The learning initiative described in this paper looks at how the adoption of a flexible, online learning approach can be used to optimize teaching and learning in engineering materials to a variety of engineering disciplines. The main driver for adopting this approach was to increase the effectiveness of delivery of subject matter. Practical…

This study investigated differential effects of learning styles and learning orientation on sense of community and cognitive achievement in Web-based and lab-based university course formats. Students in the Web-based sections achieved higher scores at the "remember" and "understand" levels, but not at the "apply" or "analyze" levels. In terms of…

A 5-day workshop for staff of an inner city school addressed the teaching approach of the Lab School of Washington (District of Columbia) and covered the nature of learning disabilities (LDs), tools to identify unique learning styles of students, and innovative teaching methods for all students with and without LDs. Eighteen elementary mainstream…

This course workbook is designed to help students understand the principles of active learning, student assessment, and team training used in Arizona State University's core engineering curriculum. Eight sections focus on: (1) active learning, teaching and learning styles, and cooperative learning; (2) student assessment, levels of learning, and…

The purpose of the study was to identify and compare the learning style preferences of low-achieving and high-achieving young African-American males. Measures of perceptual preferences for 22 learning modalities were obtained from a sample of 50 ninth- and tenth-grade students. Half of the students were randomly selected from a pool identified as…

An after-school fine arts program was developed at J. W. Sexton High School (Lansing, Michigan), based on the premise that participation in the fine arts, particularly by African Americans, would lead to higher grade point averages and a greater commitment to school life. A review of relevant literature revealed a number of reasons for low…

This report examines the learning styles of Caucasian and African-American students. While research supports the claim that low academic achievement is prevalent in the minority community, there is no consensus regarding the causes. There are two schools of thought that involve (1) the cognitive deficit or genetic cause, and (2) the cultural…

The guide is designed for teachers of adult basic education students with language backgrounds other than English, limited education, and low literacy skills coupled with relatively high oral skills in English. The first chapter outlines common educational, sociocultural, and linguistic characteristics of this target group. The second chapter…

This article examines issues that were critical for eight preservice teachers learning to teach mathematics and social studies in the context of reform-minded methods classes. The issues include: (1) the impact of their prior knowledge and experience in the development of content-specific pedagogical knowledge; (2) their conceptions of mathematics…

This paper presents the report of a University of Maryland focus group evaluating a seminar in teaching designed for undergraduate teaching fellows in engineering. The course's purpose was to provide the fellows the opportunity to apply teaching theory to practice. Focus groups were conducted in order to evaluate the course and the teaching…

The concept of self-regulation--the process whereby students activate and sustain behaviors and cognitive paths which are systematically oriented toward attainment of learning goals--is increasing in importance among educators. Self-regulation includes activities such as attending to instruction; organizing, coding, and rehearsing information;…

A number of second language class activities are presented that stimulate interpersonal interaction and develop communication skills. The exercises are also designed to accommodate learners' different learning styles, pacing needs, skill levels, and course content. They include: a questionnaire activity in which students must discover facts about…

The goals of the QUILT program are to increase and sustain teacher use of classroom questioning techniques and procedures that produce higher levels of student learning and thinking, and to increase the incidence of student responses at higher levels of cognition. Educational research has established relationships between discrete questioning…

The "Thinking Mathematics" approach to teaching is guided by two ideas: (1) that learning requires knowledge upon which new problems and situations are interpreted and (2) that mathematics skills are applied in context. This paper reports research that examined whether teaching mathematics students in high school remedial classes can be…

Previous studies established that 6 hours of instruction focusing on cognitively demanding aspects of computer use were sufficient to reduce computer anxiety significantly among teacher education students. This paper reports on a study of whether or not it is possible to reduce anxiety at least as efficiently by providing a similar length computer…