Sample records for engineering courses taught

  1. The Effectiveness of Contextual Learning on Physics Achievement in Career Technical Education

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Arcand, Scott Andrew

    The purpose of this casual-comparative study was to determine if students being taught the Minnesota Science Physics Standards via contextual learning methods in Project Lead the Way (PLTW) Principles of Engineering or the PLTW Aerospace Engineering courses, taught by a Career Technical Education (CTE) teacher, achieve at the same rate as students in a physics course taught by a science teacher. The PLTW courses only cover the standards taught in the first trimester of physics. The PLTW courses are two periods long for one trimester. Students who successfully pass the PLTW Principles of Engineering course or the PLTW Engineering Aerospace course earn one-half credit in physics and one-half elective credit. The instrument used to measure student achievement was the district common summative assessment for physics. The Common Summative Assessment scores were pulled from the data warehouse from the first trimester of the 2013-2014 school year. Implications of the research address concepts of contextual learning especially in the Career Technical Education space. The mean score for Physics students (30.916) and PLTW Principles of Engineering students (32.333) was not statistically significantly different. Students in PLTW Principles of Engineering achieved at the same rate as students in physics. Due to the low rate of students participating in the Common Summative Assessment in PTLW Aerospace (four out of seven students), there is not enough data to determine if there is a significant difference in the Physics A scores and PLTW Aerospace Engineering scores.

  2. Molecular Modeling as a Self-Taught Component of a Conventional Undergraduate Chemical Reaction Engineering Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rothe, Erhard W.; Zygmunt, William E.

    2016-01-01

    We inserted a self-taught molecular modeling project into an otherwise conventional undergraduate chemical-reaction-engineering course. Our objectives were that students should (a) learn with minimal instructor intervention, (b) gain an appreciation for the relationship between molecular structure and, first, macroscopic state functions in…

  3. A Comparison of the Development and Delivery of Two Short-Term Study-Abroad Thermal Sciences Courses

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jacobitz, Frank

    2014-11-01

    Short-term study-abroad engineering courses provide an opportunity to increase the international awareness and global competency of engineering students. Two different approaches have been taken in the past years in the development and delivery of two three-week long thermal sciences courses. A senior-level elective Topics in Fluid Mechanics course was taught twice in Marseille (France) in January 2010 and 2013. A sophomore-level Introduction to Thermal Sciences course was offered in London (United Kingdom) in July 2014. Both courses were developed due to a strong student desire for engineering study-abroad courses and an effort by the home institution to internationalize its curriculum. The common goals of the two courses are an effective teaching of their respective technical content combined with a meaningful international experience. The two courses differed in their respective settings: Topics in Fluid Mechanics was taught at Aix-Marseille University and included strong interactions with local faculty and students. Introduction to Thermal Sciences, however, was taught in a cluster of seven courses offered by the home institution in London. The courses were assessed using surveys, student reflection papers, course evaluations, and instructor observations.

  4. Active Problem Solving and Applied Research Methods in a Graduate Course on Numerical Methods

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Maase, Eric L.; High, Karen A.

    2008-01-01

    "Chemical Engineering Modeling" is a first-semester graduate course traditionally taught in a lecture format at Oklahoma State University. The course as taught by the author for the past seven years focuses on numerical and mathematical methods as necessary skills for incoming graduate students. Recent changes to the course have included Visual…

  5. Teaching Continuum Mechanics in a Mechanical Engineering Program

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Liu, Yucheng

    2011-01-01

    This paper introduces a graduate course, continuum mechanics, which is designed for and taught to graduate students in a Mechanical Engineering (ME) program. The significance of continuum mechanics in engineering education is demonstrated and the course structure is described. Methods used in teaching this course such as topics, class…

  6. Effects of In-Class Hands-On Laboratories in a Large Enrollment, Multiple Section Blended Linear Circuits Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ferri, Bonni H.; Ferri, Aldo A.; Majerich, David M.; Madden, Amanda G.

