We present a two-week active learning chemical engineering hackathon event specifically designed to teach undergraduate chemical engineering students of any skill level data science through Python and directly apply this knowledge to a real problem provided by industry. The event is free and optional to the students. We use self-evaluation surveys…

Liberating Structures (LS) provide a user-friendly toolkit to shift group power dynamics and allow all stakeholders to contribute. We explored the novel use of LS in soil health extension to conduct high-engagement events with diverse stakeholders. Our goals were to promote social learning, networking, and to encourage innovation. Soil health…

Educational approaches in structural engineering have focused on classical methods for solving problems with manual calculations through assignments, quizzes, and exams. The use of computational software to apply the learned knowledge has been ignored for decades. This paper describes an educational approach to tackle the lack of applicable…

Thermohaline circulation is a foundational concept in introductory and advanced undergraduate oceanography courses which describes the density-driven flow of water throughout the world's oceans. This concept is commonly taught using two-dimensional (2D) diagrams and graphics. However, students often struggle with the three-dimensional (3D)…

Recent studies have shown that sorting tasks are a useful tool both for measuring and aiding student learning as well as facilitating the transfer of knowledge to novel contexts. These tasks require students to categorize scenarios or information in new ways that facilitate connection making and deeper understanding. As such, sorting tasks…

In this article, the authors begin by describing a classroom activity from part of the Diplomacy Challenge unit in their Problem-Based Learning (PBL) Advanced Placement (AP) World History Curriculum when students discover and analyze the history of the Early Modern Era (1450-1750). In this article, they explain how they have adopted PBL, its…

The creation of new knowledge in the form of scientific models is a cornerstone of the process of science. In physics laboratory instruction, students are very often stuck in a confirmatory mindset; they have been conditioned to believe that the role of experimentation in the classroom and in the world is to verify known facts. This mindset is…

Civics education shouldn't be confined to dusty textbooks, as evidenced by this assortment of projects. In one unit, elementary students play out the presidential election--from campaigning to inauguration day--using the Storypath approach. In another project, 5th graders explore the controversy about Confederate monuments by studying a local…

Preclass reading quizzes (RQs) have been shown to enhance student performance. Many instructors implementing evidence-based teaching assign preclass RQs to ensure their students are prepared to engage in class activities. Textbook companies now offer a gamified, adaptive-learning RQ format. In these RQs, students answer point-valued questions…

This paper presents two reflection activities that supported the creation of community and a sense of caring for students learning in an online environment in the COVID-19 pandemic. In the first activity, students indicated how they were feeling in terms of hope/despair, stress/calm and energy level in a "check-in" slide at the beginning…

Educators and researchers highlight the important role that math plays in providing opportunities for upward mobility in the United States (and globally). Many students from underrepresented communities, including Black, Hispanic/Latinx, and low-income students, often do not get the support they need to develop a positive math mindset, sense of…

This study examines how the use of a science inquiry activity in an environmental socio-scientific issue (SSI) impacts pre-service teachers' argumentative practice in two ways: social negotiation and epistemic understanding of arguments. Twenty pre-service science teachers participated in this study as a part of their science methods class. Small…

We demonstrate that a particular blended learning space is especially productive in developing understanding of energy transfers and transformations. In this blended space, naturally occurring learner interactions like body movement, gesture, and metaphorical speech are blended with a conceptual metaphor of energy as a substance in a class of…

This Special Issues Brief from the Collaboration for Effective Educator Development, Accountability and Reform (CEEDAR Center) and the Center on Great Teachers and Leaders (GTL Center) outlines essential features for providing high-quality, structured, and sequenced opportunities to practice within teacher preparation programs. This brief is…

Kindergarten education is becoming a priority throughout the USA as research shows its importance on later in life outcomes. The State of Washington instated full-day kindergarten for all public-school students beginning in 2016-2017. It "…is part of the state's constitutionally protected definition of 'Basic Education'" (Reykdal, n.d.,…