Children are natural scientists full of curiosity. This curiosity allows them to ask questions about and to investigate their surroundings. Since science is not just a collection of facts to be learned, but rather investigations that need to be made, teachers should encourage that natural curiosity in the classroom. Luckily, the "Next…

Developing innovative science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) curricula that elicit student excitement for learning is a continuous challenge for K-12 STEM teachers. Generating these lessons while meeting conflicting pedagogical objectives and constraints of time, content, and cost from various parties is truly a challenging task…

For tertiary educators in Indigenous Australian Studies, decolonising discourse in education has held much promise to make space for the diversity of Indigenous Australian peoples to be included, accessed, understood, discussed, and engaged with in meaningful ways. However, Tuck and Yang provide us with the stark reminder that decolonisation…

Even though peer process feedback is an often used tool to enhance the effectiveness of collaborative learning environments like PBL, the conditions under which it is best facilitated still need to be investigated. Therefore, this study investigated the effects of individual versus shared reflection and goal setting on students' individual…

This paper describes the design and development process used to create Alien Rescue, a multimedia-enhanced learning environment that supports problem-based learning (PBL) in middle school science. The goal of the project is to further our understandings of technology, pedagogy, and instructional theories as they relate to the application of PBL…

One of the iconic symbols of the collegiate experience is the graying professor pontificating behind a lectern to a massive audience of dreary-eyed students. In fact, 45 percent of faculty at four-year institutions still report "extensive lecturing" as the teaching method used in most of their courses (Hurtado et al., 2012). And yet,…

General chemistry students often have difficulty writing balanced equations and performing stoichiometry calculations for precipitation reactions, in part because of difficulty understanding the symbolic notation used to represent chemical reactions. We have developed a problem-based experiment to improve student learning of these concepts, and…

This article provides an overview of the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) in mathematics. It describes the origins of SoTL in higher education and distinguishes SoTL from good teaching, scholarly teaching, and mathematics education research. It includes a widely adopted taxonomy of SoTL questions and presents several examples of SoTL…

This study set out to test whether relevant prior knowledge would moderate a positive effect on academic achievement of elaboration during small-group discussion. In a 2 × 2 experimental design, 66 undergraduate students observed a video showing a small-group problem-based discussion about thunder and lightning. In the video, a teacher asked…

What does problem-based instruction do for students and teachers? The open-ended geometry problem presented in this article, along with examples of students' work on the problem, illustrates how problem-based instruction can help students develop their mathematical proficiency. Recent studies have shown that students who experience problem-based…

Student engagement in higher education is important. Some professional healthcare programs, however, can become quite focused and competitive, limiting the potential for positive student engagement and for students to see how their field of study fits within larger systems. Food system assessments are an ideal way to see the interconnectedness of…

For teachers and parents, it is important to offer children opportunities for sensory exploration and wonder that capitalize on questioning and curiosity. This article discusses three areas to assist parents in addressing the scientific interests of their children, in terms of understanding what should be happening at school and how it can be…

Self-regulated learning (SRL) actions of 30 Canadian and 30 Chinese university students were studied in a face-to-face problem-based learning environment. Participants were randomly assigned to work in dyads consisting of Chinese, Canadian, or mixed Chinese-Canadian pairs to learn Analysis of Variance collaboratively using a computer coach. Dialog…

The aim of this research was to determine the satisfaction of medical students with problem-based learning (PBL) and their approaches to learning to investigate the effect of learning approaches on their levels of satisfaction. The study group was composed of medical students from three different universities, which apply PBL at different levels…

One of the characteristics of effective science teachers is a deep understanding of science concepts. The ability to identify, explain and apply concepts is critical in designing, delivering and assessing instruction. Because some teachers have not completed extensive courses in some areas of science, especially in middle and elementary grades,…