In a small-group communication course, students participate in a semester-long project to observe an organization while applying many group communication principles, including conflict resolution, group dynamics, teambuilding, leadership, and diversity. In groups of five, the students select any organization, agency, or department on campus or in…

There is considerable evidence that 'active learning' strategies are more efficacious than traditional 'passive learning' methods (e.g. lecture). Presented here is a small group active learning project developed for undergraduate social psychology students. The activity involves carrying out and reporting the results of a structured demonstration…

As collaborative problem-solving skills are increasing in importance, Project-Based Learning (PBL) is being implemented in various ways, but the results differ depending on the participants. This study shows that the results of PBL depend on student interaction type and learning motivation. The difference in the levels of interaction and learning…

The American K-12 system had serious problems even before the pandemic. Teachers were frustrated, and students suffered growing levels of anxiety and depression, not to mention the downward academic achievement trends of the past decade. A set of promising new schooling techniques has gained traction during the pandemic, which could bring joy back…

Teachers encountered difficulties implementing 90% of Target Language (TL) use and tried various strategies to promote it. This qualitative case study investigated secondary foreign language teachers' perceptions and experiences of following the district's recommendation to use 90% and above of TL in their classrooms in a school district in the…

Small-group pedagogies, such as group research projects, are a common instructional method in undergraduate education. The literature suggests that small-group learning has positive effects on learning outcomes, but some students have negative attitudes toward group work, and student complaints about negative group dynamics, such as free-riding,…

The purpose of this article is meant to provide evidence and examples from an exemplary middle school science teacher's classroom with regard for using innovative approaches in STEM education. The author of the article suggests moving from a curriculum-centered paradigm to a student-centered paradigm. Strategies for integration in STEM education…

This study investigated how the use of structured participation, specifically group presentation roles, supported more equitable participation in doing and learning mathematics. We analyzed videos of two lessons focused on radius, diameter, circumference, and area of circles in which students worked in small groups in a STEM project-based geometry…

Niamh McQuillan, development and instructional coach at Windsor Mill Middle School in Baltimore County Public Schools, Maryland, writes here that, as a teacher, she always liked new learning, but more often than not, it was like a barnacle on her practice. She attended professional development sessions and took the handout back to the to-do tray…

This work presents the assessment of the development and evolution of an active methodology (Project-Based Learning--PBL) implemented on the course "Unit Operations in Environmental Engineering", within the bachelor's degree in Environmental Engineering, with the purpose of decreasing the dropout rate in this course. After the initial…

This paper addresses one of the major confusions in the study and practice of problem-based learning today, namely the use of the term "problem-based learning" to refer to both the small-group tutorial method pioneered by McMaster University and Maastricht University in medical education, and the problem-oriented project-work method…

The difficult times in which we live require innovative, creative, and hopeful pedagogies of adult education. This article describes a nontraditional experiential, "empathy-invoking" approach to the teaching of a graduate course on the theory and research of adult learning. The approach begins with the building of a safe learning…

As educators, we know students from all sections of the population who are bright, but do not do well academically (Grade Power Learning, 2018). This is particularly true with students from underrepresented populations or whose parents are not college graduates. Significant reasons for this are because they do not know how to study effectively,…

Our interpretative study that was carried out in a science and engineering oriented university examined the ways students in an introductory biology course perceived their learning in the course that was substantially changed to allow student-centered learning. The instructional change was framed by the view of learning as a sociocultural activity…

As the number of participants in online distance learning courses increases, peer assessment is becoming a popular strategy for evaluating open assignments and for breaking the social isolation surrounding distance education. Yet, the quality and characteristics of peer assessment in massive online courses has received little attention. Hence,…