Computing science students amass years of programming experience and a wealth of factual knowledge in their undergraduate courses. Based on our combined years of experience, however, one of our students' abiding shortcomings is that they think there is only "one correct answer" to issues in most courses: an "idealistic"…

Traditionally, mathematics has been taught using a very direct approach which the teacher explains the procedure to solve a problem and the students use pencil and paper to solve the problem. However, a variety of alternative approaches to mathematics have surfaced from a number of different directions. The purpose of this study was to examine the…

Instructors of large lecture classes face a variety of challenges, including student engagement and participation. With budget cuts and increasing class sizes, more schools may turn to large lecture/lab formats for the basic communication course (Stanley & Porter, 2002); instructors must understand how these classes engage students. One viable…

Purpose: The global expansion of higher education has brought about more ambitious educational goals that require new approaches to curriculum, teaching, and learning. While higher education in East Asia is no exception to this trend, it has been observed that both teachers and learners in the region have adhered to a strong tradition of…

Cognitive load theorists claim that problem-centered instruction is not an effective instruction because it is not compatible with human cognitive structure. They argue that the nature of problem-centered instruction tends to over-load learner working memory capacity. That is why many problem-centered practices fail. To better support students and…

The purpose of this study was to identify effective teaching methods for age 50+ baby boomer learners. The study used a mixed methods research design. The qualitative paradigm used focus group sessions and the quantitative paradigm was completed through surveys. Fifteen age 50+ baby boomer learners and 11 faculty who teach them comprised the two…

The purpose of this study is to investigate differences between traditional conventional professional development and high quality reflective professional development and curriculum implementation of classroom practices. This study examined the extent to which professional development activities were associated with increased levels of curriculum…

This study compared active teaching strategies with passive lecture by evaluating cognitive, affective, and psychomotor learning outcomes, while highlighting end-of-life communication in nursing education. The problem addressed was twofold: First, passive lecture prevents transfer to situational decision-making, or a sense of salience (Benner,…

The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to examine attitude and achievement among fifth grade students participating in inquiry and lecture-based forms of instruction through interactive television. Participants (N = 260) were drawn from registered users of NASA's Digital Learning Network[TM]. The first three levels of Bloom's Revised…

Most timeline analogies of geologic and evolutionary time are fundamentally flawed. They trade off the problem of grasping very long times for the problem of grasping very short distances. The result is an understanding of relative time with little comprehension of absolute time. Earlier work has shown that the distances most easily understood by…

This article describes an effective approach to teaching chemistry by bringing the laboratory to the center of teaching, to bring the excitement of discovery to the learning process. The lectures and laboratories are closely integrated to provide a holistic learning experience. The laboratories progress from verification to open-inquiry and…

The purpose of this study was to compare course evaluation responses of students enrolled in several sections of a graduate level human growth and development course taught with a traditional lecture/textbook approach to the course evaluation responses of students enrolled subsequent sessions of the same graduate human growth and development…

This paper investigated the use of special eyeglasses designed with a built-in video camera and microphone for the purpose of recording classroom activities from the point of view of both the professor and the student. The aim is to eliminate the need for dedicated video recording in the classroom. This paper reviewed the various techniques used…

Purpose: This paper seeks to report on the conception of a novel digital backchannel, Backstage, dedicated to large classes, aiming at empowering not only the audience but also the speaker, at promoting the awareness of both audience and speaker, and at promoting an active participation of students in the lecture. In learning settings with a large…

This study's goal was to quantify the effects pre-lecture online quizzes and student-initiated inquiries to the instructor, either virtually or in person, had on students' achievement. Pre- and post-course tests were also implemented to an experimental and a comparison section of the same course. The number of electronic administrative contacts…