Information Literacy (IL) competencies are defined as "the ability to locate, evaluate, and use information effectively" and are considered essential for students in their academic lives and future careers (ALA, 1989). IL plays an important role in developing critical thinking and problem solving skills, and improving academic…

A modified form of problem-based learning (PBL) with problems based on real workplace scenarios was trialled in a third year university class on Environmental Geology. Problems were developed in consultation with industry and based on their recent projects. These were then modified to allow for the shorter timeframe available, the less developed…

We evaluated the effectiveness of the use of an electronic personal response system (or "clickers") during an introductory psychology lecture on perceptual constancy. We graphed and projected student responses to questions during the lecture onto a large-screen display in Microsoft PowerPoint. The distributions of answers corresponded…

A critical component to instituting compassionate, patient-centered diabetes care is the training of health care providers. Our institution developed the Family Centered Experience (FCE), a comprehensive 2-year preclinical program based on longitudinal conversations with patients about living with chronic illness. The goal of the FCE is to explore…

Teachers know what a daunting job it can be to ensure that all students in a class learn effectively. In addition to the usual difficulties of gaining everyone's attention at once, instructors also run into the issue of preferred learning styles. In any classroom environment, the same topic is taught to multiple students, and each student may…

A guided-inquiry exercise conducted in both the lecture and laboratory components of a college introductory chemistry course for non-science majors is described. The exercise gave students the opportunity to independently determine the relationship between the temperature of water in an aluminum soda can and the intensity of implosion upon placing…

The General Medical Council in the UK recommends that undergraduate medical students be exposed to a variety of learning opportunities and increasingly take responsibility for their own learning. This study presents quantitative and qualitative data relating to attendance at non-compulsory plenary lectures in order to understand factors affecting…

A large enrollment, instructor-centered chemistry course taught with science demonstrations was transformed into one that was more student-centered. Course survey and examination results revealed more positive perceptions of the benefits of demonstrations and greater content mastery for students in the modified course than for those in the…

Many authors claim that students' attention declines approximately 10 to 15 min into lectures. To evaluate this claim, we reviewed several types of studies including studies of student note taking, observations of students during lectures, and self-reports of student attention, as well as studies using physiological measures of attention. We found…

The main aim of this article is to explore models of a teacher addressing a class sitting in a rectangular classroom or lecture theatre and derive central measures of the distance between the teacher and the class or between a lecturer and an audience. This involves an interesting range of mathematics and two metrics. A secondary aim is to discuss…

In this article we describe a case study of interactive lecture experiments in a large introductory physics course. The impact of this pedagogy on student learning and motivation is also discussed. (Contains 1 table and 3 figures.)

The effects of accompanying lectures with computer-mediated PowerPoint presentations or PowerPoint generated overheads on students' self-efficacy, attitudes, course performance, and class-related behaviors were examined. Two Introduction to Developmental Psychology sections were initially taught with lectures accompanied by either overheads or…

Educators are increasingly using educational technologies at the postsecondary level although little research has investigated the effects of such technologies on learning. Our research explored the effects of traditional lecture, slide-show-supplemented lecture, and virtual learning environment (VLE) on learning and frustration among college…

Hybrid courses allow students additional exposure to course content that is not possible in a traditional classroom environment. This exposure may lead to an improvement in academic performance. In this report, I describe the transition of a large undergraduate exercise physiology course from a traditional lecture format to a hybrid…

As the result of a qualitative investigation into spatial ability, a teaching technique called mentored sketching was found to be effective for teaching visualization skills to freshman engineering students. This contribution describes the technique, how it evolved, and comments made by students as to its effectiveness. While mentored sketching…