Describes a seven-week project completed by the author's eighth-grade science students (as they studied "the chemistry of living things") in which they designed an alien and its world using the scientific concepts that they learned in class. Compares class presentations using PowerPoint software to presentations using posterboard. (SR)

In a simulation, a student team studied a real factory system and tested three work configurations. The partnership benefitted students and business, but the project underscored the need for careful coordination, assistance from company management and instructors, and a longer time frame than a semester. (SK)

Describes having students conduct micro-ethnographic research projects, in which students study how participants construct the meanings of social practices in the worlds of school, home, peer group, or various virtual worlds. Discusses research procedures, adopting a cultural perspective, selecting research topics, becoming a participant observer,…

Describes an interdisciplinary project to help elementary school children discover the relationship among technology, history, and geography that involved the building of a model Brooklyn Bridge and considering the history and role of the real bridge. Suggestions for similar projects for other cities are appended. (JPB)

Describes a senior seminar as a capstone writing-intensive course with the purpose of introducing students to independent mathematical study. Discusses changes in the seminar over time that reflect changes in program emphasis and the interests of both faculty and students. (Author/MM)

Tests the hypothesis that integrating cross-course concepts in bioengineering and process control courses through a unified project could provide a stimulating learning environment. Indicates that the project helped students to integrate their acquired knowledge in process control in the bioengineering project. (ASK)

Introduces an event in which two school teams from Argentina and Vietnam joined those from each Australian state in a race of model cars powered by the sun that provides a challenging and exciting approach for students to apply their scientific and technological knowledge to design and build the most efficient vehicles possible to gain hands-on…

Discusses an alternative teaching approach that incorporates action learning principles along with authentic project-based methods into the full-time study of instructional design. Describes the implementation of action learning principles within a graduate program in instructional technology at George Mason University. (Author/LRW)

Several years ago, upon entering eighth grade, a student was given a Microsoft iPaq Pocket PC as a birthday present. After using it for several months, he noticed a distinct improvement in my grades. During the rest of the school year, he noticed that the improved academic achievement continued. He wondered if his experience was a mere fluke or…

The author argues that first-year students understand "writing" narrowly and that introductory writing courses should deepen that understanding. The article describes class projects designed to help students see themselves as authors (closely related to "authorities"), create a "community of dissensus," and raise awareness of ideology--their own…

This article argues that interior/architectural design education favours a dominance of final presentation over the design process in the studio environment, particularly in the evaluation of a project. It suggests that the appeal of design juries for pleasant drawings, which may shift the emphasis from the project itself to its representation,…

An exercise that provides a hands-on demonstration of the hydrolysis of aspirin is presented. The key to understanding the hydrolysis is recognizing that all six process may occur simultaneously and that the observed rate constant is the sum of the rate constants that one rate constant dominates the overall process.

A consortium of teacher education professors worked together in a 3 year project to infuse service-learning into their courses. Although they had participated in the same preparatory workshops, they largely integrated it in ways that appeared to eclipse S-L orthodoxy. To understand their variances we examined the choices and contexts that shaped…

Toys often work well for project activities. They appeal directly to youngsters, and older students like to make things that they can give to a younger sibling or relative. This article describes how to construct a toy truck. This project takes advantage of common 2 x 4 lumber stock to produce an economical toy. Of course, one could substitute…

This article describes a new approach to teaching metabolic pathways, designed to engage students with the material, and its complexities. Based on a novel way of presenting metabolic pathways, in which the focus is placed on proteins rather than metabolites, simple tutorial-based exercises and mini-projects are described, bringing metabolism to…