Designing effective learning experiences that prioritize student-centered outcomes requires a solid foundation in course design fundamentals rooted in pedagogical principles. In this workshop, participants collaborate to create a learning activity that incorporates recognition of prerequisite skills and learning outcomes aligned with both…

The combination of large volumes of woody fuel needing disposal after forestry activities and evolving regulatory restrictions makes traditional methods of pile burning increasingly difficult. Alternatively, using small kilns to pyrolyze these fuels on-site yields a potentially valuable product: biochar. In this article, we describe an educational…

Although learning about Nature of Science (NOS) promotes a variety of important outcomes, teachers often lack suitable activities for younger students to effectively address NOS. In this article I elaborate on an NOS activity developed for a teacher professionalisation workshop. The activity is suited for younger students as well, where clear…

Teaching writing is complex, and a number of ideas circulating among schools and teachers often belie the difficulty of how to teach the techniques and processes of writing. I've come to believe that authorship is not a passive undertaking and does not originate in the struggle to put something onto the page. Rather it emerges by living with a…

A workshop using dance to introduce particle physics concepts to young children is presented. The workshop is realised in the dance studio, the children assume complete ownership of the activity and dance becomes the means to express ideas. The embodiement of the physics concepts facilitates knowledge assimilation, while empowering the students…

It is common to use anthropomorphic labels when talking about technology, for example describing some robots and phones as smart, thinking and talking. This article describes a workshop in which students considered ways that words such as 'hearing', 'smart' and 'intelligence' might change in meaning when they are used in the context of robotics…

The Mystery Room is an educational escape room based on information literacy and applied to multiple audiences, including first-year students and library student employees. In this article, we explain how we developed the game, its theoretical underpinnings, and why it's a flexible workshop for a variety of audiences.

In an era where claims of "fake news" abound and more people turn to social media for their daily updates, knowing how to find and critically appraise information is more important than ever. The workshop discussed in this article aims to provide college students with the news literacy needed to make educated decisions about the…

The Models and Modeling Working Group at PME-NA has provided a forum for discussing and collaborating on projects fundamental to research on mathematical modeling since the first PME-NA conference in 1978. We propose to convene this Working Group at PME-NA 41 with a dual purpose: (1) to build on a theme begun in Greenville, holding a focused…

School gardens have been shown to increase physical activity and fruit and vegetable consumption, improve student attitudes towards school, decrease problematic behaviors or behaviors associated with attention deficit disorder, and effectively engage students of diverse backgrounds and learning styles. Despite these benefits, many traditionally…

This paper shares an innovative methodology to 'co-create' a curriculum with eleven international community development organisations from seven countries to prepare undergraduate students for international work-integrated learning activities. The co-creation process was complex, messy, and always evolving. Here we reflect on and document the…

This paper describes the implementation of a new and innovative learning activity created to enhance the learning experience of psychology undergraduate dissertation students. The writing retreat is a student-based learning activity which aims to address students' needs over the final stages of the dissertation module. Involving active-learning,…

Governments, public sector institutions and organisations have started releasing and sharing information in the format of open data (OD). The opportunities to create and innovate with OD will continue to grow, and there is an expectation that educational institutions will produce competitive graduates with OD skills. A key question arising from…

It is difficult to overstate the power of visual images, particularly historical primary source photos, to provide a window into the past. Here, the authors outline how educators can utilize historic photos to provide students with a deeper understanding of the past. When students do not see their heritage and culture represented in images, the…

With recent increased interest in and efforts to reform and revitalize general education curricula to make an educational experience more vital and germane, many institutions have become interested in incorporating interdisciplinary learning opportunities, or even in creating fully interdisciplinary programs. In order to address the growing need…