Biomedical engineering (BME) spans a wide range of research fields and professional activities. Most BME departments use a seminar series to introduce graduate students to exciting research conducted outside their own university, learn about professional opportunities, and enhance their understanding of related topics (e.g., ethics in BME,…

Purpose: This uses quantitative and qualitative methods in assessing performance and process outcomes in a team lecture hybrid (TLH) instructional design applied in a public affairs course. Design/methodology/approach: Within a non-experimental prospective design, individual and team outcomes were assessed as follows: survey of student perceptions…

This study describes an intervention that introduced a period of solving non-routine problems into tertiary STEM lectures. The aim was twofold: to attempt to increase student engagement and to introduce them to the kind of domain-free abstract reasoning that involves critical, creative and innovative thinking. The study involved over 600 STEM…

In two studies, we demonstrate an engaging classroom activity that facilitates student learning about Kohlberg's theory of moral development by using digital resources to foster active, experiential learning. In addition to hearing a standard lecture about moral development, students watched a video of a morally provocative incident, then worked…

Background: Research illustrates that student motivations influence learning engagement, persistence, and achievement in powerful ways and that positive motivations are linked to deeper learning, critical thinking, pro-social behavior, and better performance. Most studies of learner motivation, however, are conducted outside of STEM and are…

The concept of active learning as a superior mode of instruction has recently received great attention in the education research literature. It holds promise of steering students away from rote memorization towards higher order thinking (as defined by Bloom's taxonomy revised). However, few studies focus on student perceptions of higher order…

Getting students to ask questions in class, about the content, can be a difficult undertaking especially once students get to university. The nature of the lecture format makes it problematic for students as they often feel like they can't ask questions. When children are small they ask questions all the time. Sometimes we get tired of them asking…

TED Talks are short videos of experts talking about a variety of topics. This paper outlines six TED Talks that connect with the leadership literature and topics commonly taught with an explanation of how they enhance teaching about a corresponding leadership topic. The researcher shares how introducing TED talks related to leadership can…

Although there is increasing evidence for a relationship between courses that emphasize student engagement and achievement of student deep learning, there is a paucity of quantitative comparative studies in a biochemistry and molecular biology context. Here, we present a pedagogical study in two contrasting parallel biochemistry introductory…

Higher student enrolment at North American tertiary institutions over the last decade has led to a greater reliance on lecturing in large classes (i.e., 50 students or more). The efficiency of lecturing as a method of instruction can sometimes come at the cost of student interaction, engagement, critical thinking and satisfaction. Implementing…

This article explores a teaching approach that aims to engage learners more fully in the deep learning process that is characterised by the development of critical thinking skills. The concept of critical thinking skills is reconsidered in the context of the need to shift focus away from teaching teachers about learning to teaching students about…

Active-learning techniques have been advocated as a means to promote student engagement in lower-division biology courses. In this case study, mini-lectures in combination with active-learning activities were evaluated as strategies to promote a culture of learning and participation in a required botany course. These activities were designed to…

Case studies have been used in undergraduate science education as a way to develop students' critical thinking and problem-solving skills. However, little empirical evidence exists on whether this teaching method is having the desired impact on students in plant pathology courses. This study evaluated the influence of the case teaching method on…

These proceedings contain the papers of the 14th International Conference on Cognition and Exploratory Learning in the Digital Age (CELDA 2017), 18-20 October 2017, which has been organized by the International Association for Development of the Information Society (IADIS) and endorsed by the Japanese Society for Information and Systems in…

We are delighted to welcome you to the International Conference on Education and New Developments 2015-END 2015, taking place in Porto, Portugal, from 27 to 29 of June. Education, in our contemporary world, is a right since we are born. Every experience has a formative effect on the constitution of the human being, in the way one thinks, feels and…