Commenting, liking and reacting on the Internet have become ubiquitous. In almost every online interaction, people have the opportunity to show their approval of comments. It has also become common to express several other feelings such as anger, love, and compassion through emojis. Previous research suggests that "online spaces represent a…

Objective: To assess the role of body mass index (BMI) and exercise levels in self-perception of critical thinking skills. Participants: Three hundred forty-seven students from an upper-division nutrition class over two consecutive years. Methods: A pre/post survey with a 15-week intervention assessed perceived critical thinking skills in a…

This study investigated the characteristics of peer discussions used to support formative assessment in lectures, facilitated by a student response system, in an undergraduate qualitative methods course for psychology students. The intent was to examine the characteristics of peer discussions in which student response systems are used to…

Purpose: Critical thinking and student attitudes are pertinent to 21st century learning of cultural values which is still very low. Research with a focus on improving these skills and attitudes using inquiry-based approaches are very limited. This research aimed to improve critical thinking and student attitudes of elementary school teacher…

Geographic technologies and perspectives are important for understanding health issues because places and locations influence human health and diseases. Despite the increasing use of a geographic information system (GIS) in health research, and the explosion of new and emerging technologies, little is known about their potential as educational…

This study describes an intervention that introduced a period of solving non-routine problems into tertiary STEM lectures. The aim was twofold: to attempt to increase student engagement and to introduce them to the kind of domain-free abstract reasoning that involves critical, creative and innovative thinking. The study involved over 600 STEM…

This study aims to implement a problem-based learning method and investigate how this method enhances students' learning performance, specifically in self-regulated learning and higher-order thinking skills for a Financial Management class, involving highly passive learners. The study adopted mixed methods, quasi-experimentally, by comparing a…

In two studies, we demonstrate an engaging classroom activity that facilitates student learning about Kohlberg's theory of moral development by using digital resources to foster active, experiential learning. In addition to hearing a standard lecture about moral development, students watched a video of a morally provocative incident, then worked…

Background: Research illustrates that student motivations influence learning engagement, persistence, and achievement in powerful ways and that positive motivations are linked to deeper learning, critical thinking, pro-social behavior, and better performance. Most studies of learner motivation, however, are conducted outside of STEM and are…

The concept of active learning as a superior mode of instruction has recently received great attention in the education research literature. It holds promise of steering students away from rote memorization towards higher order thinking (as defined by Bloom's taxonomy revised). However, few studies focus on student perceptions of higher order…

Teaching with cases, especially at universities where cases are not a regular part of the curriculum, poses challenges for both faculty and students. The results in this research present an effective and manageable method to introduce the case analysis process and to facilitate written case analysis for both students and faculty. Experiment 1…

Critical thinking skills are sought after in the workforce and are often included in course, departmental, and programmatic learning objectives. However, in the curriculum of many courses we tend to focus on content rather than on fostering the growth of the cognitive skills needed to improve critical thinking ability. Further, skills are…

Teachers' approaches to teaching at undergraduate level in universities have long been considered very significant for students' learning. Teachers can develop critical thinking skills in students at this stage which in turn aid problem solving, that is essential to the social and economic development of a nation. This study aims to explore…

The flipped classroom pedagogy offers opportunities for students by having the majority of class time spent on discussions and group work that enable students to take risks and make mistakes while gaining experience in collaboration and expertise in content. This research study explores students' perceptions of whether student collaboration in a…

Physiology instructors often are faced with the challenge of providing informative and educationally stimulating laboratories while trying to design them in such a way that encourages students to be actively involved in their own learning. With many laboratory experiments designed with simplicity and efficiency as the primary focus, it is…