This study explored how a 2-year, maker-centered science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) project-based learning (M-STEM-PjBL) curriculum aimed at leading students to be makers changed students, science teachers, and a rural middle school in Taiwan, where teachers were stressed due to the low birth rate and low grades in the…

Since 2003 MSW students at an urban university have participated in a problem-based learning maternal and child health (MCH) leadership training program sponsored by the Health Resources and Services Administration. This survey examined overall satisfaction with a leadership training program as well as self-reported leadership competencies in…

In our upper-level undergraduate laboratory course in organic chemistry we focus on a research-oriented task in a context-based and problem-based learning approach. The course starts with a preliminary training period where the students learn how to safely and independently perform synthesis and purification procedures and to operate the most…

Most prior research on academic entrepreneurship focuses on the interplay between university research and technology transfer activities in the form of joint research, spinoffs, licencing and patenting. Yet questions still remain with respect to the role of academic entrepreneurship in education and learning. Lifelong learning has been developing…

This study investigated the effects of problem-based learning (PBL) on knowledge acquisition and knowledge retention in a controlled experiment in a lab setting. Eighty-eight first-year psychology students were randomly assigned to either a PBL condition, a lecture condition, or a self-study condition. All participants had the opportunity to study…

Interdisciplinary approaches to research in the sciences have become increasingly important in solving a wide range of pressing problems at both global and local levels. It is imperative then that science majors in higher education understand the need for exploring information from a wide array of disciplines. With this in mind, interdisciplinary…

Problem-based learning (PBL) is an instructional design approach for promoting student learning, in context-rich settings. GlobalEd 2 (GE2) is PBL intervention that combines face-to-face and online environments into a 12-week simulation of international negotiations of science advisors on global water resource issues. The GE2 environment is…

What does problem-based instruction do for students and teachers? The open-ended geometry problem presented in this article, along with examples of students' work on the problem, illustrates how problem-based instruction can help students develop their mathematical proficiency. Recent studies have shown that students who experience problem-based…

For teachers and parents, it is important to offer children opportunities for sensory exploration and wonder that capitalize on questioning and curiosity. This article discusses three areas to assist parents in addressing the scientific interests of their children, in terms of understanding what should be happening at school and how it can be…

The worked example effect indicates that learning by studying worked examples is more effective than learning by solving the equivalent problems. The expertise reversal effect indicates that this is only the case for novice learners; once prior knowledge of the task is available problem solving becomes more effective for learning. These effects,…

Twenty-first century and global skills are generally described as competencies for communication and problem solving. Additionally, these skills involve developing the ability to view content-specific issues through a multicultural perspective. Preparing K-12 students for STEM careers in an ever-changing workplace means they must have…

This commentary begins by summarizing the five contributions to this special issue and briefly recapping the background to the topic of student learning in higher education. Narrative and systematic reviews are compared, and the relative value of different bibliographic databases in the context of systematic reviews is assessed. The importance of…

Mobile learning (M-learning) has become a popular topic in educational research, in previous research there have been many studies on attitude to M-learning directed towards staff, parents and students; however, limited research has focused on the comparison between teachers and students in the context of creative engineering and their respective…

Problem-based learning (PBL) as an educational practice continues to have great impact on all levels of education and across different disciplines. The aim of this experimental study is to examine the effects of PBL on prospective teachers' academic achievements and self-regulation. The treatment group (n = 36) and the control group (n = 21)…

This article describes the creation of a First Year Experience learning community in a teacher education program. The First Year Experience model was adopted by the university because of declining enrollment, retention, and graduation rates and has been generally successful in the education department. With little information available for teacher…