Today's college graduates compete in a global market fueled by rapid innovation and constant technological advances. In order to be able to contribute to and advance in these highly demanding careers, workers not only require advanced scientific and technological knowledge but they also need to possess versatility, collaborative problem-solving…

The role of higher education is not only to prepare students for a career: it should assist and support them as they begin an adult life, which includes contributing to society and a community, participating in a democracy, forming relationships, clarifying their values and beliefs, and finding meaning and direction in the world. However, as…

Whether you teach elementary school students, secondary school students, or college students, you can include upcycling activities in your class to promote both design skills and an environmental ethic. This article shares how a teacher at one school is doing just this, providing suggestions for those who have different material processing…

A weed garden was constructed to quantify and improve identification skills among clientele. The garden was planted with over 100 weed species based on surveys on problematic weeds. The weed garden proved useful for introducing additional hands-on learning activities into traditional lecture-based seminars. Through seminar and field day attendee…

Although the benefits of experiential learning for students are well documented, such courses are sometimes seen as a professional burden for faculty because they are very labor- and time-intensive endeavors. This paper suggests, however, that the time investment in experiential learning courses can be made more efficient if faculty members treat…

A survey of more than three hundred journalism instructors who belong to the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication sought to find out by what methods they learned to teach journalism, what advice they had for new teachers and academic units seeking to improve teaching, and what effective and/or innovative teaching…

The How Far Do You Think You Can Jump? activity (see EJ1174770) was completed in three different contexts: an after-school mathematics enrichment program at Woodland and Country Schools in Weston, Massachusetts; a small-group pull-out of second graders at Wren Elementary in Piedmont, South Carolina; and a family math night in Lafayette, Indiana.…

The term "best practice" is commonly used to describe "what works" in a specific situation or environment. When principals face a thorny challenge, they turn to their colleagues in the principalship for ideas about which strategies, activities, and approaches have proved to be effective and efficient in addressing the issue.…

This article is the third of three case studies of successful implementation of experiential education at very different types of institutions. This case study discusses the use of David A. Kolb's Experiential Learning Model in the implementation of innovative graduation requirements in experiential education that began in 2008. Purdue University…

At Indiana State University, students confront civic realities through experiences provided within the Liberal Learning in Action classes. This program empowers students to make connections between community issues and the tools of "liberal learning," including critical analysis, appreciation of diversity and a strengthened ability to…

Problem solving, interpersonal skills, information literacy, and critical and independent thinking are essential qualities that employers seek, yet many undergraduates lack. We structured an interdisciplinary classroom and experiential learning environment where students from three undergraduate courses (Hospitality and Tourism Management,…

Findings of a study that evaluated both the implementation and the public's reception of the first 2 years (1990-92) of Connecting Learning Assures Successful Students (CLASS), a cooperative learning program in 62 Indiana schools, are presented in this policy bulletin. Data were collected from three participating elementary schools through the…

Reports on several elementary and junior high schools which use mock trials; drama; a legal outreach program; and a teen court, in which teenagers assist in juvenile court cases, to help students learn about the legal system. Statistics show that this hands-on experience is more effective than classroom teaching alone. (SM)

A convergence of internal and external factors has challenged the institutional identity of Indiana State University and presented an opportunity for strategic evolution toward a campus better able to address student learning and serve the needs of the community and region. External drivers, such as fiscal shortfalls, declining population, and a…

In December of 1986 and January of 1987, questionnaires on teaching practices in science and mathematics were sent to elementary school principals in Indiana. The first questionnaire, completed by 301 administrators, concerned manipulative use of materials in science and mathematics. The second questionnaire, completed by 317 administrators,…