Design thinking is on the rise as a novel method for creative problem solving in healthcare professional programs. This article will focus on implementation of the concepts of design thinking in the classroom, its utility in pharmacy education, and the advantages it provides from both the faculty and students' perspectives within the…

This chapter describes the results of an assessment project whose purpose was to improve the faculty-development program for instructors who teach in technology-infused TILE (Transform, Interact, Learn, Engage) classrooms at the University of Iowa. Qualitative research methods were critical for (1) learning about how students and instructors…

Team-based learning (TBL) may rely on small group interaction more heavily than any other commonly used instructional strategy in postsecondary education. This conclusion is based on three facts: (1) Group work with TBL is central to exposing students to and improving their ability to apply course content; (2) Majority of class time with TBL is…

The authors are both teachers in the Economics Department at Fairfield University, where they share responsibility for the introductory and intermediate economics courses. Student's comment illustrates that they were apparently not reaching their students in ways that achieved their goals: developing students' abilities to understand economic…

In his book "Creating Significant Learning Experiences" (2003), Dee Fink challenges professors to create a deep vision for the courses they teach. Educators often have a vision for what their courses could be, but often lack a model for instituting change. Fink's book provides that model. In this article, the author describes how this model helped…

This article discusses how the author used an integrated course design model to create new learning activities in her course on federal taxation. The shoebox case--a simulation where students are given realistic documents to use in preparing a tax return--gave her students an opportunity to construct new knowledge. This activity supported the…

This article presents an interdisciplinary approach to course redesign that enhanced student learning across all six categories in Dee Fink's taxonomy. A meta-analysis of the results provides evidence that integrated course design produces significant learning. In this article, the authors tell four connected stories: (1) how Fink's book,…

Team-based learning (TBL) has been shown to improve student learning in a variety of settings. In a majority of cases, TBL has been implemented in face-to-face formats and occasionally in blended learning formats, which are partially online partially and face-to-face in a classroom. The Sloan Consortium surveys report a steady increase in the…

The explosion of information and increasing complexity of the modern workplace have placed new burdens and demands on professional schools and programs. Professional schools, such as those in business, engineering, and the health professions, have come under increasing scrutiny as the required exit competencies for graduates have shifted from…

In instructional design for higher education, it is important to the success of all students to take into account the differences in individual learning styles. Research indicates that different student populations have characteristically different approaches to learning and that teachers can use patterns of effective practice to foster success…

The traditional college classroom has a distinct culture to which educators have been blind, assuming that the classroom is culturally neutral. It often constrains the success of students from other cultural backgrounds. The alternate cultures of white women and men and women of color have implications for improvement of instructional design.…

Review of recent research on effective teaching examines six areas of higher education teaching: (1) teaching dimensions and behaviors; (2) teaching considerations (including instructional design, methods, and teaching styles); (3) teaching and motivation; (4) teaching and teacher assessment and evaluation; (5) teaching technologies; and (6)…

Discussion of the problem-based learning approach in higher education looks at its origins in medical curricula, characteristics of the original method, the variety of educational objectives possible with this approach, problem-based curriculum development, advantages of the method, and its use outside the medical domain. (MSE)

Three principles based on research in cognitive psychology explain the potential power of problem-based learning: (1) learning is a constructive, not a receptive process; (2) metacognition affects learning; and (3) social and contextual factors influence learning. These principles are more likely to be activated when specific teacher behaviors and…

Explores academic service learning as an innovative pedagogical model capable of transforming traditional teaching and learning practices. Notes that faculty undertaking this challenge can expect initial resistance from students, periodic self-doubt about their teaching accomplishments, and colleagues' skepticism, but also renewed student…