Introduces an activity on the rock cycle. Sets 11 stages representing the transitions of an earth material in the rock cycle. Builds six-sided die for each station, and students move to the stations depending on the rolling side of the die. Evaluates students by discussing several questions in the classroom. Provides instructional information for…

Describes a card game that illustrates natural selection acting on random mutations with or without cumulative selection. (YDS)

Claims that oral communication across the curriculum (OCXC) offers unique pedagogical advantages in three areas: (1) active learning; (2) discipline-specific application of communication; and (3) continued instruction and practice throughout college for non-communication majors. Provides a guide for administrators and faculty in developing OCXC…

As the pieces by Di Chiro, Plevin, and Sze in this issue have illustrated, feminist pedagogy offers a productive framework through which to explore environmental justice issues. Environmental justice issues, in turn, offer invaluable sites for feminist praxis. The mutually enriching relationship between the two fields results from their similar…

Surveys at a university in Hong Kong indicated that graduates of discrete part-time programmes perceived significantly higher development in eight out of nine graduate capabilities than their counterparts in full-time programmes. Several possible explanations are considered and rejected. The conventional view that capabilities are nurtured through…

Students find difficulty in learning linear algebra because of the abstraction and formalism associated with concepts such as vector space, linear independence, rank and invertible matrices. Learning the necessary procedures becomes insufficient, and imitating worked examples does not guarantee the maturity level necessary for understanding these…

This paper explores the use of the educational pilgrimage as an active learning strategy in the introductory world religions course. As we study pilgrimages from different religious traditions throughout the semester using Victor Turner as our theoretical guide, students also plan their own campus pilgrimage, paying homage to sites that help them…

This article responds to the exponential growth in academic textbooks on Western or American Buddhism by arguing that popular trade books written by Buddhist teachers in the West make more effective tools for teaching and learning about the growth of Buddhism in western societies. The use of such texts in the classroom provides students with…

This paper examines how Geographic Information Systems (GIS) can potentially capture a student's imagination, facilitate active learning, and create a state of "flow" in geography classrooms. The paper is organised in four sections. First, the author provides a condensed overview to the major tenets of "FlowTheory." Second, a short discussion…

In this article we discuss how classroom voting can be used to create an active learning environment, to provide immediate feedback for both students and teacher and to motivate students to participate in discussions about mathematics.

Although lecture and lab courses are commonly used in higher education, there are potential problems with this format. However, technology is presenting new opportunities for teaching such a type of a course. This study explores the changes in the role of the instructors when a lecture and lab course evolved into a hybrid course, with the lecture…

This paper presents initial results from a survey of project based learning conducted across a dozen strata of high schools including several major reform networks. This approach to instruction appears to be central to progressive reforms in small high schools. We found relationships to reforms such as teaching across the curriculum, student…

This paper encourages the investigation of real world problems by students and faculty and links recommended student competencies with project based learning. In addition to the traditional course objectives, project-based learning (PBL) uses real world problems for classroom instruction and fieldwork to connect students, instructors, and industry…

Foremost in an effective curriculum for students with emotional and behavioral disorder (E/BD) is a high level of engaged time--time spent doing meaningful learning activities. Engaged time (time-on-task) is the portion of instructional time that students spend directly involved in learning activities. Walker and Severson (1992) defined the…

The challenges associated with teaching a core introductory management information systems (MIS) course are well known (large class sizes serving a majority of non-MIS majors, sustaining student interests, encouraging class participation, etc.). This study offers a mechanism towards managing these challenges through the use of a simple and…