooks, designed to continue developing literacy skills, include pictures, dialogues, crossword puzzles, and fill-in-the blank…