    2016-01-01

    This paper examines the effects of hands-on learning in an undergraduate circuits class that is taught to non-majors; i.e., students outside of electrical and computing engineering. The course, ECE3710, is taught in a blended format facilitated by the video lectures prepared for two Massive Open Online Courses developed for the Coursera Platform.…

  7. Reflections on an Interdisciplinary, Community-Based, Team-Taught Adventure

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fauvel, Anne Marie; Miller, Lisa K.; Lane, Paul; Farris, John

    2010-01-01

    A new team-taught course focused on interdisciplinary teaching and integrative learning was offered at Grand Valley State University during the Summer of 2008 at a regional campus in Holland, Michigan. Faculty from Engineering and Business developed this community-based, alternative-format course to engage students in the question: "What will…

  8. Integrating ethics into technical courses: micro-insertion.

    PubMed

    Davis, Michael

    2006-10-01

    Perhaps the most common reason science and engineering faculty give for not including 'ethics' (that is, research ethics, engineering ethics, or some discussion of professional responsibility) in their technical classes is that 'there is no room'. This article 1) describes a technique ('micro-insertion') that introduces ethics (and related topics) into technical courses in small enough units not to push out technical material, 2) explains where this technique might fit into the larger undertaking of integrating ethics into the technical (scientific or engineering) curriculum, and 3) concludes with some quantified evidence (collected over more than a decade) suggesting success. Integrating ethics into science and engineering courses is largely a matter of providing context for what is already being taught, context that also makes the material already being taught seem 'more relevant'.

  9. Microprocessors in U.S. Electrical Engineering Departments, 1974-1975.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sloan, M. E.

    Drawn from a survey of engineering departments known to be teaching microprocessor courses, this paper shows that the adoption of microprocessors by Electrical Engineering Departments has been rapid compared with their adoption of minicomputers. The types of courses that are being taught can be categorized as: surveys of microprocessors, intensive…

  10. A Project-Based Cornerstone Course in Civil Engineering: Student Perceptions and Identity Development

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Marshall, Jill; Bhasin, Amit; Boyles, Stephen; David, Bernard; James, Rachel; Patrick, Anita

    2018-01-01

    Our study used a natural experiment to compare a project-based cornerstone course with the traditionally-taught introductory course in civil engineering. During the study, two sections of the course were organized around an overarching project, the design of an event center, and the remaining sections used guest lectures, a textbook, and…

  11. A Joint Venture Model for Teaching Required Courses in "Ethics and Engineering" to Engineering Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zandvoort, H.; Van Hasselt, G. J.; Bonnet, J. A. B. A. F.

    2008-01-01

    We present our experience, spanning more than 10 years of teaching a course on "ethics and engineering" for a group of MSc programmes in applied sciences at Delft University of Technology. The course is taught by a team of teachers from the faculty of Applied Sciences and from the department of Philosophy of the Faculty of Technology,…

  12. Contribution of Engineers to Environmental Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hirst, Eric

    1972-01-01

    Describes a junior level course taught at Tuskegee Institute, Alabama, Technology and Society," to show how engineers/technologists can contribute to environmental education. To improve understanding of the interactions between technology and society, interdisciplinary courses are needed which examine current socio-technical problems. (BL)

  13. A Curriculum Model: Engineering Design Graphics Course Updates Based on Industrial and Academic Institution Requirements

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Meznarich, R. A.; Shava, R. C.; Lightner, S. L.

    2009-01-01

    Engineering design graphics courses taught in colleges or universities should provide and equip students preparing for employment with the basic occupational graphics skill competences required by engineering and technology disciplines. Academic institutions should introduce and include topics that cover the newer and more efficient graphics…

  14. A Flexible Self-Paced Course in Process Control.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    King, Franklin G.

    1979-01-01

    Describes an undergraduate chemical engineering course which has been taught by a self-paced instructional method at Howard University, Washington, D.C. The instructional method, course description, and students' grades are also discussed. (HM)

  15. MEMSlab: A Practical MEMS Course for the Fabrication, Packaging, and Testing of a Single-Axis Accelerometer

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Grundbacher, R.; Hoetzel, J. E.; Hierold, C.

    2009-01-01

    A microelectro-mechanical systems (MEMS) laboratory course (MEMSlab) in the Mechanical and Process Engineering Department at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich), is presented. The course has been taught for four years and has been attended primarily by Master's students from mechanical and electrical engineering; since fall…

  16. From Petroleum to Penicillin. The First Hundred Years of Modern Chemical Engineering 1859-1959.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Burnett, J. Nicholas

    1986-01-01

    Describes a chemical engineering course for liberal arts students that is taught from a scientific, social, and symbolic perspective. A summary of the early days of oil refining is included as representative of one of the major content segments of the course. (ML)

  17. Ideas to Consider for New Chemical Engineering Educators: Part 1 (Courses Offered Earlier in the Curriculum)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Keith, Jason M.; Silverstein, David L.; Visco, Donald P., Jr.

    2009-01-01

    Chemical engineering faculty members are often asked to teach a core course that they have not taught before. The immediate thought is to come up with some new ideas to revolutionize that core course in ways that will engage students and maximize learning. This paper summarizes the authors' selection of the most effective, innovative approaches…

  18. From Gene to Protein: A 3-Week Intensive Course in Molecular Biology for Physical Scientists

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nadeau, Jay L.

