The purpose of this article is to demonstrate how I used the Authentic Intellectual Work (AIW) pedagogical framework in conjunction with Project-Based Learning (PBL) to develop a campus-community partnership while enhancing and promoting the goals of the local blues society. In order to achieve the goals of the AIW framework, I created a major…

The authors wrote this article to share a message of hope to change agents working in higher education. Even if change cannot happen right away, assembling a foundation of interested collaborators, waiting for the right time to act, and thinking of past failures as opportunities to build the groundwork can result in productive changes. Acting once…

Research has highlighted the significant decline in teachers' implementation of newly acquired teaching practices following professional development (PD), primarily attributed to the absence of follow-up support. Even science teachers who have participated in intensive PD programs often encounter challenges in integrating new teaching practices…

This study investigated the role of a new paradigm in teaching large introductory, fundamental engineering mechanics (IFEM) courses that combined student-centered learning pedagogies and supplemental learning resources. Demographic characteristics in this study included a total of 405 students, of whom 347 (85.7%) are males and 58 are (14.3%)…

While shown to be less effective than active learning strategies, traditional methods of content delivery in post-secondary classrooms are the most prominent. Flipped classrooms, an example of an active learning approach, have been shown to be effective in long-term student outcomes. Team-Based Learning (TBL), a specific application of the flipped…

Games and simulations are increasingly used in courses on international politics. This study explores the hypothesis that games are better than simulations (as well as only reading and lectures) in introducing students to abstract concepts integral to an understanding of world politics. The study compares a two-level Prisoner's Dilemma game…

In the past ten years, engineering classrooms have seen an exponential growth in the use of technology, more than during any other previous decade. Unprecedented advancements, such as the advent of innovative gadgets and fundamental instructional alterations in engineering classrooms, have introduced changes in both teaching and learning. Student…

The Elizabeth Thoman Archive at the Harrington School of Communication and Media, University of Rhode Island, has the last complete kit of one of the milestones in the early chronology of media literacy, the 1972 Media Now curriculum. This curriculum was the first of its kind, using self-contained lesson modules that were part of a larger series…

Recent national reports have indicated a need for significant changes in science higher education, with the inclusion of more student centered learning. However, substantial barriers to change exist. These include a lack of faculty awareness and understanding of appropriate pedagogical approaches, large class sizes, the time commitment needed to…

As part of a Howard Hughes Program for Innovation in Science Education grant at Iowa State University, a series of interdisciplinary graduate teaching assistant learning communities (TALC) were developed. The purpose of these communities was to create an environment to facilitate teaching assistants' pedagogical development and training to enhance…

This study examined differences in the effects of three active-learning teaching strategies (case-based learning, simulation, and simulation with narrative pedagogy) on the outcomes of nursing student performance of intervention activities, performance retention of intervention activities, student satisfaction, self-confidence, and educational…

Since the passage of the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA), the total population of students with special needs being served in schools has risen from 5 percent in 1976 to 8.6 percent in 2006. One of the greatest ramifications of the passage of this education legislation is the push toward creating classrooms where all students…

The Lewis & Clark Rediscovery Project is a technology professional development program designed to help teachers restructure teaching and learning practices in the classroom, and to foster technology use in the schools. The 5-year program (extended into a 6th) was funded in 1999 with a grant from the U.S. Department of Education: Technology…

A learning community is a relatively old phenomenon that has resurfaced; it is making educators at institutions of higher education stand up and take notice. Grounded in collaborative and cooperative learning theories, learning communities have created environments in which student learning is the center of attention. The social construction of…

This article discusses a project about lunch undertaken by a class of 3- to 5-year-old children in a preschool in Iowa. Following a description of the school and the goals of the project, the article presents the three phases of the project. The teacher's reflections about the project are also included. Photographs taken to document the project…