An upper-division undergraduate polymer chemistry course was developed as a blended/hybrid course. The students met face-to-face once a week for 75 min with all other components being available online. Face-to-face meetings were used for class discussions/problem-based lectures, student presentations, hands-on activities, and examinations. Online…

This study explores the effectiveness of the sequential use of lectures and video podcasting in higher education. Drawing together several theories, this paper examines the influence of student's perceived prior knowledge gained from lectures and technology acceptance model-related variables on student's self-reported assimilation of new material…

Student-centered learning encompasses four overlapping and complementary principles (JFF, 2014): competency-based progression, personalization, flexibility in where and when learning takes place, and facilitation of key skills and dispositions such as agency and ownership. To date, few studies have attempted to quantitatively characterize…

There are many ways to construct classroom-based learning communities. Nevertheless, the emphasis is always on cooperative learning. In this article, the authors focus on three teaching methods--interteaching, team-based learning, and cooperative learning in large, lecture-based courses--that they have used successfully to create classroom-based…

There are many ways in which wire coat hangers can be used other than for suspending clothes. The author has been making use of them in his teaching for many years--copying ideas from colleagues and creating some for himself. In this article, he shares five examples that can enrich learning about science. (Contains 6 figures.)

Demonstrating probabilistic outcomes using real-time data is especially well-suited to larger lecture classes where one can generate large data sets easily. The difficulty comes in quickly collecting, analyzing, and displaying the information. With the advent of wireless polling technology (clickers), this difficulty is removed. In this paper we…

The flipped classroom has been gaining popularity in recent years. In theory, flipping the classroom appears sound: passive learning activities such as unidirectional lectures are pushed to outside class hours in the form of videos, and precious class time is spent on active learning activities. Yet the courses for information systems (IS)…

Team-based learning (TBL) is a teaching pedagogy for flipping the classroom that moves the focus of the classroom from the instructor conveying course concepts via lecture to the application of concepts by student teams. It has been used extensively in lecture courses; however, there is little evidence of its use in laboratory courses. The purpose…

Theory lectures are boring and sleep inducing for students, and it is difficult to get their full attention during 1 h of lecture. The ability of students to concentrate diminishes 20-25 min after the start of the lecture. There is also a lack of active participation of students during theory lectures. In an effort to break the monotony of the…

Education shares many similarities with service delivery in the business sector. The student often experiences the total service within the classroom. Marketers in retail stores and the hotel and hospitality industry have long acknowledged the ability of the physical environment to influence behaviors and therefore make concerted efforts to create…

Interactive-engagement (IE) techniques consistently enhance conceptual learning gains relative to traditional-lecture courses, but attitudinal gains typically emerge only in small, inquiry-based curricula. The current study evaluated whether a "scalable IE" curriculum--a curriculum used in a large course (~130 students per section) and…

Frequent student processing of lecture content (1) clears working memory, (2) increases long-term memory storage, (3) produces retrograde memory enhancement, (4) creates episodic memories, (5) increases alertness, and (6) activates many brain structures. These outcomes increase comprehension of and memory for content. Many professors now…

This paper describes "interteaching" as an evidence-based method of instruction. Instructors often rely on more traditional approaches, such as lectures, as means to deliver instruction. Despite high usage, these methods are ineffective at achieving desirable academic outcomes. We discuss an innovative approach to delivering instruction…

One of the iconic symbols of the collegiate experience is the graying professor pontificating behind a lectern to a massive audience of dreary-eyed students. In fact, 45 percent of faculty at four-year institutions still report "extensive lecturing" as the teaching method used in most of their courses (Hurtado et al., 2012). And yet,…

The purpose of this study was to ascertain the influence of an extrinsic motivational tool, "class-bucks," on the possibility of improving first year student-teachers' participation in active learning at Tshwane University of Technology in South Africa. Research participants (n=289) were divided into four classes and engaged in this…