    2009-01-01

    This article describes a 3-week intensive molecular biology methods course based upon fluorescent proteins, which is successfully taught at the McGill University to advanced undergraduates and graduates in physics, chemical engineering, biomedical engineering, and medicine. No previous knowledge of biological terminology or methods is expected, so…

  19. Finding Hidden Chemistry in Ancient Egyptian Artifacts: Pigment Degradation Taught in a Chemical Engineering Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gime´nez, Javier

    2015-01-01

    The main objective of this work was to show the application of the study of ancient technology and science on teaching (and learning) chemistry in Chemical Engineering Undergraduate studies. Degradation patterns of pigments used in Ancient Egypt were incorporated in the syllabus of the course entitled "Technological and Scientific…

  20. A Multidisciplinary PBL Approach for Teaching Industrial Informatics and Robotics in Engineering

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Calvo, Isidro; Cabanes, Itziar; Quesada, Jeronimo; Barambones, Oscar

    2018-01-01

    This paper describes the design of an industrial informatics course, following the project-based learning methodology, and reports the experience of four academic years (from 2012-13 to 2015-16). Industrial Informatics is a compulsory course taught in the third year of the B.Sc. degree in industrial electronics and automation engineering at the…

  1. Interdisciplinary Team-Teaching Experience for a Computer and Nuclear Energy Course for Electrical and Computer Engineering Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kim, Charles; Jackson, Deborah; Keiller, Peter

    2016-01-01

    A new, interdisciplinary, team-taught course has been designed to educate students in Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) so that they can respond to global and urgent issues concerning computer control systems in nuclear power plants. This paper discusses our experience and assessment of the interdisciplinary computer and nuclear energy…

  2. Interactive Web-Based and Hands-On Engineering Education: A Freshman Aerospace Design Course at MIT.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Newman, Dava J.

    "Introduction to Aerospace and Design" is a 3-hour per week freshman elective course at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) that culminates in a Lighter-Than-Air (LTA) vehicle design competition, exposing freshmen to the excitement of aerospace engineering design typically taught in the junior or senior years. In addition to the…

  3. Pitfalls and Successes of Developing an Interdisciplinary Watershed Field Science Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pearce, Andrea R.; Bierman, Paul R.; Druschel, Gregory K.; Massey, Christine; Rizzo, Donna M.; Watzin, Mary C.; Wemple, Beverly C.

    2010-01-01

    At the University of Vermont, an interdisciplinary faculty team developed an introductory watershed science field course. This course honed field skills and catalyzed communication across water-related disciplines without requiring specific prerequisites. Five faculty (geology, engineering, geography, natural resources) taught the four-credit…

  4. Continuous Risk Management Course. Revised

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hammer, Theodore F.

    1999-01-01

    This document includes a course plan for Continuous Risk Management taught by the Software Assurance Technology Center along with the Continuous Risk Management Guidebook of the Software Engineering Institute of Carnegie Mellon University and a description of Continuous Risk Management at NASA.

  5. A Course on Plasma Processing in Integrated Circuit Fabrication.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sawin, Herbert H.; Reif, Rafael

    1983-01-01

    Describes a course, taught jointly by electrical/chemical engineering departments at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, designed to teach the fundamental science of plasma processing as well as to give an overview of the present state of industrial processes. Provides rationale for course development, texts used, class composition, and…

  6. Teaching a Course about the Space Telescope.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Page, Thornton

    1983-01-01

    "Astronomy with the Space Telescope" is a course designed to show scientists/engineers how this instrument can make important advances in astrophysics, planetology, and geophysics. A description of the course (taught to 11 students working for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration) and sample student paper on black holes are…

  7. A new experience: the course of ethics in engineering in the Department of Civil Engineering, University of Granada.

    PubMed

    Gil-Martín, Luisa María; Hernández-Montes, Enrique; Segura-Naya, Armando

    2010-06-01

    A course in professional ethics for civil engineers was taught for the first time in Spain during the academic year 2007/08. In this paper a survey on the satisfaction and expectation of the course is presented. Surprisingly the students sought moral and ethical principles for their own ordinary lives as well as for their profession. Students were concerned about the law, but in their actions they were more concerned with their conscience, aware that it can be separate from the law.

