To promote student learning and bolster student success, higher education institutions are increasingly creating large active learning classrooms to replace traditional lecture halls. Although there have been many efforts to examine the effects of those classrooms on learning outcomes, there is paucity of research that can inform the design and…

Classroom response systems, or clickers, have become pedagogical staples of the undergraduate science curriculum at many universities. In this study, the effectiveness of clickers in promoting problem-solving skills in a genetics class was investigated. Students were presented with problems requiring application of concepts covered in lecture and…

Teachers know what a daunting job it can be to ensure that all students in a class learn effectively. In addition to the usual difficulties of gaining everyone's attention at once, instructors also run into the issue of preferred learning styles. In any classroom environment, the same topic is taught to multiple students, and each student may…

The authors present results from an experiment that tested the effect of seat location on student performance and attitudes in an undergraduate biology class. The seat assignments were randomly assigned on the first day of class. The authors did not find that students sitting in the front did any better than students sitting in the back. (Contains…

This guide is concerned with the answering and asking of questions in college-level courses. Suggestions are offered regarding questioning techniques that are appropriate for lecture classes as well as for discussion groups. Ways to help students answer their own questions are to repeat the question by paraphrasing it, redirecting the question,…

This paper describes a college course in the Human Science Approach (HSA) to psychology offered in seminar format. The importance of instructor-student equality and feedback is emphasized and lecture sessions are described in which students are encouraged to interrupt for questions and discussions. The major goal of the course is described as…

A practical reference guide for educators who teach large classes is presented, based on a workshop on improving teaching and learning in large classes. The workshop involved weekly meetings for a year at Colorado State University. The following problems of teaching and learning in large classes were identified: social and physical control, class…

Lectures often emphasize rote learning rather than critical thinking. Topics are discussed sequentially, not critically. The teacher does the talking and most of the thinking. The student memorizes material and is placed in a passive role. But many teachers who use the lecture should also be concerned that their students learn to think critically.…

This introductory guide to college instruction is intended for graduate students who are or are to become teaching assistants (TAs). It proposes that TA effectiveness may be improved through self-reflection, information about teaching, and adjustments in teaching practices. The first three chapters are introductory. The first considers teaching…