As the field evolves over time, shifting from Industrial Arts, to Technology Education, to Engineering and Technology Education (ETE), so too does what teachers teach, how they teach, and the projects that they use. Projects that worked 10 years ago might not hold up today and, as reflective practitioners, they need to be able to align the current…

In recent years, growth mindset, resilience, and belonging have become popular topics for research and practice among college educators. The authors of this new volume deepen the conversation around these noncognitive factors that significantly impact student success. Along with offering support for the development of learning mindsets, this book…

Discover an innovative, evidence-based method for preparing students for the demands of college writing called Supporting Strategic Writers (SSW). The goal of SSW is to help students become independent learners who understand the value of strategies and can apply them flexibly in future courses and the workplace. The text provides genre-based…

On entry to university, high-achieving physics students from all across Australia struggle to identify Newton's third law force pairs. In particular, less than one in ten can correctly identify the Newton's third law reaction pair to the weight of (gravitational force acting on) an object. Most students incorrectly identify the normal force on the…

The Bold Fold, which is presented in this article, is a 45-minute activity in which students create a protein model while learning the processes of transcription, translation, protein folding, and delivery, which are often difficult to understand and have led to common misconceptions (Wright, Fisk, and Newman 2014). This activity has been used…

Innovation has been an important aspect of economic and scientific success in the United States for decades. Hobday, Coffey, Saalfeld, and Colwell (2011) suggested that, in order to produce innovative ideas, one must have a design-thinking mentality. This article provides the readers with an example of brainstorming techniques that have been…

There is an increasing focus across all educational sectors to ensure that learning objectives are aligned with learning activities and assessments. An attractive approach previously published is that of curriculum alignment projects. This paper discusses the use of the fun and famous "Elephant's Toothpaste" experiment as a customizable…

Most colleges and universities offer Freshman Orientation for new students. When students arrive, however, they often are unprepared and unsure of how to take full advantage of these orientation sessions. No matter what the orientation program looks like at a college, knowing what to expect during the first few weeks can make the difference…

First-year university students are a diverse group of individuals with various abilities and needs. Failure of the university and its teaching faculty to meet the needs of first-year students may result in abandonment of the pursuit of a degree. This project informs instructors about the practices that strengthen a learning-centred approach and…

Describes using imaginary video to improve language skills in a developmental reading class for first-year college students. Discusses the value of imagery in reading instruction. (SR)

Describes the "particle, wave, field" heuristic for gathering information, and shows how students can apply that heuristic in analyzing literature and in using procedures of historical criticism. (RL)

Describes how a freshman English course can be taught with a technical writing emphasis to make the course more relevant to the needs and interests of students planning technical careers. (TJ)

Placement tests are rapidly joining the ranks of high-stakes testing and college freshmen are required to take mathematics placement exams to determine their first mathematics course upon entering college. Unfortunately, these exams tend to place students in a lower-level or remedial course. As a result, additional expenses are incurred, degree…

The teaching of highly valued scientific writing skills in the first year of university is challenging. This report describes the design, implementation, and evaluation of a novel written assignment, "The Personal Response" and accompanying Peer Review, in the course, Human Biology (BIOL1015) at The University of Queensland. These assignments were…

Presents a "Text Act" theory and model of the linguistic rules whereby writers produce and construe meaning, and suggests ways it can help students in writing themes. (DD)