As the popularity of project-based learning grows, so does the importance of understanding how this instructional approach can support students' learning and development. The authors describe a project-based approach to literacy and social studies instruction that research has shown to be effective. Key characteristics of the approach and…

Students in introductory college science courses often have a simplified understanding of the scientific method. To introduce students to the complexity of the scientific process and the value of empirical observations, I implemented a semester-long assignment that required introductory-level college science students to build and calibrate weather…

Educators consider the video learning approach an effective method to deliver educational content as compared to the traditional method of books and written materials. This paper presents a project that involves student-generated videos to teach internal control in an undergraduate accounting information systems course. The survey results show…

This paper discusses an initiative called Product Innovation and Development (PID) that was launched at Texas A&M University. The goal of PID is to create a high impact learning environment that focuses on innovative product development. Undergraduate students are hired to develop innovative new products. The student teams generate ideas for…

For instructors interested in flipping their courses or using in-class video introductions to new topics, the development of custom video lecture content can be a daunting task. Having students create videos as a term project creates the potential opportunity to engage students in peer-to-peer learning via videos while also generating course…

Despite numerous calls for science education to be driven by authentic investigation, many laboratory experiences continue to consist of disconnected weekly units during which students carry out instructions that lead to some predetermined finding. This study developed and evaluated a pedagogical design for introductory biology labs where students…

The aim of this article is to assess the effectiveness of a semester-long pre-service teacher-training course on the use of corpora in language learning and teaching. This is achieved by an analysis of 53 corpusbased projects prepared by the participants. First, the aims and the design of the course are briefly presented. The main section of the…

This paper proposes several activities that encourage self-learning in engineering courses. For each activity, the context and the pedagogical issues addressed are described emphasizing strengths and weaknesses. Specifically, this work describes and implements five activities, which are: questionnaires, conceptual maps, videos, jigsaw and…

This article presents a report of a pedagogic experience carried out in a Portuguese 6th-grade music education class during the 2008-2009 school year. A podcast was created (www.podomatic.com) and several activities were developed, in classroom context, taking advantage of the tool's potential for teaching and learning. Although the podcast was…

Classroom instruction continues to change dramatically with new technology and pedagogy. Faculty aspire to develop innovative programs and creative education while seeking effective teaching strategies that capitalize on emerging technology and invoke student interest and involvement. Research shows that student involvement, hands-on projects, and…

This paper investigates the links between the "contributing student pedagogy" and other forms of peer-mediated learning models, e.g. "open-ended group projects" and "communities of practice." We find that a fundamental concern in each of these models is the attribution of "value"; specifically, recognition…

This paper expands upon previous research conducted on the effectiveness of implementing Microsoft MovieMaker (a digital video editing program) into the classroom. Sixty-one graduate and twenty undergraduate students from King's College and Rowan University took part in this study. Using the MovieMaker software to design student created tutorials…

Web 2.0 software, in particular wikis, have the potential to allow students to become active contributors to the Internet and, as a result, restructure traditional learning environments. In this study, the effects of student-created wikis were evaluated through measures of student engagement, cognitive benefits, and student learning in both the…

Discusses the approach of using student projects to teach information retrieval. Examines projects completed by students at Mercyhurst College (Erie, Pennsylvania), and includes examples of their work. Discusses problems encountered, weaknesses exposed, and strengths of the project genre overall. Other issues raised include methods for reinforcing…

In the academic year 2001-2002, Pace University (New York) Computer Science and Information Systems (CSIS) students developed real-world Web and pervasive computing systems for actual customers. This paper describes the general use of team projects in CSIS at Pace University, the real-world projects from this academic year, the benefits of…