  8. Engaging undergradate students in interdisciplinary courses in nanotechnology

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Goodchild, Fiona

    2008-03-01

    Two new courses at UCSB engage both undergraduate and graduate students in situated learning so that they can acquire the knowledge and skills they will need for future academic courses and career development. These courses are designed and taught by research faculty and education staff at the California Nanosystems Institute (CNSI) at UC Santa Barbara. The speaker, Dr. Goodchild, Education Director at CNSI, collaborated in the course design and is advisor on assessment and pedagogy for both courses. The first course, entitled INSCITES, is aimed at first and second year students who are interested in the impacts of science and technology in society. This general education course is team taught by three Graduate Teaching Scholars from across engineering, science and social sciences. They collaborate with lead faculty from Materials Science and History to design both the curriculum and instructional format for the 10 week course that is supported by the National Science Foundation. INSCITES was taught for the first time in Spring 2007 and feedback indicated that the course had convinced the undergraduate students that they would like to take further courses outside their majors. The second course, entitled the Practice of Science is open to all majors in science and engineering, especially those in second and third year who are interested in scientific research and related career opportunities. The course has been taught for the past 4 years as a two quarter course by two research faculty who focus on the nature of scientific discovery, the role of graduate researchers and faculty, the challenges of collaboration across disciplines and the mechanisms for funding research in academia and industry. In the first quarter each students is expected to identify a mentor and a research group in which they can pursue an individual research project, to be completed during the second quarter when the classes are designed to operate like research group meetings. Evaluation indicates that both courses attract students from underrepresented groups in science who value gaining a broader perspective about nanotechnology and the career opportunities that it offers to undergraduate students.

  9. Applicability of Online Education to Large Undergraduate Engineering Courses

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bir, Devayan Debashis

    With the increase in undergraduate engineering enrollment, many universities have chosen to teach introductory engineering courses such as Statics of Engineering and Mechanics of Materials in large classes due to budget limitations. With the overwhelming literature against traditionally taught large classes, this study aims to see the effects of the trending online pedagogy. Online courses are the latest trend in education due to the flexibility they provide to students in terms of schedule and pace of learning with the added advantage of being less expensive for the university over a period. In this research, the effects of online lectures on engineering students' course performances and students' attitudes towards online learning were examined. Specifically, the academic performances of students enrolled in a traditionally taught, lecture format Mechanics of Materials course with the performance of students in an online Mechanics of Materials course in summer 2016 were compared. To see the effect of the two different teaching approaches across student types, students were categorized by gender, enrollment status, nationality, and by the grades students obtained for Statics, one of the prerequisite courses for Mechanics of Materials. Student attitudes towards the online course will help to keep the process of continuously improving the online course, specifically, to provide quality education through the online medium in terms of course content and delivery. The findings of the study show that the online pedagogy negatively affects student academic performance when compared to the traditional face-to-face pedagogy across all categories, except for the high scoring students. Student attitudes reveal that while they enjoyed the flexibility schedule and control over their pace of studying, they faced issues with self-regulation and face-to-face interaction.

  10. Currently available medical engineering degrees in the UK. Part 2: Postgraduate degrees.

    PubMed

    Joyce, T

    2009-05-01

    This paper considers taught medical engineering MSc degrees, based on mechanical engineering, which are provided in the UK. Currently there are 19 institutions which provide such postgraduate degree programmes. These are the University of Aberdeen, University of Bath, University of Bradford, Brunel University, University of Dundee, University of Hull, Imperial College London, Keele University, King's College London, University of Leeds, University of Liverpool, University of Nottingham, University of Oxford, Queen Mary University of London, University of Southampton, University of Strathclyde, University of Surrey, University of Ulster, and University of Warwick. While most courses are delivered on a 1 year full-time basis, other delivery modes are also available. Relatively few modules are offered as distance learning or short courses. A wide range of modules are offered by the various universities for the different taught MSc degrees. Common modules include biomaterials and biomechanics. The medical-engineering-related modules offered by a number of universities are also made available to students on allied MSc programmes and undergraduate degrees in medical engineering.

  11. Introducing DAE Systems in Undergraduate and Graduate Chemical Engineering Curriculum

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mandela, Ravi Kumar; Sridhar, L. N.; Rengaswamy, Raghunathan

    2010-01-01

    Models play an important role in understanding chemical engineering systems. While differential equation models are taught in standard modeling and control courses, Differential Algebraic Equation (DAE) system models are not usually introduced. These models appear naturally in several chemical engineering problems. In this paper, the introduction…

  12. Educational Impact of Digital Visualization Tools on Digital Character Production Computer Science Courses

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    van Langeveld, Mark Christensen

    2009-01-01

    Digital character production courses have traditionally been taught in art departments. The digital character production course at the University of Utah is centered, drawing uniformly from art and engineering disciplines. Its design has evolved to include a synergy of computer science, functional art and human anatomy. It gives students an…

  13. Engaging Students in Applied Electromagnetics at the University of San Diego

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lumori, M. L. D.; Kim, E. M.

