The educational benefit of the traditional didactic lecture to learners in Higher Education is hotly debated. Given increasing student numbers, existing technical set ups and many logistical concerns, lectures remain the norm in many Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). In this personal view piece, we discuss the benefits, opportunities, and…

In this forum piece, we respond to Karin Due's study of social dynamics in groups of students in physics class and gender issues that play out in this context. We discuss two threads that appear in Due's paper: one pertains to patterns of talk within groups and how these patterns open up possibilities for learning, the other pertains to…

According to the recent "New York Times" Education Life section, this was the "Year of the MOOC." That's "massive open online courses." It is what "Times" columnist David Brooks called a "campus tsunami" and Thomas Friedman declared as the "college education revolution." That's because anyone, anywhere can now take a course from some of the best…

In Miyamoto et al. (2015, this issue) the authors looked to substantiate the presence of the spacing effect, referenced from the psychology literature, in several MOOCs. Their secondary analyses constituted a robust, empirical finding on the correspondence between session distribution and certification but with only a coarse, analogous…

J. Michael Spector's academic preparation was in philosophy--epistemology and logic, primarily. His dissertation was on skepticism in modern philosophy, and that led him to a deep-seated appreciation for classical skepticism. The word "skeptic" is derived from the Greek word "skepsis," which means investigation. While the…

In April 2013, the "New England Journal of Higher Education" ("NEJHE") launched its "New Directions for Higher Education" series to examine emerging issues, trends, and ideas that have an impact on higher education policies, programs and practices. In this installment of the series, DiSalvio speaks with American…

Sebastian Thrun gave up tenure at Stanford University after 160,000 students signed up for his free online version of the course "Introduction to Artificial Intelligence." The experience completely changed his perspective on education, he said, so he ditched teaching at Stanford and launched the private Web site Udacity, which offers…

Discusses knowledge graphs, a new form of knowledge representation, and their possible uses in electronic study books. Topics addressed include graph structures; semantics; and representing knowledge from books, including browsing, information marking, annotations, group-based learning, information sequencing, information distribution, and…

Discusses instructional considerations of group size for computerized instruction. Situations calling for individual use, small group use, and large use of computers are described; individualistic, competitive, and cooperative learning are explained; peer tutoring versus teacher guidance is examined; and courseware selection is discussed. (eight…

This paper is about one lecturer's experience with a particular undergraduate course for management students. The distinguishing feature of the course is that major elements of its design are delegated to the students. The author discusses program design, context, objectives, content, session preparation and management, evaluation, and outcomes.…

Information and suggestions are provided on the use of team learning in large college classes. Introductory material discusses the negative cycle of student-teacher interaction that may be provoked by large classes, and the use of permanent, heterogeneous, six- or seven-member student learning groups as the central focus of class activity as a…

Discusses two approaches to student information and technology assignments: one stressing product, the other process. Suggests methods for assuring that students learn what they are supposed to learn from process: make a chart listing desired outcomes or skills to be mastered and the student's level of proficiency, have semester or year-end tests,…

Syndicate methods in higher education, which use small groups, are considered in 14 chapters. A class of 20-40 students may be divided into syndicates of 4 to 8 students, and the bulk of work consists of assignments conducted on a cooperative basis. There is some alternation between the work in the student-led syndicates and the tutor-led plenary…

Discusses aspects of one teacher's responses to students' writing that have survived over the years. Argues that students (1) should write for a teenage audience; (2) deserve written and oral responses from their peers; and (3) benefit from successes shared with their parents. Suggests that responses to writing begin with content, which makes…

Examines problem-based small-group discussions and describes a study conducted in The Netherlands that investigated the thoughts of students, both content-related and non-task related, through a thought sampling method. Highlights include categories of students' thoughts; validity measures; and results of student questionnaires. (LRW)