The educational benefit of the traditional didactic lecture to learners in Higher Education is hotly debated. Given increasing student numbers, existing technical set ups and many logistical concerns, lectures remain the norm in many Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). In this personal view piece, we discuss the benefits, opportunities, and…

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic we were confronted with the transition of a large, on-campus introductory soil science course into an online setting. This created several challenges, such as providing meaningful learning experiences to engage first- and second-year students, and restructuring course content for the online environment. The objective…

Active learning environments are ideal settings to help students develop process skills such as teamwork, critical thinking, and problem solving. However, implementing active learning pedagogies where students have the opportunity to develop these skills can be challenging in large enrollment courses. With the assistance of undergraduate teaching…

We describe a new style of MOOC designed to engage students with an immersive multimedia environment including text, images, video lectures, computer-based simulations, animations, and tutorials. Quantum Mechanics for Everyone is currently running on edX and has been successful by a number of different measures. Building on the pioneering work of…

This communication provides an initial report of modifications of a pedagogically complex, large enrollment (>200 student), studio-based course in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Compared to face-to-face delivery, course activities were identified as new, modified significantly, or relatively similar. Students were asked to rank eight…

Introductory physics labs often focus on a series of common experiments intending to teach the student the measurement side of physics. While these experiments have the potential to be quite instructive, we observed that our students often consider them to be boring and monotonous, which often leads to them being uninstructive. To combat this, we…

Several active-learning pedagogies involve groups of students working together to construct their own understanding of course content. In these classrooms, the instructor serves as a facilitator of learning, by interacting with every group, engaging students in discussions, answering questions, and providing formative feedback. This type of…

The combination of the COVID-19 pandemic and social unrest turned education on its head this quarter. To keep students engaged, a plethora of techniques were employed, ranging from synchronous lectures and activities via the Zoom platform to the asynchronous online discussion board Piazza. Consideration of students' nonacademic struggles also…

Many students associate grades with the completion of course work rather than learning the course content. While research has heavily focused on teaching strategies and instructional tools to improve students' learning in general chemistry, less focus has been given to assessments as a learning tool to improve students learning. Standards-based…

Typically, introductory physics courses are taught with a combination of lectures and laboratories in which students have opportunities to discover the natural laws through hands-on activities in small groups. This article reports the use of Google Drive, a free online document-sharing tool, in physics laboratories for pooling experimental data…

We conducted two AB experiments (treatment vs. control) in a massive open online course. The first experiment evaluates deliberate practice activities (DPAs) for developing problem solving expertise as measured by traditional physics problems. We find that a more interactive drag-and-drop format of DPA generates quicker learning than a multiple…

Disciplines such as Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, which involve concepts not included in the high-school curriculum, are very challenging for many first year university students. These subjects are particularly difficult for students accustomed to surface learning strategies involving memorization and recall of facts, as a deeper…

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?…

As demand for Anatomy and Physiology education increases faster than construction projects and budgets, instructors are finding themselves in front of ever-growing classroom sizes. Teaching large classes presents a number of challenges, including planning the courses, navigating technical equipment, handling exams and student accommodations, or…

This article gives a brief introduction to the structure of higher education programs in chemical and general sciences in India. The lack of high-quality chemical education in India in the past is traced back to the economic and social developments of the past. Remedial measures undertaken recently to improve the overall quality of chemical…