How can educators leverage neuroscience research about how the human brain learns? How can we use this information to improve curriculum, instruction, and assessment so our students achieve deep learning and understanding in all subject areas? Upgrade Your Teaching: Understanding by Design Meets Neuroscience answers these questions by merging…

A constant challenge for faculty is to gain and to hold student interest so that substantive learning can occur. One way to achieve this is through the use of games. This article describes an escape room activity for the classroom that is modeled after commercial escape rooms. This fun, single-session team dynamics exercise can be used in an…

In this article, the authors discuss and describe the implementation of and lessons learned from a course project centered on the creation of an infographic in a health economics course and an introduction to health research course. Students were asked to create a simple infographic about a particular topic, after researching and gathering data on…

How do we prepare students to become problem-finders, innovators, and entrepreneurs who can thrive in a global society? The Common Core charts a pathway to success, yet we know that checking off each standard one by one will not achieve the kind of results we want. This powerful book by bestselling author Nancy Sulla has the answers. She explains…

This groundbreaking book offers information on the most effective ways that students process material, store it in their long-term memories, and how that effects learning for long-term retention. It reveals how achieving different levels is important for "transfer" which refers to the learner's ability to use what is learned in different…

Teaching introductory accounting courses can be both challenging and rewarding. In introductory financial and managerial accounting, students struggle with the unfamiliar terminology and concepts. However, managerial accounting offers distinct challenges in that managerial accounting reports used for decision-making are not publically available,…

If you're tired of repeating yourself to students who aren't listening, try a little less talk and a lot more action. The authors follow the best-selling "Teaching the Male Brain and Teaching the Female Brain" with this ready-to-use collection of mathematics, language arts, science, and classroom management strategies. Designed for active,…

Accessible and practical, this book helps teachers incorporate executive function processes--such as planning, organizing, prioritizing, and self-checking--into the classroom curriculum. Chapters provide effective strategies for optimizing what K-12 students learn by improving how they learn. Noted authority Lynn Meltzer and her research…

Describes a test using 155 third-year undergraduates in 15 different institutions to examine the extent to which certain core first-year material is retained and understood. Includes an analysis of the answers given by students to each question as well as some of their comments. Students' misconceptions indicate that foundations laid in the first…

Describes a method for preparing students for vocabulary quizzes that enables students to make a personal connection with the new words. Students remember as many of the new words as they can, then free write about each one to arrive at a definition.

Teaching name mnemonics on the first day of class in psychology courses can demonstrate the power of cognition via a firsthand experience. Students create mnemonics for each other in small groups. Students then describe their name mnemonics to the class. (RM)

Explains a method of measuring music students' understanding and retention in order to justify the school music program. Rates students on three scales, including performance of tonal pattern, rote song, and rhythm pattern. Recommends the use of similar objective classroom evaluation to demonstrate learning success. (LS)

The following factors can influence the form and quality of what is stored in memory: (1) position of new learning; (2) meaning in new learning; (3) transfer of information; (4) verbal cues; (5) image cues; (6) spacing effect; (7) rehearsal and practice; and (8) organization of new information. (MLF)

The encoding specificity principle asserts that a retrieval cue will be effective if, and only if, the to-be-remembered item was specifically encoded with respect to that cue during input. Describes a classroom experiment that provides an opportunity to demonstrate the encoding specificity phenomenon, note its limitations, and discuss its cause…

Four vocabulary instruction problems are addressed on practical and theoretical levels: how to select vocabulary, organize it effectively, convey the meaning of words, and improve retention of new words through meaningful practice. Suggestions are given for using creative activities that are both educationally and linguistically sound. (MSE)