Storytelling is a part of who people are as humans. Melvil Dewey himself saw the need to catalog folktales and stories from the oral tradition in the 390s, a section dedicated to social customs. Stories form a part of the very fabric of who people are and give insight into the past as much, if not more so, than the histories. Teachers can leverage…

In this article, the authors start with a description of the learner-centered paradigm of education. The key tenets of the paradigm are outlined as: Competency-based student progress, competency-based student assessment and records, personal learning plans, project-based learning, just-in-time instructional support, student as self-directed…

It is widely recognized that technology in the classroom has the potential to transform education at every stage from Pre-K, to K-12, to Higher Education and Adult Education. Using the Digital Teaching Platform as an exemplar of 21st Century classroom instruction style, the author offers an overview of classroom technology and its effects on…

This work explores the impact of teacher-led heterogeneous group formation on students' teamwork, based on students' learning styles. Fifty senior university students participated in a project-based course with two key organizational features: first, a web system (PEGASUS) was developed to help students identify their learning styles and…

This is a qualitative study addressing the question: In what ways does a sixth grade middle school teacher show evidence of behaviors that fit the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework in the classroom? The researcher observed in this class, interviewed the teacher, and looked for evidence of the interplay between…

YouTube Fridays is a teaching tool that devotes the first five minutes of class each Friday to a YouTube video related to the course. Students select the videos, which expand the class's educational content in courses such as thermodynamics and material and energy balances. From assessments of two pilot studies using YouTube Fridays in Chemical…

Project-Based Learning (PBL) connects standards-based content to real-world scenarios through the use of projects to improve student achievement. By engaging students in authentic problems that do not have a predetermined solution, students learn both subject matter and critical 21st-century skills. This "Focus On" addresses what…

This article discusses our teaching approach in graduate level Engineering Statistics. It is based on the use of modern technology, learning groups, contextual projects, simulation models, and statistical and simulation software to entice student motivation. The use of technology to facilitate group projects and presentations, and to generate,…

Edward Thorndike may be counted on to say in few words what amounts to a highly complex idea. He once said that, with learning as with any activity, ability must be supplemented by interest or desire. "If we wish to learn a certain thing, we must arouse adequate interest... we must transmute this general wish into an interest that will carry us to…

All freshmen at the United States Military Academy at West Point now have laptop computers to use in class. Several instructors for the General Psychology course that all freshmen take are currently incorporating classroom learning activities and strategies to leverage the technology tools available with laptop computers. This article reports on a…

This practical, how-to guide makes it easy for teachers to incorporate the latest technology in their classes. Employing an informal workshop approach, the book avoids technical jargon and pays special attention to the needs of teachers who are expanding the use of computers in their classroom. The authors focus on what teachers do and how they…

The "ISSS Annual Conference Proceedings" is a peer-reviewed professional publication published once a year following the annual conference. (Individual papers contain references.) [For the 2011 proceedings, see ED518589.]

Educational research shows that technology can enhance student acquisition of discrete skills through drill and practice. This document presents findings of a study that examined whether technology could provide significant support for constructivist, project-based teaching and learning approaches. It also identified the elements necessary for…

Educational research has documented that technology can enhance student acquisition of discrete skills through drill and practice. This document presents case-study profiles from a study that examined whether technology could provide significant support for constructivist, project-based, teaching and learning approaches. The study also identified…

Describes student involvement within interdisciplinary, cooperative-learning environments that utilize desktop publishing, computer interfacing, and video production to promote students' investigation, analysis, and synthesis of scientific issues. Each student group is guided by a preservice university partner, from a science methods course, to…