For the fourth year in a row, the author and a computer teacher have joined forces to guide students through an annual technology and research project that benefits area institutions and community members. The author presents the three key areas of the geospatial technologies curriculum at Douglas High School in Box Elder, South Dakota: (1)…

Students in instructional design (ID) courses typically propose a solution to an instructional problem without a clear understanding of the instructional problem. Often, this type of response is disconcerting to ID instructors. Owing to the way in which the ID process is managed, significant time may pass between design proposal and design review.…

In this article, the authors describe a graduate course based on a cooperative learning strategy involving structured group interaction. The authors team-taught a semester-long course in which student groups worked on a consulting project requiring interaction between three distinct teams--the student group, a faculty team, and a team of field…

The projects described in this article were designed to provide a real world situation akin to the work of environmental professionals. The projects were conducted with Australian students working on environmental issues in Vietnam. The projects demonstrated that multi-disciplinary teamwork fits well into environmental projects, and importantly…

Background: ICT (information and communication technology) and project work are challenging issues for many teachers to deal with in the classroom. For years there were predictions that teachers, textbooks and even schools would be replaced by new teaching and learning technology. This prediction does not appear to have come about. Cuban has…

The aim of this paper is to describe a task-cycling pedagogy for language learning using a technique we have called "Stimulated Reflection". This pedagogical approach has been developed in the light of the new technology options available, especially those that facilitate audiovisual forms of interaction among language learners and teachers. In…

Problem solving and teamwork abilities are important skills for graduates entering the environment profession. Through a problem based learning approach small groups of students from the environmental courses at RMIT University have been gaining these professional skills by undertaking projects in Vietnam. With three years experience in running…

Several years ago, the University of Indianapolis embarked on its self-study for North Central Association accreditation with the issue of quality assessment linked to outcomes. As such, its Department of Communication was forced to demonstrate outcomes-oriented evaluation of student learning. After an extensive audit of the department's…

Seven years of industrial experience followed by 30 years of academic research and teaching in structural engineering have led the author to believe that the prime objective of a university design course is not the design project itself but to train students to solve problems, as this will last them throughout their careers. It is shown how design…

Design projects are one form of project-based learning whereby students propose, build, and test an artifact to meet a specific need. This paper presents the design, implementation, and evaluation of a computer-based tool ("Co-Net") designed to support students in the process of working on design projects (in this case, instructional design…

In this article, the author presents "Fresh Wood", a book that features award-winning student furniture projects. Woodworking teachers use the new book to get students inspired and motivated to excel with their own woodworking projects. The book features the impressive work of more than 40 high school and college students who submitted…

In this article, the author describes how she came to develop a unit that embraces the genre of mystery and suspense writing and allows students to explore the world of ghouls through four major projects in the areas of reading, writing, art, and research. The unit was introduced in the first two weeks of school to allow students some time to work…

The preliminary efforts to engage students in the physical sciences through research projects in environmental chemistry are described. The successful involvement of two demographics, community college (CC) students and female students in cutting-edge chemistry research suggests that recruiting methods were effective and the feedback from…

This guide was prepared as a tool useful for informal education venues (4-H, Boys and Girls Clubs, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, etc.), science clubs and related programs, and can be adopted for formal education settings. An exciting and productive study in rocket science can be implemented using the selected activities for the above-mentioned…

In the marketing research class taught at University of South Carolina, Upstate School of Business and Economics, pedagogical emphasis is placed on the marketing research process as it relates to the policies and functions of the business enterprise. Historically, the marketing research project has been used in this undergraduate class to convey…