Co-invention projects in elementary school engage pupils in complex, open-ended design tasks in a practical, hands-on way. Physical materials are an intrinsic part of design, involving trasformation of conceptual ideas into material forms, such as prototypes. These tangible objects mediate embodied thinking and act as material-social mediators of…

In this case study, the authors collaborated with two grade 4 teachers, who participated in a large-scale professional learning program focused on helping K-9 teachers enhance their classroom practice and confidence in teaching science through inquiry-based learning. The specific research questions that guided the study were the following: (a) How…

What tools are available to foster independent and critical thought in the music classroom? We propose that visual mapping--a method of representing relationships and associations between a main concept and other ideas, subtopics, or examples--is an ideal tool for doing exactly this. After examining the principles and usefulness of mapping in a…

Heat and temperature concepts are found at all levels in the science curricula and are well-known for creating conceptual difficulties for learners. Students have difficulty understanding concepts related to heat, temperature, and thermal radiation. Inquiry-based pedagogies that can foster the learning of these difficult concepts are needed.…

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of active learning on student performance in a sophomore-level anatomy and physiology course. Exam grades of students from two consecutive fall semesters were compared. In the first year of the study, students (n=180) used skeletons, plastic muscular manikins, and illustrations to learn the…

The new educational paradigm has led to a change in the teaching methodologies toward those more focused on the student, among these, project-based learning (PBL) is postulated as one of the most promising. This work is focused on the description of the experience of using PBL methodology in Materials Science courses, conducted by four different…

With the advance of engineering education research and scholarship, there has been an increased focus on amending chemical engineering courses to increase student learning, engagement and enjoyment. These approaches are often incorporated in project-based courses such as capstone design courses and laboratory courses, providing opportunities to…

This article shows the benefits of active learning compared to traditional learning. It proves the importance of a fruitful discussion between peers. It is a sample of methodological change with no curricular change. It also shows the overall satisfaction of the students, who achieved an equal or better academic performance than the students in…

Student-led design projects undertaken within healthcare settings raise considerable ethical challenges, primarily resulting from collaboration with service users. This article emerged out of the experiences of design from a New Zealand university undertaking real world projects in acute health care contexts. A human-centred approach to design is…

While the use of active learning exercises and the incorporation of popular culture in the classroom have increased in recent years, the study of potential gendered effects on learning and engagement when it comes to these practices has been limited. In this study, data are collected from international politics courses using a zombie outbreak as…

We present an analysis of the "in situ" support provided to preservice physics teachers (PPTs) enrolled in a Methods for Teaching Physics course (N = 28) at a research university, while working on the design of 20 lessons in mechanics and waves they taught later in the course. The PPTs submitted 4 evolving plans for each lesson, and…

Evidence-based teaching (EBT), such as active learning and formative assessment, benefits student learning but is not present in many college science classrooms. The choices faculty make about how to teach their science courses are influenced by their personal beliefs and motivations, as well as their departmental structures and institutional…

In this paper, I present a homework system that supports a flipped classroom environment using only a textbook for students' first contact with the material. Motivated by David Pengelley's homework system, each unit of material has four key components: Core Assignments, Conceptual Assignments, In-class Worksheets, and Follow-up Assignments. The…

While traditional models of training such as behavioral modeling (BMT) have been found to enhance training transfer, research suggests that more active learning strategies such as error management (EMT) and team-based learning (TBL) may be more effective. This paper analyzes BMT, EMT and TBL strategies to train employees on new enterprise…

An important contemporary challenge to the large-group lecture in higher education is that it encourages passive learning which is claimed to be out of sync with academic rhetoric and social needs. Attempts to change this practice have salvaged some aspects of the higher education experience for students, but they have not transformed the learning…