Gilberto Nuñez, Department of Spanish and Portuguese Nowadays the way of teaching has changed due to new technology. Whereas in the past decades accessing information required more time, now everything is immediate, which has made the work of the educator different....
Active learning
The Changing Role of University STEM Teaching in the Internet Era
Chris Persichilli, PhD, Department of Physics & Astronomy The Problem These are unstable times. The insurgence of the Internet into all facets of modern life has had a transformative impact on every industry, whether they like it or not. Education is no exception,...
Why the Student-Centered Classroom Might be Key to Conducting More Effective Peer Review Sessions
Franziska Tsufim, M.A., Department of English Over the years, students in my composition classes have repeatedly complained that peer review was a “waste of time”. My students’ experience is not unique. Although most writing teachers use peer review in their...
Pair-Programming: Is It Effective for Learning?
Saehanseul Yi, Department of Computer Science Pair-Programming in Classrooms Pair-programming is a programming paradigm where two or more programmers share a single computer. Lindvall et al. show that pair-programming is effective in professional fields because...
Active Learning in Computer Science
Caio Batista de Melo, Department of Computer Science Active Learning is an already popular concept, and a lot of instructors are familiar with it. However, there were very few times I have taken a Computer Science (CS) class that was not based only on lectures. Why is...
Student-Centered Course Design Improves Learning Outcomes in Biology
Andra Ionescu Tucker, Department of Neurobiology and Behavior Biology courses, particularly for first year college students, are taught in a traditional lecture format at most research universities. As a teaching assistant for such a class, I have observed how easy it...
Learning and Teaching as Complementary Practices: Examples from Freshmen Experience Courses
Jessica Guerrero, Department of Urban Planning and Public Policy Some instructors are naturals when it comes to teaching, but like everything, teaching has evolved over the years. Pedagogy practices also highlight ways of how studying learning has changed. Research...
Using Exams as a Learning Experience
Christian Glaser, PhD, Department of Physics and Astronomy Traditionally, exams test students’ knowledge at a certain point in time. They are not intended for the students to learn anything but to show what they know. But what if exams can be turned into a valuable...
Active Learning Methods in Classrooms Old and New
Nima L Yolmo, Department of Anthropology The growing effectiveness of active learning pedagogical methods since the 1980s has concurrently drawn attention to classroom ambiance. Design aspects such as lighting and mobility influence student learning. Over the past...
Case-based Learning in Chemistry
Bronte Charette, Department of Chemistry What is case-based learning? Case-based learning (CBL) is an instructional design model that stimulates active participation by relating course content to real-world examples. Indeed, business, law, and medical schools...