Extra credit assignments are often viewed with disdain by educators as opportunities to earn points for students that lack the study skills to do well on exams and quizzes. However, these assignments can serve as a platform for students to apply the course material to their own lives, optimizing their strengths and creativity, and encouraging them…

Background: Studio-based courses - the primary approach in design education--have been viewed as effective environments for learning. However, few studies have utilized an ecological lens to explore how the studio environment creates opportunities for social interaction through immersive studies of studio learning. Purpose: We engaged in an…

This study reports 15 types of activities that EFL, linguistics and translation instructors at a sample of Saudi universities used in distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Examples include searching for linguistic and translation key terms and concepts, problem-solving questions, online debates, summarizing a research paper, attending a…

Millions of hours are spent on assignments in university education every year. This exploratory paper describes ways in which instructors can create assignments that not only educate students, but also create lasting online contributions for use by scholars and future students. I describe case studies of assignment types I have used effectively:…

This paper reports on the learning experience of Chinese and French students participating in a computer mediated communication (CMC) collaboration conducted in English and supported by Wikispaces, Animoto, and Skype. Several studies have investigated CMC contexts in which at least some participants were native speakers. Here, we address the…

Not only is service learning a buzz word in the academy, but it is also a phenomenon discussed by those in private and non-academic public arenas. In the Spring 2000 semester a small-group communication class educator implemented the idea of her students completing a semester-long service learning project. This paper details the steps the educator…

This qualitative study explored college teaching in an "apprenticeship" setting, specifically the architectural design studio. The study examined studio teachers' efforts to design effective project assignments and to help students move successfully through those assignments. Two design teachers were interviewed and observed as their students…

The recognition that knowledge, competence, and contribution are stages on a continuum has major implications for assessment methods. Written examinations are thought convenient and cost effective, but if students are to be evaluated as future employees, assignments and examinations should have professional relevance. Students can be best…

The use of mini-campaign projects in an introductory course in advertising can (1) provide students with actual experience in dealing with real advertising problems; (2) bring classroom lectures and laboratory assignments into a "real-world" perspective; (3) give students a broader perspective of advertising; (4) bring students into contact with…

Two investigators developed a Web-based teambuilding instructional and activities module to improve the collaboration skills of team members involved in online collaboration. This module was formatively evaluated using 24 graduate students who were enrolled in an online course that assigned two online team projects during the Fall 2000 semester.…

This paper describes the design, implementation, and application of interactive World Wide Web-based learning, based on several business courses taught at Bronx Community College/The City University of New York. The first section summarizes ways the Web was used, including managing the dissemination of course materials, instructor/student…

As part of an introductory course in magazine journalism at the University of Kansas, each student designs a prototype magazine and prepares a sample magazine issue. This paper explains the educational benefits of the dummy-magazine project and describes the project assignments, which require students to submit detailed magazine prospectuses, to…

The use of interpretive reporting techniques and programs offering real world training to writers may provide solutions to the problems encountered in writing about science for the mass media. Both science and environmental writers have suggested that the problems they face would be decreased by the use of more interpretive and investigative…

This paper describes two studies conducted with high school students doing library research and writing research papers, with the objective of examining the effectiveness of this type of assignment. The students were all in grade 11, the first group in Canada, the second in the United States. Students were observed in the classroom before they…

Students in the beginning public relations course at Kansas State University work in small groups to make case studies of the public relations needs of organizations (usually campus groups or nonprofit community organizations) and to develop public relations plans for them. After receiving project instructions, students suggest possible clients,…