Technology and a variety of resources play an important role in students' educational lives. Vygotsky's (1987) theory of tool mediation suggests that cultural tools, such as computer software influence individuals' thinking and action. However, it is not completely understood how technology and other resources influence student action. Middle…

This article discusses one teacher's efforts to give their students a mentor text for a persuasive, research-based writing project. The author's shift from assigning predominantly fiction to focusing more on nonfiction came as a result of their efforts to help their students move from students' current writing style -- that of a five-paragraph…

Focusing on a section of the Teaching International Students (TIS) project this article captures student and mentor perspectives within a Project-Based Professional Experience (PBPE) in the context of a large research-intensive university in Sydney, Australia. Animations co-produced with students were part of a Work Integrated Learning (WIL)…

In this project, students use a real-world, complex database and experience firsthand the consequences of inadequate data modeling. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency created the database as part of a multimillion dollar data collection effort undertaken in order to set limits on air pollutants from electric power plants. First, students…

This paper explores the ways in which multimodal classroom discourse could inform a social justice agenda through broadening the base for representation in the classroom. It identifies some of the challenges and opportunities of designing multimodal classrooms in diverse and developing contexts, where there are vast differentials in terms of…

When learning about electricity, students are typically asked to complete a simple circuit involving a battery, wire, and lightbulb. This activity can be enhanced by adding discussion and discourse and can take on a unique final form in the case of "The Friendship Detector." In such electrical circuit activities, the completed circuit is…

Each semester, preservice elementary generalist teachers navigate to and through the multiple sections of our art methods courses. These elementary education majors bring concerns relating to dominant education discourse such as high stakes testing and accountability measures that relate to how they will be evaluated as future teachers. Often,…

Despite high enrollments and budget cutbacks affecting many programs, students still need design experience which prepares them for a globally competitive workforce. We demonstrate that team design projects can be threaded across the curriculum even at large institutions with high departmental student to faculty ratios (~50:1). We assessed student…

In Saatdjian, E., Lesage, F., and Mota, J.P.B, "Transport Phenomena Projects: A Method to Learn and to Innovate, Natural Convection Between Porous, Horizontal Cylinders," "Chemical Engineering Education," 47(1), 59-64, (2013), the numerical solution of natural convection between two porous, concentric, impermeable cylinders was…

Knowledge of how to effectively monitor social media is an increasingly valued marketing research skill. This study tests an approach for adding social media content to an undergraduate marketing research class team project. The revised project maintains the expected objectives and parameters of a traditional research project, while integrating…

This handbook is intended to help all those who design, administer, and implement honors thesis programs--honors directors, deans, staff, faculty, and advisors--evaluate their thesis programs, solve pressing problems, select more effective requirements or procedures, or introduce an entirely new thesis program. The authors' goal is to provide…

The world is full of colors. Most of the colors we see around us can be created on common digital displays simply by superposing light with three different wavelengths. However, no mixture of colors can produce a fully pure color identical to a spectral color. Using a smartphone, students can investigate the main features of primary color addition…

Outdoor areas within or near college campuses offer an opportunity for biology students to observe the natural world and apply concepts from class. Here, I describe an engaging and integrative project where undergraduate non-major biology students work in teams to develop and present professional "eco tours." This project takes place over multiple…

In recent years, there has been a growing recognition of language teaching being more and more communication oriented. The traditional classroom teaching is facing a big challenge and is gradually being replaced by learner-centered approaches putting learner as individual into the core of learning process. This means learner autonomy gets to be…

Reflection is a crucial element in service-learning and having English as a second language (ESL) students create multimodal reflections on their service-learning experience helps them develop multiliteracies and results in learning that is authentic and meaningful as students engage in social discourse while they develop their academic language…