This paper presents field-tested improvements over an 11-year period of a large-scale "Introduction to Information Systems" core business school course and provides a framework for implementation. Engagement and learning in large-scale courses can prove challenging, especially when the class is a requirement within a business school's…

Simulation methodology has moved toward using different types of real-world scenario-based learning constructs to improve applied understanding of political science concepts and theories. This type of active learning has become popular in the upper divisions of undergraduate and graduate political science. This reflection addresses the variance in…

This study assessed the impact of an "active learning" strategy employed alone or in combination with traditional lectures on the learning of mammalian physiology by undergraduate students. The study investigated the impact of three teaching strategies, namely (1) traditional lecture, (2) group discussion alone, and (3) combination of…

Teaching chemistry to nonscience majors is challenging because most students come to class with negative beliefs about chemistry. Those mindsets stem from their inaccurate prior knowledge of how chemistry relates to their daily lives. To address the issues and promote students' engagement in chemistry courses, we implemented ubiquitous biodiesel…

Interdisciplinary education offers a collaborative approach to multifaceted topics, such as environmental sustainability. In this article, we present the conceptual framework and lessons learned from a team-taught course, entitled Sustainability, Energy, and the Green Economy (SEGE). Faculty from the departments of Physics, Chemistry, and Biology…

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate a teaching approach and some teaching strategies in an Informatics course for the first-year non-IT students at the Department of Informatics of Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia. The authors suggest some solutions for making the course, which is usually complicated, more dynamic and attractive,…

In an effort to make our classes more engaging, we recently reorganized sections of our nonmajors biology course, using current issues in biology and society as a premise to promote coherence among course content and emphasize the relevance of biological concepts to everyday life. A key aspect of the reorganization included the development and…

Teachers of business and economic journalism are developing creative approaches to attracting students and educating them in a field many find daunting. To recruit, some avoid using the terms "business" or "economic" in course titles, preferring "financial basics" and "financial literacy." Many use novel…

The challenge in chemistry courses for nonscience majors (such as nursing majors) is not that the students cannot learn chemistry but that they "think" they cannot learn chemistry. With this in mind, the authors' goal was to create a learning environment in which students would feel motivated to learn and would gain confidence in their…

It is well established that active learning results in greater gains in student conceptual knowledge and retention compared to traditional modes of teaching. However, active learning can be very difficult to implement in a large-enrollment course due to various course and institutional barriers. Herein, we describe the development and…

Flipped classrooms are a relatively new teaching strategy where the typical lecture and homework elements of a course are reversed. Although flipped classrooms are gaining popularity, evaluations of this type of pedagogical model are limited. The purpose of this study was to investigate student views related to the effectiveness of a flipped…

Active learning is a hallmark of the traditional science laboratory class, making it a natural place for librarians to integrate active information literacy instruction. The course structure of science lab classes, particularly large entry-level undergraduate classes, can make the logistics of such integration a challenge. This paper presents two…

Meta-analyses of active-learning research consistently show that active-learning techniques result in greater student performance than traditional lecture-based courses. However, some individual studies show no effect of active-learning interventions. This may be due to inexperienced implementation of active learning. To minimize the effect of…

An introductory, nonscience-majors chemistry course was converted to a Web-based course. The differences in student populations, teaching strategies, laboratory methods, and learning outcomes are described. Practical information is also given on the use of software and other online technology to implement course conversion. (Contains 2 tables.)

Gene expression is a highly theoretical concept that requires advanced reasoning skills to comprehend. Often, students receive instruction but fail to replace prior conceptions and thus do not benefit. In order to investigate the reason for this failure, we used a directed inquiry activity that uses concrete analogies in both majors and non-majors…