Calls to increase active learning, an approach that positions students in the center of their learning experience, have increased considerably in recent decades. In response, there has been substantial work to expand our understanding and implementation of active learning approaches in many educational spaces. However, much of this instructional…

This article argues that knowledge is not a passive product of learning that can be possessed, but rather that it represents an active engagement with ideas, arguments and the world in which they reside. This engagement requires a state of 'knowing' -- a complex, integrative, reciprocal process that unites the knower with the to-be-known.…

Multiple studies report that Computer Science (CS) instructors face problems on how to integrate visualizations in their teaching. This problem gets compounded for instructors in technology-constrained classrooms that are common in developing countries. In these classrooms, students are not able to interact with visualization directly; instead,…

Despite its value in higher education, academic rigor is a challenging construct to define for instructor and students alike. How do students perceive academic rigor in their biology course work? Using qualitative surveys, we asked students to identify "easy" or "hard" courses and define which aspects of these learning…

Many instructors strive to encourage student reading outside of class and active learning in class. One pedagogical tool, structured reading questions, can help do both. Using examples from question sets across six courses, the authors illustrate how reading questions can help students achieve the six active-learning principles described by…

In recent years, education quality and quality assessment have received a great deal of attention at Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Bangladesh. Most of the HEIs in Bangladesh face severe resource constraints and find it difficult to improve education quality by improving inputs, such as better infrastructure and modernized classroom…

Since the 1980s there has been significant growth in the engagement of higher education with workforce development, with among other things the emergence of a distinct if varied area of provision commonly referred to as work-based learning. Recent examination of practice and literature indicates a growing sophistication in the way that work-based…

While some geographers have embraced active learning as a means to engage students in a course, many others stick to conventional teaching methods. They are often deterred by suggestions that it can be difficult to implement active learning where students have no prior knowledge of a subject, that active learning requires too much work of…

An experiential approach to environmental studies courses in institutions of higher education would better prepare students to address the environmental problems of the new millennium. Research shows that adults prefer experiential and task-centered learning. Experiential learners are more efficient workers, achieve higher grades, are more…

Taking students out into the field to visit properties has been a foundation of agricultural education practice in Australian higher education. These excursions are invariably popular with students, but their enjoyment of these activities may be largely due to factors other than the achievement of learning outcomes. This paper reports on a…

Describes the development of a course in Turkey for preservice teacher education for elementary school teachers that focused on instructional technologies and material development using a constructivist approach. Discusses research outcomes, including the positive impact of constructivist practices, active learning, the importance of prior…