Education Commons^™

What Is Active Learning? Perspectives From Five Stem Professors' Teaching Practices In Their Classrooms, Iliana Correa

Capstone Showcase

This senior thesis investigated what ways, if any, STEM professors incorporated active learning pedagogy in their undergraduate classroom in a small private university in the northeast USA. STEM pedagogy was investigated because of the increasing prominence of active learning methods in the classroom compared to the didactic type of teaching that was prominent in the past (Eichler, 2020). A qualitative case study of five STEM professors was conducted and involved collecting data from biographical questions, a one-hour interview, and the analysis of a document provided by the professor that could have been a lesson plan, an assignment, or an activity …

Changing Pace And Recognizing Relationships: The Pandemic And Beyond, Carole Shook

TFSC Publications and Presentations

The pandemic brought out the importance of relationships and active learning. The presentation describes games, email communications, classroom communications, and making class more enjoyable to engage students.

Increasing Active Learning And Achievement In A Large Lecture Calculus Class Through A Flipped Classroom Model, Kimberly King

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

University Calculus I courses serve as a means of access into high demand STEM fields and large lecture style passive calculus courses can be difficult for students. A mixed methods research design was used to compare a flipped instructional approach to a traditional lecture approach in large section Calculus I courses. The flipped lecture model required students to view videos of calculus instruction that included embedded quiz questions to allow for problem solving explorations during face-to-face class time. The traditional format included content from the video and limited time for additional problem solving. A professor with prior experience teaching Calculus …

Flipped Classrooms: Student Engagement Enhancing Student Success And Satisfaction, Jed Swensen

Graduate Teacher Education

With a growing use of digital technology in homes and at schools, student engagement in academic content can be difficult to achieve. In some cases, students are more engaged with a cell phone than the classroom content. A flipped classroom creates an avenue for educators to utilize the digital format in a purposeful and meaningful approach. By utilizing the flipped learning model, the time students spend in the classroom can be devoted to active learning activities rather than listening to direct instruction through a lecture format. The increase in student engagement due to these active learning activities has shown to …

Exploring The Level Of Engagement Of Capstone Students In An Active Learning Center, Carol Ann Sharicz

Instructional Design Faculty Publications

This study provides a qualitative exploration of the level of engagement of Capstone students attending course meetings in an Active Learning Center (ALC) during their own respective semester at a public research university in the Boston area. A design-based research methodology was employed to study innovative learning environments encompassing learning in context. Study results uncovered three themes regarding the impact of the learning space on students’ perceptions of learning and levels of engagement; revealed that one particular tool, the use of small white boards, encouraged deep thinking and reflection; and indicated that the ALC provided a highly collaborative experience.

Virtually Escaping A Challenging Semester, Ashley Barbo

Journal of Interprofessional Practice and Collaboration

In 2019, a novel escape room activity was developed for students enrolled in a pharmacy practice laboratory course at the University of Louisiana Monroe College of Pharmacy. Due to COVID-19, students in the Spring of 2020 were unable to attend classes in person. All labs were transitioned to an online format. Faculty were able to successfully create a virtual version of the escape room lab activity utilizing multiple technology platforms. Development of this virtual lab activity allowed students to complete advanced pharmacy practice skills assessments in a fun and engaging learning environment.

Key words: escape room, virtual, pharmacy laboratory, active …

Transitioning To An Active Learning Environment For Calculus At The University Of Florida, Darryl Chamberlain, Amy Grady, Scott Keeran, Kevin Knudson, Ian Manly, Melissa Shabazz, Corey Stone

Publications

In this note, we describe a large-scale transition to an active learning format in first-semester calculus at the University of Florida. Student performance and attitudes are compared across traditional lecture and flipped sections.