    2010-01-01

    Two possible topical approaches that have been applied to teaching an upper-division undergraduate electrical engineering applied electromagnetics course are presented. Each approach was applied to one of two offerings of the course, taught in different semesters. In either case, the course includes the study of electromagnetic theory and…

  14. Challenges in Teaching Modern Manufacturing Technologies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ngaile, Gracious; Wang, Jyhwen; Gau, Jenn-Terng

    2015-01-01

    Teaching of manufacturing courses for undergraduate engineering students has become a challenge due to industrial globalisation coupled with influx of new innovations, technologies, customer-driven products. This paper discusses development of a modern manufacturing course taught concurrently in three institutions where students collaborate in…

  15. Increasing student confidence in technical and professional skills through project based learning

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Robinson, Alice L.

    This work focuses on developing undergraduate students' technical and professional skills through a project-based spiral curriculum in the Agricultural & Biological Engineering department at Purdue that can be implemented campus wide. Through this curriculum, Purdue engineers will be prepared for leadership roles in responding to the global technological, economic, and societal challenges of the 21st century by exposure to the relationships between engineering and its impacts on real world needs and challenges. Project-based learning uses projects as the focus of instruction and has shown increased understanding, motivation, and confidence through application of engineering principles to real-world problems. The strength of a spiral curriculum is that it continually revisits basic ideas and themes with increasing complexity and sophistication. The proposed spiral curriculum incorporates the target attributes of the Purdue Engineer of 2020 through project based courses during sophomore, junior, and senior year. These courses will build on concepts taught during first year engineering as well. The Engineer of 2020 (NAE and Purdue) target attributes include strong technical and professional skills to solve societal and technological burdens. A prototype course has been developed, taught, and evaluated during the previous two fall semesters in the sophomore level of the Biological and Food Process Engineering curriculum. The target students met 3 hours a week in a traditional lecture setting plus 2 hours a week in a project based lab setting. The control group met only 3 hours a week in a traditional lecture setting. Peer and self assessment results from student surveys show increased confidence in every area surveyed. Focus groups revealed student reactions to the course. Students enjoyed the course but felt it difficult to handle ambiguity with project work. Future work includes course revisions to the content, assessment, and pedagogy of the prototype class, development of the remaining project courses in the curriculum, and increasing graduate student instruction in the courses to gain teaching and leadership experience.

  16. Elementary Education Program for Engineering by Dual System of Workshop and Teaching Program with Practical Subject

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hara, Toshitsugu

    Elementary education program for engineering by the dual system combined with workshop program and teaching program with practical subject was discussed. The dual system which consists of several workshop programs and fundamental subjects (such as mathematics, English and physics) with practical material has been performed for the freshmen. The elementary workshop program (primary course) has four workshops and the related lectures. Fundamental subjects are taught with the practical or engineering texts. English subjects are taught by specified teachers who have ever worked in engineering field with English. The dual system was supported by such systems as the center for success initiative and the English education center.

  17. A Project-Based Learning Approach to Programmable Logic Design and Computer Architecture

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kellett, C. M.

    2012-01-01

    This paper describes a course in programmable logic design and computer architecture as it is taught at the University of Newcastle, Australia. The course is designed around a major design project and has two supplemental assessment tasks that are also described. The context of the Computer Engineering degree program within which the course is…

  18. Pre-Service Teachers' Mind Maps and Opinions on STEM Education Implemented in an Environmental Literacy Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sümen, Özlem Özçakir; Çalisici, Hamza

    2016-01-01

    This study aims to implement a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education approach in an environmental education course. The research involved the design and implementation of STEM activities by researchers, as part of the environmental education course taught in the second year of a Primary School Teaching undergraduate…

  19. Mathematics as a Course of Study in Problem Solving: Then and Now.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ellis, Wade, Jr.

    The mathematics curriculum in the first 2 years of college is a tool created to assist in solving problems. The current mathematics curriculum has changed little; the same topics, tied to the engineering and science curriculum, are taught as they were being taught in 1945. The problems that students need to solve have changed however. Both the…

  20. Trends in Biomedical Education.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Peppas, Nicholas A.; Mallinson, Richard G.

    1982-01-01

    An analysis of trends in biomedical education within chemical education is presented. Data used for the analysis included: type/level of course, subjects taught, and textbook preferences. Results among others of the 1980 survey indicate that 28 out of 79 schools responding offer at least one course in biomedical engineering. (JN)

  1. Integrator element as a promoter of active learning in engineering teaching

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Oliveira, Paulo C.; Oliveira, Cristina G.

