This study investigates how blending of different instructional approaches with technology affects students' engagement. A computer networks course was designed and implemented for the first eight weeks of the semester as a lecture-based blended learning environment and for the second eight weeks of the semester as a problem-based blended learning…

Psychology is a science-based discipline in which research is inextricably embedded in teaching and learning activities. Educators use different methods to help students in their learning of the nature of research and the practical skills required to conduct research, with students playing either a passive or more active role in the learning…

Models and modeling are considered integral parts of scientific literacy, reflecting educators' efforts to introduce and engage students in authentic scientific inquiry through Modeling-based Learning (MbL) approaches in science. Over the years research has developed a considerable amount of knowledge concerning MbL. Our purpose in this paper was…

The present article describes and evaluates collaborative interdisciplinary group projects initiated by content lecturers and an English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) instructor for the purpose of teaching technical writing skills in an aeronautical engineering degree program. The proposed technical writing model is assessed against the results of a…

A number of universities in the United Kingdom (UK) have launched institution-wide initiatives recently to embed inquiry and research more firmly into the student experience. Among these, the Centre for Inquiry-based Learning in the Arts and Social Sciences (CILASS) led a five-year development program at The University of Sheffield (TUOS) between…

Constructivist-based inquiry instruction has been popularized for several decades in primary- and secondary-science education, with overwhelmingly positive results across all sciences. Importantly, higher education faculties have begun to embrace inquiry instruction in many subject areas. In fact, a growing body of literature illustrates the…

Movies have a long and distinguished history in the political science and international relations classrooms; they provide connections between abstract theories and concepts and concrete everyday practices. However, traditional approaches to teaching movies in the political science and international relations classrooms allow for passive student…

Over the last decade, WebQuests have grown in popularity in educational environments. In order to effectively implement a WebQuest in the classroom, best pedagogical practices must be employed; however, these best WebQuest practices should reflect the exigent 21st century skills students need to be successful, productive members of the global…

This article presents the Action--Reflection--Modelling (ARM) pedagogical approach for teacher education developed during a Malaysia-UK collaborative project to construct a Bachelor of Education (Honours) degree programme in Primary Mathematics, with English and Health and Physical Education as minor subjects. The degree programme was written…

The first day of a course has great potential to set the tone for the entire course, planting the seeds for habits of mind and questioning and setting in motion expectations for classroom discourse. Rather than let the first meeting contain little besides going over the syllabus, the instructor (Lesser) decided to use two sustained open-ended…

This study focuses upon the effectiveness of project-based learning on primary school pupils regarding their content knowledge and attitudes towards self-efficacy, task value, group work, teaching methods applied and peers from diverse ethnic backgrounds. A cross-curricular project was implemented within the curriculum area of environmental…

We revised a sophomore-level genetics class to more actively engage the students in their learning. The students worked in groups on quizzes using the Immediate Feedback Assessment Technique (IF-AT) and active-learning projects. The IF-AT quizzes allowed students to discuss key concepts in small groups and learn the correct answers in class. The…

An extensive study has been performed on the importance of building ethical principles into secondary school and college curricula. In published surveys, females are almost universally found to be more ethical, but experience tells us females lag behind males in their ability to maintain and act upon their convictions in the workplace. We examined…

Designing collaborative three-dimensional learning games for vocational learning may be one way to respond to the needs of working life. The theoretical vantage points of collaborative learning for game development and the "design-based research" methodology are described; these have been used to support collaborative learning in the…

China is undergoing an education reform that calls for a change from a rigid, fixed curriculum and didactic pedagogy to a more flexible, school-based curriculum and more inquiry-based pedagogy. This study investigated the extent to which Chinese middle and high school teachers (a) endorse an inquiry-based approach and underlying learning…