The Capstone Journey: Exploring Design, Delivery And Evaluation In An Undergraduate Management Discipline Context, Heather Stewart Dr, Luke Houghton, Clare Burns

The Qualitative Report

The focus of this paper is the development of a capstone management course and the application of educational action research through continual learning. In this article, we use the continual learning frame of plan, do, study, and act to underpin an educational action research design on the development of a capstone management course. As part of an Active Learning Trial, the development of the capstone experience has been captured in the embodiment of that experience. Our aim is to guide other academics in developing their own capstone course, particularly, within management with extension into other disciplines. Through continual improvement, we …

Whole Brain Teaching In A Second Grade Classroom, Shelby Bridges

Masters of Education in Teaching and Learning

This study addresses the topic of whole brain teaching (WBT). The researcher sought to understand if WBT changed student achievement or student attitudes about math. The researcher also sought to understand students’ perceptions of WBT. The main purpose of this study was for the author to understand if WBT would help students better engage in and understand mathematics. The author collected data through student surveys, teacher and student interviews, personal research journals, and math assessment scores. The researcher used the constant comparative method to analyze the participants’ perceptions of WBT during mathematics instruction. Descriptive statistics were used to understand if …

Instructional Framing And Student Learning Of Community Interactions, Nathaniel Niosco

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Ecology is a broad field of science that encompasses many disciplines with large impacts in our society (AAAS, 2011; NRC, 2009). To understand the complex systems and concepts of this discipline requires a foundation of knowledge that students often gain in the classroom (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2000). Helping students develop this foundation of knowledge requires an understanding of how they use surface and deep reasoning skills to understand and learn new material. In addition, using methods to teach students to transfer these skills between multiple contexts is key to expanding their ability to broadly apply knowledge. The purpose of …

Recommendations For Improvement Of Collegiate Flight Training Operational Efficiency Through Guided-Inquiry Inductive Learning, John H. Mott, Darcy M. Bullock

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Efficiency in higher education has increasingly come under scrutiny as student debt levels continue to increase and the quantification of the value provided to students by colleges remains elusive. Collegiate flight training operations are especially subject to such scrutiny, due to their expense and to continued below-average entry-level salaries in the airline industry. This research examines an inductive learning approach combined with a flipped classroom, whereby aviation management students in a large Midwestern collegiate aviation program analyzed the operational efficiency of their primary flight training operation and recommend potential solutions and means of implementation. Such an approach provides multiple benefits. …

Assessment Of Student Knowledge Of The Weak And Strong Nuclear Forces, Pramila Shakya

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if the use of active-learning activities to teach weak force and strong force to students enrolled in various courses at The University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg campus and Gulf Park campus at different class times would increase their knowledge. There were eighty-six students that took part in this study. The study was conducted in the lab classes of an introductory astronomy survey course (AST 111), an introductory algebra-based physics course (PHY 112), and an introductory calculus-based physics course (PHY 202) during fall semester 2014. Each class was randomly assigned as active-learning or …

The Effectiveness Of Active And Traditional Teaching Techniques In The Orthopedic Assessment Laboratory, Sara Nottingham

Athletic Training Faculty Articles and Research

Active learning is a teaching methodology with a focus on student-centered learning that engages students in the educational process. This study implemented active learning techniques in an orthopedic assessment laboratory, and the effects of these teaching techniques. Mean scores from written exams, practical exams, and final course evaluations were compared for 79 human physiology students. One- and two-way analyses of variance were used to evaluate the effect of teaching methodology on test scores and evaluation responses. No significant differences were found for course evaluation responses and written and practical exam scores between the two learning groups. This study suggests that …

Patterns For Active E-Learning In Cms Environments, Atanas Radenski

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

The proliferation of course management systems (CMS) in the last decade stimulated educators in establishing novel active e-learning practices. Only a few of these practices, however, have been systematically described and published as pedagogic patterns. The lack of formal patterns is an obstacle to the systematic reuse of beneficial active e-learning experiences. This paper aims to partially fill the void by offering a collection of active e-learning patterns that are derived from our continuous course design experience in standard CMS environments, such as Moodle and Black-board. Our technical focus is on active e-learning patterns that can boost student interest in …