Discusses the perceived importance of practical components in natural science undergraduate programs in distance and residential universities in the Netherlands. Surveys of faculty responsible for undergraduate practicals rated general and specific learning objectives. (Contains 26 references.) (SLW)

The reasons to introduce formats of active learning in engineering (ALE) such as project work, problem-based learning, use of cases, etc. are mostly based on practical experience, and sometimes from applied research on teaching and learning. Such research shows that students learn more and different abilities than in traditional formats of…

Before the cognitive shift in educational psychology, research on teaching practices that brought about desired student outcomes were dominated by the process-product research program, a confirmative approach in which researchers attempt to discover relationships between teaching behaviors (the process) and learning outcomes of students (the…