In its use of complex, real-world problems to introduce concepts and motivate learning in an active and cooperative learning environment, problem-based learning is a powerful alternative to the passive lecture in introductory college science. Use of technology and multimedia instruction, focus on large classes, and use of interdisciplinary…

This chapter outlines the understanding gained when working with faculty to learn about assessment, to develop a plan, and to support them as they carry out and interpret their assessments. (Contains 1 table and 1 exhibit.)

Drawing on a number of studies of college student learning, this review concludes that students in different disciplines develop characteristic ways of learning based on their perceptions of what is required in their academic work. Within a discipline, effective learning involves an interplay between the characteristics of the student and the…

In a study using student rating data from over 8,000 course sections in a large university, disciplinary differences and the value students placed on the time they spent preparing for class are correlated with students' evaluations of teaching. Implications for faculty promotion and tenure policy, instructional improvement, and further research…

Describes and compares five major types of college learning-community curricular models: linked courses; learning clusters; freshman interest groups; federated learning communities; and coordinated studies. Characteristics of each model are outlined concerning institution size, basic unit of instruction, number of students involved, faculty roles,…