Problem-based learning focuses on small groups using authentic problems as a means to help participants obtain knowledge and problem-solving skills. This approach makes problem-based learning ideal for teaching lean manufacturing, which is driven by a culture of problem solving that values learning as one key output of manufacturing production.…

Primary school teachers generally have to teach several subjects. Their training, however, is often fairly short and it is tempting to force-feed them with everything they need to know to teach these subjects. It is more realistic to accept that a short course cannot do everything. Instead, it would be better to equip these students with skills…

The usefulness and application of andragogical assumptions has long been debated by adult educators. The assumptions of andragogy are often criticized due to the lack of empirical evidence to support them, even though several educational theories are represented within the assumptions. In adult online education, these assumptions represent an…

Animations of molecular structure and dynamics are often used to help students understand the abstract ideas of chemistry. This qualitative study investigated how the features of two different styles of molecular-level animation affected students' explanations of how sodium chloride dissolves in water. In small group sessions 18 college-level…

We previously examined how three approaches to directing students in a laboratory setting impacted their ability to repair a faulty mental model in respiratory physiology (Modell, HI, Michael JA, Adamson T, Goldberg J, Horwitz BA, Bruce DS, Hudson ML, Whitescarver SA, and Williams S. Adv Physiol Educ 23: 82?90, 2000). This study addresses issues…

In this paper I present a pedagogical method called Writing Answers to Learn (WAL) which combines Problem-Based Learning (PBL) and Exploratory Writing to address the interrelated pedagogical problems of misconceptions, resistance, retention, and transfer. I analyze the use of this combined method in a course on racial and ethnic relations and…