Although collaborative instructional techniques have become popular in college courses, it is unclear whether collaborative techniques can replace more traditional instructional methods. We examined the efficacy of collaborative courses (in-class, collaborative activities with no lectures) compared to traditional lecture courses (in-class,…

This study compared Web-based and lecture-based Gerontology and Psychology of Aging courses in terms of student performance, demographic and academic characteristics of students enrolled in the courses, and extent to which these characteristics differentially predicted outcomes of learning in the two course types. Participants for this study were…

Results of a study comparing Personalized System of Instruction (PSI) and lecture approaches using 301 community college students indicate that students in a PSI class do not perform better than students using a traditional lecture method, although PSI students scored higher on material learned early in the course. (MB)

This paper identifies and defines skills associated with the commentary-discussion method of teaching in an effort to improve student learning in precollege psychology courses. First, the author examines the range of teaching methods from formal lecture to open discussion and identifies commentary-discussion as the most widely used technique. In…

IN A STUDY OF THE EFFECTS OF CERTAIN VARIABLES ON THE OUTCOMES OF A COURSE IN INTRODUCTORY PSYCHOLOGY, PRETESTS AND POSTTESTS WERE ADMINISTERED TO 180 STUDENTS IN FOUR PSYCHOLOGY CLASSES AND TO 50 OTHERS. VARIABLES WERE CLASS SIZE, INSTRUCTOR, AND LECTURE VS. DISCUSSION METHOD, AND THE TESTS WERE MEASURES OF CHANGES IN STUDENTS' SELF-CONCEPT,…