I have examined how frequency of assessment impacts learning in an undergraduate biology course employing a student-centered, active-learning pedagogy. Frequent assessment was associated with better student performance and greater retention of course concepts. Improvement of higher-order thinking skills may require more classroom practice.…

This book is a guide to helping college students take charge of their learning in their school environment, by capitalizing on their motivation arising from curiosity. It helps students gain independence from the lecture-study-exam system, with a resulting sense of thinking "I know my stuff." The guide argues that many students who do not work to…

In this chapter, a Canadian high school teacher describes a senior English independent study program requiring that each student become involved in a topic through experience. From previous teaching experiences, the teacher realized that the curriculum was secondary to the method of delivery, that learning happened when a teacher instilled in…

To ensure a lasting effect of the efforts made in early childhood programs, this manual provides specific, sequential curriculum-related activities for parents to use with infants and toddlers at home. Activities have been differentiated for the following three age groups: (1) 4 to 12 months; (2) 12 to 24 months; and (3) 24 to 36 months. The…

A study determined whether a pattern of continuing failure in reading for three remedial second graders could be changed and the students brought to grade level as measured by the Ginn Reading Program, when taught with brain compatible techniques (including active learning, cooperative learning, feedback, individual instruction, and risk taking).…

Electronic Performance Support Systems (EPSS) use computers to capture, store, and distribute knowledge in both an interactive and non-linear delivery. Using technology sources such as the Internet, Microsoft's Net Meeting, Connectix's color camera, and business software, it is possible to provide multiple site delivery and bring business…

Encouraging librarians to incorporate critical thinking skills and active learning techniques in their course instruction requires more than talking about it in a department meeting or distributing articles on the topic. At Old Dominion University (Virginia), librarians have tried conducting workshops, had readily-accessible binders of articles…

Intended to help teachers put early childhood theories and information into daily lesson planning, this guide provides a system for organizing lesson objectives, methods, and materials in order to write effective lesson plans. Chapter 1 introduces the guidebook and covers a lesson planning system, developmentally appropriate practice, standards in…

Children develop investigative skills, a spirit of inquiry, and an understanding of science within an educational context of first-hand experience and purposeful play. This article explores the issue of quality in science instruction for young children, placing it within the larger framework of quality in early childhood education. The article…

This book provides a focused, extended response to the question How does standards-based science instruction look and feel in the classroom? This question is addressed by considering two related issues: (1) "How can teachers cultivate the quality of scientific thinking and understanding defined by standards?" and (2) "How can…

This book is the story of the founder of the Awakening Seed School, who reveals how her childhood interests and experiences have influenced what she has created in her own school and classroom. Using the metaphor of a quilt, the book shows how teaching can be approached as a "handmade" process and how the materials of everyday life can…

By helping students acquire deliberative skills, community colleges can help develop citizen leaders who can engage in public discussion about values that are commonly shared but differently applied. Moreover, deliberative skills, consisting of active listening, creative conflict, public dialogue, and public judgment, can provide a fresh approach…

This unit is designed for students in grades 7-12 and can be adapted for individual settings. The unit provides student-centered instruction in geography through content specific teaching strategies. The unit is divided into five sections with lessons in each section. Sections include: (1) "Basic Perspectives"; (2) "Cultural Perspectives"; (3)…

This report presents findings of a survey of engineering college faculty at eight participating institutions in SUCCEED (Southeastern University and College Coalition for Engineering Education) concerning their use of various instructional methods, their prior involvement in instructional development programs, and their perceptions about…

The purpose of this study was to introduce the Mole Solver, a computer based system that facilitates monitors and improves the students' problems solving skills on mole concept. The system has three distinct modes that: i) finds step by step solutions to the word problems on the mole concept ii) enable students' to solve word problems on their own…