    2014-03-01

    In this paper, we present a teaching proposal used in an Introductory Physics course to civil engineering students from Porto's Engineering Institute/Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto (ISEP). The proposal was born from the need to change students' perception and motivation for learning physics. It consists in the use of an integrator element, called the physics elevator project. This integrator element allows us to use, in a single project, all the content taught in the course and uses several active learning strategies. In this paper, we analyse this project as: (i) a clarifying element of the contents covered in the course; (ii) a promoter element of motivation and active participation in class and finally and (iii) a link between the contents covered in the course and the 'real world'. The data were collected by a questionnaire and interviews to students. From the data collected, it seems that the integrator element improves students' motivation towards physics and develops several skills that they consider to be important to their professional future. It also acts as a clarifying element and makes the connection between the physics that is taught and the 'real world'.

  2. Making Chemistry Relevant to the Engineering Major

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Basu-Dutt, Sharmistha; Slappey, Charles; Bartley, Julie K.

    2010-01-01

    As part of a campus-wide, externally funded project to increase performance in, enthusiasm for, and retention within STEM disciplines, we developed an interdisciplinary, team-taught first-year seminar course. The construction and delivery of this course was designed to show the relevance of selected general chemistry topics such as matter and…

  3. Recycling Technology: Can It Be Taught?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Clum, James A.; Loper, Carl R., Jr.

    This paper describes the content of a seminar-type engineering course dealing with materials reutilization (recycling). The course, consisting of lecture and discussion by various faculty and outside experts as well as student presentations of research papers on recycling topics, is intended to investigate current areas in which recycling of…

  4. Curriculum Development Based on the Big Picture Assessment of the Mechanical Engineering Program

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sabri, Mohd Anas Mohd; Khamis, Nor Kamaliana; Tahir, Mohd Faizal Mat; Wahid, Zaliha; Kamal, Ahmad; Ihsan, Ariffin Mohd; Sulong, Abu Bakar; Abdullah, Shahrum

    2013-01-01

    One of the major concerns of the Engineering Accreditation Council (EAC) is the need for an effective monitoring and evaluation of program outcome domains that can be associated with courses taught under the Mechanical Engineering program. However, an effective monitoring method that can determine the results of each program outcome using Bloom's…

  5. Imprinting Community College Computer Science Education with Software Engineering Principles

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hundley, Jacqueline Holliday

    2012-01-01

    Although the two-year curriculum guide includes coverage of all eight software engineering core topics, the computer science courses taught in Alabama community colleges limit student exposure to the programming, or coding, phase of the software development lifecycle and offer little experience in requirements analysis, design, testing, and…

  6. Teaching Embedded System Concepts for Technological Literacy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Winzker, M.; Schwandt, A.

    2011-01-01

    A basic understanding of technology is recognized as important knowledge even for students not connected with engineering and computer science. This paper shows that embedded system concepts can be taught in a technological literacy course. An embedded system teaching block that has been used in an electronics module for non-engineers is…

  7. Mathematical Building-Blocks in Engineering Mechanics

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Boyajian, David M.

    2007-01-01

    A gamut of mathematical subjects and concepts are taught within a handful of courses formally required of the typical engineering student who so often questions the relevancy of being bound to certain lower-division prerequisites. Basic classes at the undergraduate level, in this context, include: Integral and Differential Calculus, Differential…

  8. A community-based, interdisciplinary rehabilitation engineering course.

    PubMed

    Lundy, Mary; Aceros, Juan

    2016-08-01

    A novel, community-based course was created through collaboration between the School of Engineering and the Physical Therapy program at the University of North Florida. This course offers a hands-on, interdisciplinary training experience for undergraduate engineering students through team-based design projects where engineering students are partnered with physical therapy students. Students learn the process of design, fabrication and testing of low-tech and high-tech rehabilitation technology for children with disabilities, and are exposed to a clinical experience under the guidance of licensed therapists. This course was taught in two consecutive years and pre-test/post-test data evaluating the impact of this interprofessional education experience on the students is presented using the Public Service Motivation Scale, Civic Actions Scale, Civic Attitudes Scale, and the Interprofessional Socialization and Valuing Scale.

  9. Videotaping EST/ESP Student Projects: "Real World" Research Projects for Professional and Academic Preparation.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gallowich, Kay

    Descriptive information and supporting documents for courses taught in the language center of a school of mines are presented here. The first is a four-semester engineering practices introductory course sequence that incorporates professional-level technical problem-solving, cooperative learning, and the preparation of written and oral…

  10. Effectiveness of a Low-Cost, Graduate Student-Led Intervention on Study Habits and Performance in Introductory Biology

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hoskins, Tyler D.; Gantz, J. D.; Chaffee, Blake R.; Arlinghaus, Kel; Wiebler, James; Hughes, Michael; Fernandes, Joyce J.

