Higher education today is no longer what it once was. Once upon a time, students only had the option to attend classes in person. The first shift from this format happened when students began taking classes through correspondence, where materials were physically mailed out. Later, as technology increased, a new format led to students being able to…

This chapter explores three key features of integrative learning practice that play a vital role in fostering student success: guidance and support through critical transitions; entire development of the student; and engagement in project-based learning that connects learning to complex, real-world problems, and opportunities that can have…

Inquiry-guided learning (IGL) promotes the acquisition of new knowledge, abilities, and attitudes through students' increasingly independent investigation of questions, problems, and issues, for which there often is no single answer. IGL appeals to a range of institutions of higher education seeking variously to capitalize on the research…

Community-Based Learning and Research (CBLR) provides opportunities for institutions of higher education to achieve their goals of educating students, advancing teaching and scholarship, and meeting real needs of under-resourced communities and nonprofit organizations. By providing successful examples of campus and community partnership, this…

Cooperative learning is the use of small student groups as teams to accomplish a common goal, emphasizing positive interdependence, individual and group accountability, face-to-face interaction, team skills, and group processing. Using formal cooperative learning groups at the college level requires planning, monitoring of students' learning,…

Six specific instances in which supplemental instruction (SI) leaders guide student inquiry in college algebra and calculus are described. The active learning strategies used in the situations are analyzed, focusing on the role of the leader and the support provided by SI leader training and supervision. (MSE)

Design of student-centered instruction for telecourses must take into consideration the variables that contribute to meaningful and motivated student learning: clarity; connections; teacher immediacy behaviors; and active learning. Unlike much conventional instruction, telecourse teaching isn an intensive and demanding team process requiring…

A conceptual framework is provided to help college teachers find ways to include meaningful learning activities in their classes, regardless of teaching style, course objectives, or students' level of experience. Examples are offered from literature and nursing courses. Additional issues discussed include the teacher's role perception and concerns…

Issues emerging in the use of active learning techniques at the college level are summarized, including faculty's risk of colleagues' disapproval, risk of student disapproval, creation of a positive classroom environment, inclusiveness and equitable participation, course and student evaluation, and use of electronic tools for instructional…

A new approach to introductory accounting at the University of Southern California teaches students to view issues from varied perspectives, broadens exposure to unstructured problems with more than one solution approach, and places accounting in real-world context. It has increased enrollment and persistence and attracted new students to the…

The purpose of assigning writing that will not be formally graded is to assist students in learning subject matter and to create a classroom context that encourages active learning and interactive teaching. Offers three examples of college-level writing-to-learn assignments used in various disciplines, and some ways teachers can respond to such…

Discussion of course structure in active learning at the college level looks at ways level and type of structure can be varied and manipulated to meet challenges presented by a diverse student body. Issues discussed include the relationship of structure to cognitive style and development, fitting structure to content and objectives, and what can…

The role of metacognition in fostering or inhibiting success in introductory quantitative college courses is examined. One teacher's efforts to build student confidence in an elementary statistics course for psychology are described, and student resistance to active learning methods is discussed. (MSE)

Seven characteristics of active learning were identified (experiential learning, collaboration, discovery, use of authentic problems, planning before doing, risk-taking, integrative learning), and then used to reconceptualize an introductory statistics course. The model involves students as apprentices to faculty active learners. (MSE)

Use of writing exercises as an active learning tool at the later stages of the learning process is discussed, focusing on written self-evaluation as a means for making sense of experience. Examples of the technique in pharmacy management and first-year composition courses are offered. Ways to incorporate the technique into the syllabus are…