This paper considers the consequences of 'The Death of the Author', a short essay by Roland Barthes, for educational thought. Seeking to avoid a co-option of Barthes to the work of educational redemption, Barthes' essay is considered in terms of its more disturbing implications. In particular, the parallel question of 'The Death of the Teacher' is…

Traditional engineering education (Eng. Ed) has received criticism for restricting student learning and experiences to practical skills development while ignoring the significance of fostering cognitive skills that encourage higher order thinking, criticality, and self-reflexivity. Imaginative education (IE) has emerged as a consideration for…

Iowa BIG is a system of high schools located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in the United States which emerged from community rebuilding efforts following catastrophic flooding in the city. The aim of this case study is to highlight Iowa BIG's complexity by describing how it functions as a: (1) school system; (2) vision for student-centric learning; and…

Debates about how best to support students' transition from school to university have re-emerged periodically since at least the 1970s. This paper focuses upon one aspect of this transition: how to develop the quantitative skills students acquire at school throughout the first year of their degree. We report on an attempt to inject pedagogic…

This paper details the redesign and implementation of an introductory Family Science and Human Development (FSHD) undergraduate course. The redesign implemented a flipped classroom approach, grounded in constructivist theory and active learning methods. A flipped classroom approach shifts traditional lecture-based classwork to an…

Sustainable development has become an increasingly important topic in recent years as the world has become more aware of the need to protect the present and the future. Sustainable development is concerned with the improvement of life quality for all. Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without denying the…

This text critically examines traditional methodologies for teaching grammar in the context of Portuguese as a Foreign Language (PFL). It proposes an alternative, eclectic approach, which can be used in any foreign language. Drawing on evidence from research and pedagogical practices, it highlights areas for improvement in current approaches, such…

Active learning challenges students to learn through experience and reflection on what they have done (Frost, Levitt, and Kosslyn 2017). As this pedagogy has developed, the principles have been useful in teaching a variety of subjects. This paper discusses research from many disciplines and observations from sixteen years of working with secondary…

Education is naturally transformative, but the acquisition of new skills and construction of new knowledge are only possible when we empower students instead of forcing their conformity. Our current compliance-based teaching methodologies rely on coercion, conditioning and external motivators that engender submission and fear in students and…

This article explores the importance of embedding Active Exploration teaching approaches within PE lessons and how the provision of differing equipment and divergent learning opportunities can enable choice for students to then 'self-discover' solutions to movement problems. The article showcases how Active Exploration approaches to teaching PE…

This conceptual paper provides an overview of constructivist education and the development and use of constructivist principles in contemporary higher education, outlining constructivism and some specific facets of student-centered learning. Drawing from first-hand experience and using two examples of current university assessment practice,…

A student-choice model course redesign was used to counteract a large increase in student enrollment, improve the quality of instruction, and preserve student success. This model is an instructional technique that allows students to choose how to engage in a course. Using this model in a first-semester college-level general chemistry course,…

Undergraduate research experience is the process where undergraduates contribute to the development of a subject field through their inquiry-based learning (IBL). IBL is a student-centered learning strategy. Students work as professional scientists do, through inquiry. This article presents approaches to IBL and practices of an instructor from…

A considerable body of evidence demonstrates that active, student-centered instructional practices are more effective than lecture-based, transmissionist approaches in improving undergraduate STEM learning. Despite this evidence and extensive reform initiatives, the majority of STEM instructors continue to teach didactically. Awareness of teaching…

Industry 4.0 advancements in technology are creating a dynamic and fast changing world that affects how we live and work. Educators need to rethink existing teaching approaches to better prepare learners for future careers that Industry 4.0 will create. The World Economic Forum defined a new education model, called Education 4.0, which contains…