Engaging a large cohort of students with teaching content is a difficult task for any educator working in higher education. When students are not receiving feedback about their participation efforts, this can lead to decreased engagement. Polling activities, such as hands up responses, can be used to address this but students cannot respond…

Maintaining student engagement in online and recorded lectures is a challenging aspect of higher education. In light of this, active learning through in-lecture question activities was investigated using a pre-teaching focus group (n = 12) and student evaluations (n = 43) after an in-class trial. Data analysis was underpinned by flow theory, which…

Technology advances have changed the way faculty teach and students learn. The classroom has evolved from students listening to their faculty lecture to convey their knowledge to students utilizing interactive electronic resources that can take students worldwide in milliseconds. Tools in the classroom have also allowed faculty to quiz students…

The effectiveness of incorporating an audience response system (ARS) in improving the learning environment and student performance was assessed in a didactic biomedical science course at a large US dental school. Instructors and students were surveyed for their experiences of using Top Hat-based ARS in a multi-disciplinary biomedical science…

One of the most challenging aspects of teaching anatomy and physiology is using teaching tools that enhance active learning and keep students actively engaged during the lecture courses. This study explored the use of a student response system that was easy to use, cost-efficient, and re-usable for multiple anatomy and physiology courses. More…

A criticism of cross-cultural course requirements at the collegiate level is just how effective these courses are in promoting multiculturalism among students. Many of these courses are also taught in large lecture format, cultivating an environment in which students are passive receivers of information rather than active participants in open…

In very large lecture classes, student engagement is always a challenge, and many instructors use electronic student response systems (SRS) to promote student engagement and active learning. The conventional wisdom in using student response systems is that the technology matters less than the pedagogy; it is the added value of the instructor that…

This article focuses on students' perceptions of small-group activities, discussion, and technology-based interactivity implemented in two different learning environments, namely, in a large, traditional lecture hall and in a smaller classroom. The Engaged Learning Index, developed by Schreiner and Louis, was used along with several items to…

Educational techniques that improve student engagement have repeatedly been shown to improve performance at the class level at many institutions and in multiple disciplines. However, knowledge of engagement in individual activities in large first-year classes, where there may be several subpopulations of students in different programs reflecting…

In this article, the author introduces the usage of case studies to be an excellent method for engaging students through stories. The author notes she developed a series of mini-case studies that can be implemented, with a little advance preparation, within a 10- to 15-minute window during lecture. What makes them "mini" case studies?…

Pedagogical research shows that teaching methods other than traditional lectures may result in better outcomes. However, lecture remains the dominant method in economics, likely due to high implementation costs of methods shown to be effective in the literature. In this article, the author shows significant benefits of using a teaching app for…

In a big classroom, it is not easy for instructors to be aware of whether or not all students are engaged in the lecture and who has difficulty understanding learning content. One way in which the engagement between instructor/lecturer and students in the classroom is via technology designed to facilitate this. A computer system, making use of…

This study reports on an educational development initiative where peer instruction was used instead of traditional lectures in a calculus course for first-year engineering students. The aim of the study was to explore students' experiences of this method. Data were collected by means of an open-ended questionnaire on two occasions: early and late…

This case study trialled the introduction of a student-response system (Top Hat) in a third-year engineering Fluid Mechanics course (n = 44) to improve student engagement, motivation and cognition. It was recognised that for the potential benefits of student-response systems (SRSs) to be fully realised, more time must be allocated for student…

The aim of this study was to explore the opinions, perceptions and evaluations of students about their experiences with a question-answer system used on mobile devices in a lecture-based course. Basic qualitative research method was employed in this study to understand how students made sense of their experiences during the instruction. The…