    2017-01-01

    Institutions have developed diverse approaches that vary in effectiveness and cost to improve student performance in introductory science, technology, engineering, and mathematics courses. We developed a low-cost, graduate student-led, metacognition-based study skills course taught in conjunction with the introductory biology series at Miami…

  11. Implementing and Assessing the Converging-Diverging Model of Design in a Sequence of Sophomore Projects

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dahm, Kevin; Riddell, William; Constans, Eric; Courtney, Jennifer; Harvey, Roberta; Von Lockette, Paris

    2009-01-01

    This paper discusses a sophomore-level course that teaches engineering design and technical writing. Historically, the course was taught using semester-long design projects. Most students' overall approach to design problems left considerable room for improvement. Many teams chose a design without investigating alternatives, and important…

  12. Teaching Ethics as Design

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kirkman, Robert; Fu, Katherine; Lee, Bumsoo

    2017-01-01

    This paper introduces an approach to teaching ethics as design in a new course entitled Design Ethics, team-taught by a philosopher and an engineer/designer. The course follows a problem-based learning model in which groups of students work through the phases of the design process on a project for a local client, considering the design values and…

  13. NASA systems engineering handbook

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shishko, Robert; Aster, Robert; Chamberlain, Robert G.; McDuffee, Patrick; Pieniazek, Les; Rowell, Tom; Bain, Beth; Cox, Renee I.; Mooz, Harold; Polaski, Lou

    1995-06-01

    This handbook brings the fundamental concepts and techniques of systems engineering to NASA personnel in a way that recognizes the nature of NASA systems and environment. It is intended to accompany formal NASA training courses on systems engineering and project management when appropriate, and is designed to be a top-level overview. The concepts were drawn from NASA field center handbooks, NMI's/NHB's, the work of the NASA-wide Systems Engineering Working Group and the Systems Engineering Process Improvement Task team, several non-NASA textbooks and guides, and material from independent systems engineering courses taught to NASA personnel. Five core chapters cover systems engineering fundamentals, the NASA Project Cycle, management issues in systems engineering, systems analysis and modeling, and specialty engineering integration. It is not intended as a directive.

  14. On the structural logic of curriculum system for the optical instrument major

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yan, Yufeng; Yan, Juncen; Li, Yang; Shi, Lixia

    2017-08-01

    The theories of optical instrument are the Interdisciplinary of Optical Engineering and Instrument Science and Technology. The undergraduates should study the knowledge about the optics, precision machine and electronics. The courses such as Theory of Machine, Engineering Optics, even include some courses about Accuracy Analysis of Instrument are offered in the college. There are a lot of correlatives among these courses. This paper focuses on the structural logic of these courses. The order of these courses is researched, The aims of all the courses are clear completely to avoid the same topics to be taught twice in different courses. Therefore, the undergraduates would get the main line of the knowledge, and the professors would teach efficiently.

  15. Culturally responsive engineering education: A case study of a pre-college introductory engineering course at Tibetan Children's Village School of Selakui

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Santiago, Marisol Mercado

    Culturally responsive teaching has been argued to be effective in the education of Indigenous youth. This approach emphasizes the legitimacy of a group's cultural heritage, helps to associate abstract academic knowledge with the group's sociocultural context, seeks to incorporate a variety of strategies to engage students who have different learning styles, and strives to integrate multicultural information in the educational contents, among other considerations. In this work, I explore the outcomes of a culturally responsive introductory engineering short course that I developed and taught to Tibetan students at Tibetan Children's Village of Selakui (in Uttarakhand, India). Based on my ethnographic research in Tibetan communities in northern India, I examine two research questions: (a) What are the processes to develop and implement a pre-college culturally responsive introductory engineering course? and (b) How do Tibetan culture and Buddhism influence the engineering design and teamwork of the pre-college Tibetan students who took the course? I designed then taught the course that featured elementary lectures on sustainability, introductory engineering design, energy alternatives, and manufacturing engineering. The course also included a pre-college engineering design project through which Tibetan high school students investigated a problem at the school and designed a possible solution to it. Drawing from postcolonial studies, engineering studies, engineering and social justice, Buddhist studies, and Tibetan studies, I provide an analysis of my findings. Based on my findings, I conclude that my culturally responsive approach of teaching was an effective method to help students feel that their cultural background was respected and included in a pre-college engineering course; however, some students felt resistance toward the teaching approach. In addition, the culturally relevant content that connected with their ways of living in their school, Tibetan communities, and surroundings helped the students to relate to abstract concepts in familiar settings. Lastly, they appreciated that I brought to the course relevant information about technology and society in India (their host country), engineers' work in industry, technologies used in other contexts as well, and projects that show how engineers can help to alleviate poverty. The findings of my research can inform (a) educators who are interested in integrating culturally responsive activities in their teaching methods, (b) researchers or teachers in ethnic minority schools abroad, (c) educators interested in developing engineering activities or courses for underrepresented ethnic minorities, ethnic diasporas or refugee youth in the United States, and (d) facilitators at multicultural engineering summer camps in the United States.

