This paper presents a case study in student led syllabus design, geared to support diverse learning styles and to enhance student engagement. In this case, students in an Honors American Government Course participated in designing their own syllabus for the semester. This was done through a written survey in which students were able to select…

Benjamin Bloom published his "Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: Handbook I: Cognitive Domain" in 1956 (New York: David McKay, Co.) to help educators develop learning objectives for teaching. Several modifications have been made since then to adapt Bloom's taxonomy to various uses and disciplines (Crowe A, Dirks C, Wenderoth MP.…

In this collaborative self-study, teacher educators/researchers in four different geographic, social, and cultural institutions of higher education implemented Culturally Proactive Pedagogy (CPP) learning events into their undergraduate literacy methods courses. Conceptually, this study used the Pose, Wobble, Flow (P/W/F) framework developed by…

Group learning has become a common practice in schools and tertiary institutions. It provides more comfortable and supportive learning environment than solitary work. It fosters critical thinking skills, develops individual accountability, increases levels of reasoning and positive interdependence, improves problem-solving strategies and…

The research objective of this study was to describe the frames that students from two culturally distinct institutions used in their argumentative essays on a locally relevant environmental socioscientific issue. Participants (n = 47) were recruited from biology courses designed for pre-service elementary teachers at both a public university and…

This study investigates a service-learning program for university students seeking teacher certification examined through the lens of sociocultural theory. Data was collected from teacher candidates (TCs) in the form of surveys and an open-ended writing assignment. Administrators from the partner schools were also interviewed to provide their…

In this article, the author proposes an innovative, exam-based homework grading method to facilitate both collaboration among students and individual accountability while learning a complex theory and applying it to solve a problem. Results from this novel approach to grading a "comparative advantage theory" homework assignment, using an…

Drawing on theoretical and empirical research concerning the relationship between academic work and student learning, this article explores the following questions: What skills are required to execute the academic tasks teachers assign on a daily basis? How do teachers and administrators interpret the task demands represented in instructional…

As one component of a program improvement grant provided by the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEPs), the authors' teacher preparation program (TPP) underwent substantial program redesign. In this article, the authors provide a detailed overview of the process they undertook to revamp their program based on the fundamental question,…

The number of teachers entering the profession through alternative certification and the number of charter schools in the United States have increased over the past twenty years. While there is a great deal of research on the efficacy of different paths to certification on teachers in public schools, there is little research exploring the needs of…

A modified model of cooperative learning known as the GIG model (for group-individual-group) designed and implemented in a large enrollment freshman chemistry course. The goal of the model is to establish a cooperative environment while emphasizing greater individual accountability using both group and individual assignments. The assignments were…

This article, using a student outcomes definition of academic standards, reports on academics' sense of standards as enacted through marking practices. Twelve lecturers from two UK universities were asked to "think aloud" as they graded written assignments followed by a semi-structured interview. The interview data were used to…

A successful lecture that includes meaningful class discussions requires students to be familiar with the topics covered in the assigned reading. However, because college students frequently do not complete such reading prior to class, instructors are faced with the challenge of finding methods that would encourage students to do so. The purpose…

This investigation focused on a group of 17 faculty drawn from disciplines in the humanities social sciences and natural sciences. Using in-depth interviews, focus group discussions and qualitative coding strategies, this study examined how faculty conceptualized the term critical thinking (CT), and how they assessed for it in general education…

In this exploratory study, reading, writing, and discussion were examined within the context of a pen pal intervention focusing on authentic literacy tasks. The study employed a mixed-method design with a triangulation-convergence model to explore the relationship between authentic literacy tasks and the literacy motivation of elementary students…