This article reports on a reconceptualization of the Precalculus course experience at Florida International University. We discuss the details of the redesign process--unified within a faculty learning community (FLC) model--along with a broader change in the course sequence leading up to Calculus. We provide data, including the comparison between…

Guided notes covering lectures have been shown to improve note quality and increase scores on quizzes covering lecture material. We sought to determine whether guided notes would also be beneficial in helping students prepare for quizzes covering assigned readings. We evaluated the efficacy of guided notes for reading assignments on…

The reliability of an assessment is defined as the extent to which candidates' results would remain stable if the entire assessment exercise was repeated. Whilst numerous studies have evaluated the reliability of written examinations, relatively little has been done to quantify the reliability of internal teacher assessment within schools. This is…

The purpose of this paper is to provide a relatively consolidated and heuristic framework that educators can use to implement the teaching of creativity in the classroom. Toward this goal, the paper provides a review of what the marketing education literature has accomplished in the area of creative pedagogy, namely, including brief summaries of…

The inclusion of supplemental online assignments and in-class active learning activities can lead to greater levels of student engagement and learning. Students reported that they were more engaged in the classroom and felt that both helped them in exam preparation. Both were also shown to have positively affected student performance and, perhaps…

Gamification is the use of game design elements and game mechanics in non-game contexts. This idea has been used successfully in many web based businesses to increase user engagement. Some researchers suggest that it could also be used in web based education as a tool to increase student motivation and engagement. In an attempt to verify those…

This article reports on a principle-based evaluation of eight dedicated extensive reading coursebooks published in mainland China and used in many universities across the country. The aim is to determine the extent to which these coursebooks reflect a core set of nine second language acquisition and extensive reading principles. Our analysis shows…

When students encounter a set of concepts (or terms or principles) that are similar in some way, they often confuse one with another. For instance, they might mistake one word for another word with a similar spelling (e.g., allusion instead of illusion) or choose the wrong strategy for a mathematics problem because it resembles a different kind of…

The authors discuss the effectiveness of the Quality School model and active learning in an undergraduate classroom setting. They compare performance levels of students in two course sections of Principles of Macroeconomics and two sections of Managerial Communications. Students are given an opportunity to help shape the structure of the…

Using Dutch data on pupils in elementary school this paper is the first empirical study to analyze whether assigning homework has a heterogeneous impact on pupil achievement. Addressing potential biases by using a difference-in-difference approach, I find that the test score gap is larger in classes where everybody gets homework than in classes…

The authors used a mixed-methods approach to evaluate the use of Turnitin originality detection software in a graduate social work course. Qualitative analysis of student responses revealed positive and negative spent completing assignments, and the tone of the class. Quantitative analysis of students' originality scores indicated a short-term…

We examined the correlations between students' scores on the "Inventory of Learning Processes" (Schmeck, Ribich, & Ramanaiah, 1977) and on the different assessments in a cognitive psychology course (and the total points). We determined that many of the assessments evaluated the type of learning the instructor wanted the students to…

This article is a response to "Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS): A Tool for Evaluating Student Learning?" by Kamii and Manning (2005). The intent of their study was to evaluate how DIBELS and a writing test predict reading achievement, which was measured by scores on the Slosson Oral Reading Test (SORT) as well…

The author, an early adopter of Aplia, describes the use of Aplia both pre- and post-acquisition by Cengage Learning. Students improve their exam scores (by 5 to 7 percent) and are receptive to using Aplia. Students report despite spending between 7 and 9 hours a week on Aplia assignments, they would gravitate to future offerings that included…

A significant amount of attention has been given to the predictors of academic achievement in higher education. However, the vast majority of articles have centred on entrance criteria and the learning approaches or personal habits of students. Investigations into how achievement depends on student efforts, being almost invariably based on…