  16. Graduating STEM Competent and Confident Teachers: The Creation of a STEM Certificate for Elementary Education Majors

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Murphy, Tony P.; Mancini-Samuelson, Gina J.

    2012-01-01

    A collaborative of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) and education faculty developed a STEM certificate aimed at elementary education majors. A four-phase process model was used to create and evaluate courses. The certificate is comprised of three interdisciplinary, team-taught, lab-based courses: Environmental Biology,…

  17. Analysis of Introducing Active Learning Methodologies in a Basic Computer Architecture Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Arbelaitz, Olatz; José I. Martín; Muguerza, Javier

    2015-01-01

    This paper presents an analysis of introducing active methodologies in the Computer Architecture course taught in the second year of the Computer Engineering Bachelor's degree program at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Spain. The paper reports the experience from three academic years, 2011-2012, 2012-2013, and 2013-2014, in which…

  18. Distributed Training for the Reserve Component: Remote Delivery Using Asynchronous Computer Conferencing.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hahn, H. A.; And Others

    The purposes of this research were to evaluate the cost effectiveness of using Asynchronous Computer Conferencing (ACC) and to develop guidelines for effectively conducting high quality military training using ACC. The evaluation used a portion of the Engineer Officer Advanced Course (EOAC) as a test bed. Course materials which taught the same…

  19. Student Self-Efficacy in Introductory Project-Based Learning Courses

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pleiss, Geoffrey; Zastavker, Yevgeniya V.

    2012-02-01

    This study investigates first-year engineering students' self-efficacy in two introductory Project-Based Learning (PjBL) courses -- Physics (Mechanics) Laboratory and Engineering Design -- taught at a small technical institution. Twelve students participated in semi-structured open-ended interviews about their experiences in both courses. Analysis was performed using grounded theory. Results indicate that students had lower self-efficacy in Physics Lab than in Engineering Design. In Physics Lab, students reported high levels of faculty-supported scaffolding related to final project deliverables, which in turn established perceptions of an outcome-based course emphasis. Conversely, in Engineering Design, students observed high levels of scaffolding related to the intermediate project deliverables, highlighting process-centered aspects of the course. Our analyses indicate that this difference in student perceptions of course emphases -- resulting from the differences in scaffolding -- is a primary factor for the discrepancy in self-efficacy between Physics Lab and Engineering Design. Future work will examine how other variables (e.g., academic background, perception of community, gender) affect students' self-efficacy and perception of scaffolding in these PjBL courses.

  20. Enhancing Student International Awareness and Global Competency through Compact International Experience Courses

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jacobitz, Frank; Schubert, Thomas

    2013-11-01

    Short-term, study-abroad, elective engineering courses were developed in order to raise the international awareness and global competency of engineering students. These Compact International Experience (CIE) courses were taught in response to a strong student desire for engineering study abroad courses and an effort by the home institution to internationalize its curriculum. An assessment of repeat offerings of two three-semester-unit courses on Topics in Fluid Mechanics and Advanced Electronic Circuit Design in a three-week time frame in France and Australia was performed. The goals of the two CIE courses are an effective teaching of their respective technical content as well as a student understanding of the cultural environment and the impact of engineering solutions from a global and societal viewpoint. In the repeat offerings, increased interaction with local industry was an additional goal. The CIE courses were assessed through surveys completed at the beginning and end of the courses, weekly student reflection papers, course evaluations, and formalized instructor observations. Based on the assessment performed, the two CIE courses have been found to be a valuable approach in the delivery of engineering technical electives combined with an international experience.

  1. Graduate Automotive Technology Education (GATE) Center for Hybrid Electric Drivetrains and Control Strategies

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    David Holloway

    2005-09-30

    Beginning the fall semester of 1999, The University of Maryland, Departments of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering and the Institute for Systems Research served as a U.S. