Many undergraduates are interested in community-based programming, but at most land-grants undergraduates have little contact with Extension. This article describes a grant project that developed two undergraduate courses about Extension and community-based, experiential education. The academic-year course incorporates lecture, discussion, guest…

The application of podcasting for educational purposes is growing fast in universities. There are several benefits of this asynchronous, direct communication and interaction between teacher and student. Nonetheless, the benefits, the pedagogical value of podcasting the traditional lecture format, have come into question. Furthermore, issues have…

No matter the college, a class in the principles of microeconomics is likely to cover the discipline's greatest hits. Opportunity cost? Check. Supply and demand? Ditto. The same goes for such topics as comparative advantage, elasticity, and market structures. But these touchstones of the curriculum may only modestly influence what a student…

A review of prior research on the role of attendance policies in large lecture classes (including psychology) is presented. This research showed that although students often did not attend class, various policies were effective in getting students to the classroom. Moreover, some research showed that an attendance policy did not lower instructor…

This study compared Web-based and lecture-based Gerontology and Psychology of Aging courses in terms of student performance, demographic and academic characteristics of students enrolled in the courses, and extent to which these characteristics differentially predicted outcomes of learning in the two course types. Participants for this study were…

A graduate level research methods and statistics course offered on the World-Wide Web was evaluated relative to the traditional. With their consent, course members were randomly assigned to the two versions of the course for the first block of sessions. For the second block of sessions the groups crossed over to access the alternative version of…

Discusses differences between computer-enhanced learning (CEL) and computer-aided learning (CAL), and describes a microcomputer-based graph-plotting program called Capgraph that was developed for use in a college calculus course. Results of a course evaluation are presented; student attitudes are described; and future considerations are discussed.…

Two studies compared a lecture-only with a group-activity instruction method to determine whether enhancing student involvement in an introductory class would increase learning and persistence in college. Exam grades, instructor evaluations, and student persistence were measured. It was predicted that first-year students in active-learning classes…

When a lecture course seems to be unsatisfactory, a systematic analysis of its content, objectives, and learner characteristics may prove helpful in selecting a more appropriate teaching-learning method. A model for such a process is examined. (CT)

Evaluates the teaching and learning processes in a computer-supported first-year undergraduate course in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Surrey (England). Students saw the workshop delivery as being more interesting, effective, and efficient than lecture-based delivery; help from the tutor was seen as the most…

Describes a course taught at the University of Zagreb (Yugoslavia) on electronic learning methods based upon computer-assisted learning techniques. The course content is outlined, including lectures, workshops, videotapes, demonstration software, and courseware authoring; a multimedia teaching laboratory is described; and an evaluation of course…

A 2-credit service-learning biotechnology course designed as a general education elective for students of all majors and at all levels was offered as an 8-week, half-semester course. The course met for a total of 3 hours of lecture/discussion and 2 hours of service-learning workshop weekly, during which students participated in discussions about…

Active learning and research-oriented activities have been increasingly used in smaller, specialized science courses. Application of this type of scientific teaching to large enrollment introductory courses has been, however, a major challenge. The general microbiology lecture/laboratory course described has been designed to incorporate published…

The effectiveness of the simulation-gaming method of instruction as opposed to the lecture-discussion method in teaching a college introductory economics course is examined. One hundred and twenty Ashland College freshmen were tested to determine their knowledge, interest, and training in economics; retention of knowledge seven weeks after the…

There is a wide array of approaches that produce materials (courseware) for the delivery of university level courses via Distance Learning (DL). DL has increasingly become part of university systems across the United States and is expected to grow to 10% of enrollment at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) by the start of the next…