Literature circles are student-led, small-group discussions that promote active learning and engagement with literary texts. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of literature circles on student engagement and learning outcomes in a pedology course. For various reading assignments throughout the semester, students either…

Active learning pedagogical approaches and methodologies have been shown to increase undergraduate student success. Specifically, the flipped classroom approach pushes course content outside of the classroom, allowing for the focus of each class period to be centered on student-student interactions and reducing student cognitive load in comparison…

Linking between pedagogical content knowledge and high-level subject-matter knowledge in science teacher training remains a challenge. This paper analyses the reaction of beginning student teachers to an activity designed for this purpose, "peer lecturing." This activity was a part of the requirements of an introductory zoology course,…

Burgeoning college enrolments and insufficient funding to higher education have expanded the use of large lecture courses. As this trend continues, it is important to ensure that students can still learn in those challenging learning environments. Within education broadly and undergraduate engineering specifically, active learning pedagogies have…

In this study, we used targeted active-learning activities to help students improve their ways of reasoning about carbon flow in ecosystems. The results of a validated ecology conceptual inventory (diagnostic question clusters [DQCs]) provided us with information about students' understanding of and reasoning about transformation of inorganic and…

The Department of Physics at EKU [Eastern Kentucky University] with support from the National Science Foundations Course Curriculum and Laboratory Improvement Program has successfully converted our entire introductory physics sequence, both algebra-based and calculus-based courses, to an activity-based format where laboratory activities,…

In this study, researchers investigated the influence of modeling active learning strategies in an introductory foundations teacher preparation course: 1) on teacher candidates' perceptions of participating in active learning in the college classroom, 2) on participants' acquisition of course content, and 3) on participants' later use of active…

We describe the development and implementation of an instructional design that focused on bringing multiple forms of active learning and student-centered pedagogies to a one-semester, undergraduate introductory biology course for both majors and nonmajors. Our course redesign consisted of three major elements: 1) reordering the presentation of the…

Two studies examined the free recall for course content of 314 American undergraduate students across various course levels. The purpose was to examine how students' memories and level of understanding for introductory materials would differ from those of more advanced classes. Across all class levels, the most frequently listed items were…

This study examines student perceptions regarding the effectiveness of small-group work in a large lecture class. The article considers and illustrates from students' perspectives the ways in which small-group activities could enhance comprehension of course material, reduce anonymity associated with large lecture classes, and promote student…

Provides suggestions for using active learning as the primary means to teaching statistics in order to create a collaborative environment. Addresses such strategies as using SPSS Base 7.5 for Windows and course periods centered on answering student-generated questions. Discusses various writing intensive assignments. (CMK)

Considers the use of electronic mail in submitting teacher evaluations, student construction of web pages, and PowerPoint presentation slides in lectures within an economics course in order to improve student interest in economics. Addresses the positive and negative aspects of all three teaching strategies. (CMK)

This document reports on a study of two approaches to an analytical chemistry course: (1) a structured active learning approach; and (2) a step-by-step lecture style problem solving approach. The purpose of the study was to assess and compare the outcomes of these approaches. The data consisted of open-ended interviews with students, open-ended…

Asserts that a recent report suggests that students should have opportunities to become actively engaged in the application of economics. Finds that the case method approach was more useful than texts and lectures in learning about institutional arrangements, the use of economic data, and how to use economics to solve real problems. (CFR)