This article describes pedagogical practices that support deeper learning within an academic program. An assignment is presented that simulates the post-graduate challenge of incorporating soft skills with discipline knowledge. The assignment tasks students with investigating a new problem or opportunity using information from a variety of…

Large Language Model (LLM) artificial intelligence tools present a unique challenge for educators who teach programming languages. While LLMs like ChatGPT have been well documented for their ability to complete exams and create prose, there is a noticeable lack of research into their ability to solve problems using high-level programming…

This essay proposes a pedagogical approach to writing instruction in universities facing familiar institutional goals and barriers alongside the heightened emotional complexities of students post-pandemic. Students at these universities often pursue vocational paths, yet since spring 2020, their interpersonal and cultural challenges have deepened,…

The blog and distance learning: the former can enhance, enlighten, and elevate the educational experience for the student and the teaching experience for the instructor. And blogs are especially suited for the asynchronous environment where nearly everything is written and remains throughout the course, so students can continually refer to the…

Educating people in personal finance is of utmost importance. However, previous studies show that traditional approaches to financial education may lack experiential learning components that help students connect theory and practice. This article describes a pedagogical approach to financial literacy education taught at an international liberal…

Failure is often taken as a given in higher education, as an inevitable part of learning new things. Yet, it remains a part of learning that students tend to fear, and faculty tend to neglect. As faculty, we do not always strategize with or leverage our students' struggles and failures for improved learning. Instead, we hope that students learn…

Teachers form expectations that can influence their students' performance, and there are a variety of ways these expectations can be communicated. In the current study, we tested a novel method for communicating expectations via examples of student work--examples that contain basic, entry-level work and communicate low, but manageable expectations…

Employers expect university graduates seeking entry-level marketing jobs to be well-versed in contemporary topics, such as sustainable development, digital marketing, big data, analytics, and the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in both traditional and contemporary marketing domains. Because many of today's cutting-edge technological advances…

Estimation of soil texture is an essential skill for soil scientists, but a difficult skill to learn. We compared two approaches for teaching soil texture: the traditional flowchart approach and an experimental self-calibration method. Three lab sections of an introductory soil science class were assigned to learn by the flowchart method (n = 60)…

There is a long history of interest in individual differences in learning styles. Beginning in the 1960s, academic research endeavors began examining the concept of personalizing teaching as the best scholarship of teaching and learning best practice (SoTL). This current series of interconnected empirical studies take a fresh look at SoTL by…

An important challenge for the geoscience community is developing engaging, accessible, and effective experiences within introductory courses, which are often gateways to geoscience majors. This study evaluates low-barrier-to-entry and flexible assignments focused on a pedagogical innovation: faculty replaced one of their usual course components…

In the recent years since the release of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's (TRC) report and its recommendations for post-secondary teaching, Canadian universities and the professors who teach in them are seeking to redefine and restructure their teaching practices, course content, and pedagogies in an effort to meet those recommendations.…

This study examines a pedagogical method known as transparent assignment design, or TAD, intended to make course assignments more accessible for students. The research related to TAD in higher education offers promising results, yet there is still much that is unknown about the implementation and impact of TAD. The study utilizes action research…

In this article, I present a justification for implementing AI literacy courses in higher education. I explore the ethical concerns and biases surrounding AI technologies, highlighting the importance of critical analysis and responsible use of AI. I then propose a conceptual framework, focusing on awareness, skill development, and the practical…

We present a two-assignment series that developed students' sociological imaginations and that could be done in a face-to-face or online course. The series used the Sociological Images blog and students' own visual images (e.g., photographs) to meet course learning goals: (1) link sociological theories and concepts to social events/trends, (2)…