An effective classroom is where there are various forms of interactions: student-student and teacher-student. Unfortunately, most of the interactions that go on in our lecture theatres are minimal. This paper reports an innovative method of engaging students through the use of an Audience Response System (ARS) in a university course. The ARS was…

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?…

This paper deals with the use of metadiscourse by Italian university lecturers who teach through the medium of English (EMI, English-Medium Instruction). The objective is to verify whether, irrespective of possible shortcomings in their mastery of the language, lecturers demonstrate sensitivity to the situational demands of the EMI classroom,…

Studies on the use of digital voting systems in large group teaching situations have often focused on the "non-anonymity" and control and testing functions that the technology provides. There has also been some interest in how students might use their votes tactically to gain "credits". By focusing on an empirical study of…

Classroom response systems (also referred to as clickers) can enhance learning outcomes and are generally viewed favorably by students and instructors alike. The current study used an alternating treatments design to examine whether discussing questions in small groups before responding to clicker questions during lecture improved accurate…

Undergraduate introductory biology courses are changing based on our growing understanding of how students learn and rapid scientific advancement in the biological sciences. At Iowa State University, faculty instructors are transforming a second-semester large-enrollment introductory biology course to include active learning within the lecture…

Lecture is a much maligned classroom method of instruction. Like any other technique employed by educators, there are both effective and ineffective ways to deliver content through a lecture format. Respecting that the college learner has changed, active lecturing strategies maximize student learning of course content, engaging both modern…

This paper proposes a method for seamless interaction between students and their professor using Twitter, one of the typical social network service (SNS) platforms, in large lectures. During the lecture, the professor poses surprise questions in the form of a quiz on an overhead screen at unexpected moments, and students submit their answers…

Mobile devices can enhance learning and teaching by providing instant feedback and better diagnosis of learning problems, helping design new assessment models, enhancing learner autonomy and creating new formats of enquiry-based activities. The objective of this paper is to investigate the pedagogical impact of mobile voting tools. The authors'…

Despite the need to provide differentiated instruction to diverse learners in contemporary CTE programs across institutes of higher education, little research has explored the actual classroom instructional strategies employed in postsecondary settings. To that end, this study found 387 CTE faculty most frequently use interactive lecture,…

Classroom response systems (clickers) are used in many courses at the University of Toronto (U of T), primarily to introduce interactive pedagogy and to engage students in lecture courses. We examined the use of clickers in various courses at U of T and interviewed over 30 instructors about their use of clickers in classes with a total enrolment…

Despite their flaws as teaching and learning environments, large lectures remain a standard teaching approach because of their relatively low cost, ease of preparation, and long tradition in education. Research shows that active inquiry yields positive results in learning outcomes, and one way to make the large lecture class more active and…

A questionnaire survey was used at Southern California University, Berkeley in which 140 faculty members gave their opinions about the problems and pleasures in teaching large lecture classes (minimum 100 students). Faculty members were also queried about their practices in dealing successfully with problems and their recommendations for…