Purpose: This study had two main objectives: The first was to explore the extent to which a group of University lecturers feel that they are prepared to deal with controversial issues in their classrooms. The second was to elicit their views on a didactic approach known as Structured Academic Controversy (SAC). SAC is a constructivist teaching…

In 1970, education theorist Paulo Freire (1970) sharply critiqued dominant pedagogy--or what he called the banking model of education--for stripping students of their agency. In the banking model, he wrote, instructors are empowered as narrating subjects as students who become alienated as passive listening objects. In the decades since, research…

The researcher surveyed 126 members of the Nutrition and Dietetic Educators and Preceptors (NDEP) group from all six NDEP regions across the country to examine the relationship between their ideologies, commonly utilized pedagogical techniques, and collaborative experiences with colleagues from different professions. The study also examined the…

In October 2014, the University of British Columbia Vancouver campus (UBCV) ran a campus-wide survey to establish baseline information on teaching practices and attitudes among faculty, to measure the impact of existing teaching and learning initiatives and to identify the conditions leading to change in practices and attitudes around teaching.…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to analyze the perception of elementary teachers and their practices when transitioning from small classes of 20 to larger classes of 28 or more students. The respondents were asked questions about how they have adjusted to the instruction of the curriculum, classroom management, monitoring of student…

There is no disputing that for high school students to be college and career ready, they need adequate time to learn, and individualized attention to meet each student's academic goals, learning styles, and social needs. Over the past decade, Education Resource Strategies (ERS) has partnered with urban schools and districts to improve their use of…

As a consequence of the federal "No Child Left Behind" (NCLB) law, there is tremendous pressure on school principals, teachers, school superintendents, district staff, state departments of education and governors to maximize the increase in student achievement that is obtained with every dollar of expenditure. Currently, teachers are…

This study examined the impact of substituting didactic instruction, face-to-face advisement, and conventional evaluation with distance-based delivery of content, electronic counseling, and online assessment. It analyzed the impact of distance learning demands on faculty teaching loads and computed the ideal class size for an online course.…

This review of research on class size is organized into two parts. Part 1 presents a summary list of true statements with respect to the central topic of this study. The statements are divided into three sections: (a) class size and pupil achievement, (b) class size and teaching procedures, and (c) teacher load. Some statements can be accepted as…

A review of literature on class size, different instructional methods, and faculty load in relationship to student outcomes concludes that research data does not substantiate that differing class sizes make a difference in student cognitive growth, thus must be justified on social bases or other variables. Includes suggestions for further…

A working group, composed of both faculty and administration representatives from the State Board for Community Colleges and the community colleges, the Board of Trustees for State Colleges, the University of Maryland, and the private institutions, met together over a period of several months to develop the design of the study and the data…

Discusses a survey of selected undergraduate chemistry laboratory courses. Topics include: who preps the experiment; degree of faculty involvement; instructional loads; types of directions used; satisfaction with materials used; techniques taught; computer use; rating the laboratory; and a self rating. Provides data for each topic. (MVL)

While there are hundreds of studies reported for general education, few researchers have focused on the impact of class size on the academic achievement of students with special needs. Despite escalating special education costs and increasing student needs, policies governing special education remain inconsistent. We examine the effect of class…

A procedure for reallocating faculty positions is described that uses credit hour guidelines that are quantitatively established using instructional method as the unit of analysis (rather than academic unit). Formally recognized guidelines for varying instructional methodologies are also applied to actual instructional experiences of academic…

These essays share award-winning teachers' strategies for adapting their classrooms to the ever-changing environment: "Professional Development Has Shaped Me and My Classroom" (Kay Wallace); "Teachers Go Back to School" (Steven T. Jackson); "Keeping Up With Change" (Caryn Smith Long); "Self-Reflection: Looking…