Technology resources such as podcasts allow users to connect to the World Wide Web to download audio files to listen to anytime and anywhere and are slowly being introduced in classrooms as an educational tool and as a resource in the e-learning environment. Past studies have examined the relationship between the use of technology as a teaching…

This study evaluates the impact of an independent postmidterm question analysis exercise on the ability of students to answer subsequent exam questions on the same topics. It was conducted in three sections (~400 students/section) of introductory biology. Graded midterms were returned electronically, and each student was assigned a subset of…

While teams are common in business school classrooms, scholars note that few instructors provide teamwork-related instruction. The consequent negative experiences may explain the reported cynicism about teamwork among students. This article reports findings from a study that examined the link between a teaching strategy designed to help students…

With a shift of focus from teaching to learning in higher education, teachers often look for strategies to involve students actively in the learning process, especially since numerous studies have demonstrated that a student's active involvement in the learning process enhances learning. Active learning has resulted in positive learning outcomes.…

Describes mapping, a collaborative activity to stimulate discussion or summarize learning. (SR)

Communication teachers can use magic in the classroom to teach the selective nature of the communication process and principles of general semantics. Since magic "works" due to perceptual limitations, selective perception can be illustrated through various magic effects. Magical effects where the secret is apparent to everyone in the…

Describes an upper-level seminar dealing with political economy theory applied to Asia. Requirements include a short paper, a comparative article review, an in-class presentation, and a term paper. Provides a brief review of these activities and a syllabus for a 15 week course. (KO)

Describes a factorial experiment that is used as a laboratory exercise in a research methods course. Uses a Howard-Dolman depth perception apparatus, combining the factors of viewing condition and rod orientation to illustrate the nature of an interaction and the necessity of an additional analysis of simple main effects. (Author/LS)

Magic can be used in the communication classroom as a means for introducing and/or illustrating the subject of persuasion. A magical effect which fools the class can lead to an early discussion of the need to be a critical consumer of persuasive messages. Magic can also be used to introduce the subject of ethics in persuasion. Each student can be…

This handbook introduces teachers and students to the "design conversation," a classroom discussion technique with some variations that involve writing or group work. The design conversation helps students understand topics in the subject matters more deeply and explore them analytically and imaginatively. It is a critical and creative…

Discusses an exercise that uses objects from everyday life to demonstrate to students how their personal biographies intersect with history. Encourages active engagement between teacher, students, and subject matter in a mutual quest for knowledge and understanding. Outlines the exercise, assesses its success, and makes additional recommendations.…

After presenting a series of assumptions about the teaching of playwriting (for example, that students can be taught the craft, if not the art, of playwriting; students must be kept to a strict deadline if they are to develop into disciplined writers; and playwriting should never be discussed outside the context of production possibilities), this…

Proposes using a winter field trip to explore how various plants on a campus thermoregulate. Describes techniques for determining the location of cold stresses in plants and how plants manage to deal with the cold stresses. (DDR)

Dynamic classroom role-playing is an essential ingredient in interpretation and performance if the student actor is to learn the technical skills of believable characterization. One of the first classroom performance principles in playing the role is for the student actor to read the playscript with a critical eye to grasp the creative suggestions…

Describes a class project in which English-as-a-Second-Language students investigated how people learn languages and subsequently discovered useful learning strategies through interviews with resourceful role models. (15 references) (CB)