A 3-year study (2017-2019) was conducted to obtain the views of nonmajor undergraduate students about discussions in learning physiology. The teaching methods used were lecture only (lecture), group discussion alone (discussion), and a combination of lecture and discussion (lecture + discussion). Students were assigned homework in a textbook, and…

"Beer Brewing: Chemical and Biochemical Principles" is a 15 week laboratory and lecture course specifically designed for nonscience majors as an introduction to science literacy via structured laboratory experiments that encourage student engagement. It provides students with a foundation in chemical and biochemical principles using a…

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…

Along with a growing body of evidence of the challenges experienced by specialist and more-able mathematics students during their undergraduate studies, there now exists evidence that these students are increasingly accessing mathematics support centres as a means of enhancing their mathematical learning experience. Here, we report on a survey of…

The present study aimed to investigate the effect of micro-lecture teaching on non-English majors' academic achievements and learning motivation. One hundred and twenty-two non-English majors studying the college English course in North China Electric Power University participated in the study. The micro-lecture teaching and traditional PPT…

A comprehensive guided-inquiry approach was used in a combined organic and biochemistry course for prenursing and predietetics students rather than lecture. To assess its effectiveness, exam grades and final course grades of students in three instructional techniques were compared. The three groups were the following: (i) lecture only, (ii)…

We report the student response to a two-year transformation of a one-semester organic chemistry course for nonchemistry majors. The transformed course adopted a peer led team learning approach and incorporated case studies. Student attitudes toward the course transformation were assessed throughout the semester, and adjustments to the methods were…

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…

I lay a new theoretical framework across my own lecturing in order to understand what is happening. On the one hand, this is a test of the framework. On the other, I gain insights into both better practices and better course design. The framework constructs undergraduate teaching as the interaction between the discipline and the university…

Traditional lectures have come under increasing criticism as research indicates lectures may be less effective in achieving learning outcomes than other teaching methods. Student engagement and success can potentially be improved by changing traditional lectures to instructional methods using active learning techniques. Active learning refers to…

Lack of satisfaction with the quality of the mathematical knowledge of non-mathematics majors has led to the design of new curricular materials. In this study, a mixed methods explanatory design was used to compare the performances of two groups of engineering majors enrolled in two courses on differential equations and investigate their written…

The decision to employ learner-centered teaching methods, teacher-centered teaching methods, or whether to integrate the two within large lecture halls in higher education continues to be heavily researched and hotly debated. All, in one form or another, have been shown effective at varying levels, throughout a myriad of disciplines and across…

This article describes the authors' attempts to make a college mathematics class more hands-on and interactive. The authors challenge other college mathematics instructors to try similar approaches to enhance the learning and understanding of their students.

In recent years, short question-and-answer activities known as lecture tutorials that are designed to help students work with and discover concepts for themselves, rather than simply being told about them (lectured to) have become a popular tool for learner-centred teaching of introductory college astronomy. Students on such a course are usually…

We investigated a pedagogical innovation in an undergraduate microbiology course (Microbes and Society) for non-majors and education majors. The goals of the curriculum and pedagogical transformation were to promote active learning and concentrate on clarity in teaching. This course was part of a longitudinal project (Project Nexus) which…