In order to improve the quality of technology instruction, the Career and Technical Education (CTE) Business Department in the Spokane Public School district has aligned its Computer Applications (CA) course to the district's ninth-grade Springboard (Language Arts) curriculum, Algebra I curriculum, and the Culminating Project (senior project)…

This paper reports on the design, implementation and assessment of a new approach course structure based on the combination of three cooperative methodologies. The main goal is to reduce the percentage of non-passed students focusing the learning process on students by offering different alternatives and motivational activities based on working in…

Typically, teachers use tests to evaluate students' knowledge acquisition. In a novel experimental study, we examined whether low-stakes testing ("quizzing") can be used to foster students' learning of course content in 8th grade science classes. Students received multiple-choice quizzes (with feedback); in the quizzes, some target…

A participatory learning approach, combined with both a traditional and a competitive assessment, was used to motivate students and promote a deep approach to learning biochemistry. Students were challenged to research, author, and explain their own multiple-choice questions (MCQs). They were also required to answer, evaluate, and discuss MCQs…

Many English schools have a homework policy which prescribes how much homework should be set for each pupil each week, irrespective of whether it can be made meaningful. Research recommends "Assessment for Learning" (AfL) as supportive of students' learning, but teachers can find it difficult to incorporate AfL techniques into their…

To what extent does the use of computational tools offer teachers the possibility of constructing dynamic models to identify and explore diverse mathematical relations? What ways of reasoning or thinking about the problems emerge during the model construction process that involves the use of the tools? These research questions guided the…

Engineering technology students can attain a meaningful mathematics learning if they are allowed to actively participate in hands-on activities. However, the current dissemination of knowledge in the classroom still focuses on teacher-centered paradigm of teaching. A study to explore lecturers' views regarding a newly developed integral calculus…

We transformed our first-year curriculum in biology with a new course, Biological Inquiry, in which greater than 50% of all incoming, first-year students enroll. The course replaced a traditional, content-driven course that relied on outdated approaches to teaching and learning. We diversified pedagogical practices by adopting guided inquiry in…

In New Zealand and internationally claims are being made about the potential for information and communication technologies (ICTs) to transform teaching and learning. However, the theoretical underpinnings explaining the complex interplay between the content, pedagogy and technology a teacher needs to consider must be expanded. This article…

This case study looked at 76 randomly selected preservice science teachers from Mbire and Guruve districts who were learning at the Mushumbi Centre in Zimbabwe and assessed their motivations for enrolling under the Bindura University of Science Education (BUSE)'s Virtual and Open Distance Learning (VODL) programme. It also looked at the challenges…

The study reported in this article draws upon data collected for the programme "Increasing the Efficiency of Mathematics and Science instruction" (SINUS-Transfer), a professional development project in Germany. This programme's approach requires teachers to improve their teaching in a cooperative manner and with regard to pedagogical…

This article discusses an exploratory study that examined whether a wiki-based project could foster student-centered learning. Student teachers were divided into five groups to tackle a group project which involved creating digital learning materials on wiki that could teach information technology (IT) to secondary school students. As assessment…

This paper introduces a model for using informal science education venues as contexts within which to teach the nature of science. The model was initially developed to enable university education students to teach science in elementary schools so as to be consistent with "National Science Education Standards" (NSES) (1996) and "A Framework for…

Students are relying on technology for learning more than ever, and educators need to adapt to facilitate student learning. High-fidelity patient simulators (HFPS) are usually reserved for the clinical years of medical education and are geared to improve clinical decision skills, teamwork, and patient safety. Finding ways to incorporate HFPS into…

Paramedic students need to acquire knowledge and skills necessary to perform basic as well as complex clinical skills, to ensure patient safety, and to manage sophisticated equipment. Time and resource pressures on students, teaching staff and institutions have led health professional educators to develop and embrace alternative opportunities such…