Presents guidelines for helping students produce effective multimedia presentations. Topics include modeling presentations from other successful examples; evaluation criteria; solving relevant, real-life problems; purpose statements; identifying the intended audience; preparing storyboards; the use of multimedia resources; interactivity; student…

Describes Controlled-Operation Mechanical Energy Transducers (COMETs), which are part of a project to introduce sophomore chemical engineering students to a number of important engineering concepts that are usually addressed later in the academic program. (DDR)

Describes the incorporation of health and safety issues into the engineering curriculum and focuses on an approach that introduces students to open-ended problems early in the curriculum. Reports that students are able to provide fresh solutions to mundane problems. (DDR)

Online courses have been criticized for their focus on knowledge acquisition rather than on how to solve authentic complex problems, a skill that is increasingly being recognized as critical to meeting the challenges in the real world. The purpose of this study was to explore whether between-group collaboration in project-based online courses can…

A recent employer survey sponsored by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills found that the skills new job entrants most need for success in the workplace--oral and written communication, time management, critical thinking, problem solving, personal accountability, and the ability to work effectively with others--are the areas in which recent…

The Martin Luther King School in Boston and nine other Massachusetts public schools used a grant from the Massachusetts Department of Education to expand their school days by at least two hours. Each school lengthened the time students spent in reading and math instruction. Farbman focuses on the Martin Luther King School's foray into an extended…

The United States Military Academy leads a consortium of 12 schools located throughout the country in an effort to improve educational culture through the enhancement of interdisciplinary cooperation and coordination. The primary activity of this program is the development and use of Interdisciplinary Lively Application Projects (ILAPs), the goals…

The organization of a project on the topic of communications is detailed, and examples of some of the workcards used with the project are provided. Two open'' problems along with some student responses are also included. For the first article in this series, see Volume 1 Number 7 pp9-10, November 1972. (DT)

Evaluates the results of an experiment with comprehensive project-organized and problem-based engineering education at Aalborg University that has lasted for 20 years. Several independent evaluations show that the graduates are more readily adaptable, with strong qualities in the field of problem-solving, cooperation, communication, and…

Suggests using issue-centered approaches in elementary social studies instruction and discusses one example, the Reconstructive Model by Frank Simon. Argues that by using this model, teachers can develop their own issue-centered lessons and units about history. Provides an example of a sixth-grade lesson on disabled students developed using this…

This paper describes an interdisciplinary project-based mathematics course linked to a computer technology course. The linkage encourages an appreciation of mathematics and technology as students see an immediate use for these skills in completing actual real-world projects. Linking mathematics and technology integrates subjects taught in…

This book builds on the social nature of learning to provide useful suggestions for reaching reluctant learners. It is based on the assumption that instruction that focuses on students' interests and builds on collaborative and differentiated learning will allow students to move from believing they "can't do mathematics or science" to a feeling of…

The George Lucas Educational Foundation began in 1991 with an ambitious mission: to demonstrate how innovative learning environments in classrooms, supported by powerful new technologies, could revolutionize learning. As an organization founded by George Lucas, its members believed that the same benefits of technology that were transforming…