The inspiration for this paper was a retreat in which education students and professors spent a weekend at a forest preserve, conducting biodiversity studies. Our writing describes the power of our retreat as a scientific, social and pedagogical learning experience. The three authors present our written reflections individually, prefaced by a…

The cycle of transmission pedagogy that begins in teacher preparation programs--and is supported by "old school" practices in the field--obstructs critical thinking in both arenas. By pedagogically structuring for critical thinking in teacher education courses, teacher educators can disrupt this pattern through exposure to and experience with…

At a southern metropolitan university, the researchers examined the students' perceived quality of the learning experience of the online courses as compared to classroom-based learning for graduate education courses. The researchers used Chickering and Gamson's (1987) [Chickering, A. W., & Gamson, Z. F. (1987, March). Seven principles for good…

During the last years, development of open learning environments that support effectively their users has been a challenge for the research community of educational technologies. The open interactive nature of these environments results in users experiencing difficulties in coping with the plethora of available functions, especially during their…

This paper describes the international co-operation experience in teaching control engineering with laboratories being conducted remotely by students via the Internet. This paper describes how the students ran the experiments and their personal experiences with the laboratory. A tool for process identification and controller tuning based on…

This article describes how a traditional biology lecture course was transformed into an interactive class. A review the activities used, changes made to grading policy, and practical tips for integration of active learning in the classroom are provided. Analysis of student responses to course assessments indicated that active learning experiences…

In this article, the author presents an overview of concrete as a building material and as an example of a particle composite, and discusses the origins of concrete in ancient Rome. He then describes an activity in which students can cast a concrete patio stone. Students can apply the technological design process, as well as the elements of…

This article examines the hermeneutic, narrative, and social co-construction of cultural understanding as two educators shared their teaching and learning experiences in Japanese and Canadian schools. Our dialogic inquiry reveals how perceptions of practices in one culture--including curricula in non-core, academic subjects, stances on student…

The General Academic Learning Experience (GALE) is an assessment of community college student knowledge in the liberal arts. The study involved the design and administration of an instrument, which included a demographic survey and a multiple-choice content test. In total, over 2,500 students from 10 colleges in Southern California participated.…

This article presents selected findings from a qualitative practitioner study into the learning experiences of 30 immigrant ESL high school students in a 3-day innovative, Freirean-styled, antidiscrimination leadership program. This case study is grounded in a social identity theoretical framework which assumes that linguistic interactions are not…

When schools and teachers come together voluntarily to collaborate in learning communities there can be powerful and positive benefits to pupils' experiences of learning and their wider lives. This article summarises some of the learning from the four-year Networked Learning Communities programme, managed by the National College for School…

This study examines the classroom experiences of 192 children followed longitudinally from kindergarten to 1st grade. Time-sampled observations of children were conducted to compare learning formats, teaching activities, and children's engagement in activities between kindergarten and 1st grade. Classroom observations also were conducted to…

A single-semester elective combines Mendelian and molecular genetics in a problem-solving format. Students encounter a genetic disease scenario, construct a family pedigree, and try to confirm their medical diagnoses through laboratory experiences. Encouraged to generate ideas as they test their hypotheses, students realize the importance of data…

This paper explores the Web 2.0 ethos with respect to the application of pedagogy within 3D online virtual environments. 3D worlds can create a synthetic experience capturing the essence of "being" in a particular world or context. The AliveX3D platform adopts the Web 2.0 ethos and applies it to online 3D virtual environment forming a Web…

Active-learning labs for two topics in high school biology were developed through the collaboration of high school teachers and university faculty and staff and were administered to 408 high school students in six classrooms. The content of instruction and testing was guided by State of Texas science objectives. Detailed teacher records describing…