Used correctly, assessments play a vital role in the success of a course: they provide valuable feedback to students regarding their knowledge gaps, encourage deeper understanding of the material, help students to develop critical thinking, and guide students to accomplish a course's learning goals. They also provide a signal to future employers,…

This article speaks on a critical component of independent learning is to cultivate the habit of self-study, which is an effective way of improving students' grades, material understanding, class participation, and confidence. Self-study also enables students to be independent learners, which not only hones their critical and reasoning skills but…

This paper describes the collaboration of a Writing Center director and a professor of a Fisheries Biology course in support of a research paper entitled, "The World Without," which asks students to convince readers of the likely ecological consequences associated with the extinction of a finfish species or aquatic habitat. Opportunities…

The author explains how using creative assignments reinforces invention, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills in undergraduate health administration students. While several studies look at the use of creative assignments to help students develop these skills, few studies exist on their use in health administration. In addition, the use of…

A science, technology, society, and environmental (STSE) impact assignment framework was developed that bridges the gap between analytical chemistry education and broader societal and environmental contexts. Over the course of [approximately]8 weeks, students were provided with the opportunity to engage in a self-directed learning opportunity to…

Student engagement is a growing challenge within higher education, especially as technology continues to evolve and competition for attention rises. As a business discipline, many marketing students struggle to connect with the theory presented in the classroom and seek interactive, experiential learning opportunities. The authors created the…

Critical thinking is a common and important learning outcome in college curricula. Case-based and problem-based learning can be used to assess and foster critical thinking skills. HNF 250--Contemporary Issues in Human Nutrition is a critical thinking course developed during the redesign of a nutritional sciences major program. Course assignments…

By incorporating visual mapping into students' thinking and writing processes, a narrative assignment in geo-literacy creates a reflective and agency-based learning experience for student writers in a first-year honors seminar.

This study presents a scaffold approach to building critical academic writing skills among honors students. Faced with limited instructional time, a reading-intensive curriculum, and students in need of rigorous writing instruction, a scaffold model was developed to include a series of condensed writing assignments called "Close Reading…

In this article, I present a justification for implementing AI literacy courses in higher education. I explore the ethical concerns and biases surrounding AI technologies, highlighting the importance of critical analysis and responsible use of AI. I then propose a conceptual framework, focusing on awareness, skill development, and the practical…

Introduction: As higher education continues to prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), cognitive/behavioral neuroscience and other physiologically based psychology courses may face challenges incorporating DEI issues into the curriculum relative to other subfields of psychology. Statement of the Problem: Instructors of these courses may…

This article offers a semester-long approach to using generative AI in the public-speaking course. Using critical communication pedagogy, the authors provide practices to navigate the turbulence that has followed the emergence of publicly available generative AI tools. These tools have received negative attention because of their potential to…

This paper discusses a 12-week, 15-credit module taught to second year undergraduates during semester 2 of 2017-18 academic year. The module, entitled 'Deschooling', aimed to explore notions of emancipatory and critical pedagogy, control and coercion in the education system. Rather than 'teach' these concepts as abstract academic theory, I aimed…

The development of the skills to read and understand scientific literature is crucial to the future success of students. A literature review project was introduced into an organic chemistry laboratory course, in which undergraduate students were asked to acquire the skills of scientific literature searching, reading, and summarizing. The course…

This teaching tip explores the integration of AI tools into database education. The author describes how instructors can use AI tools to prepare teaching materials and how students can use AI to facilitate database development. The teaching tips provided encompass both course-level objectives and assignment-specific strategies. The inclusion of AI…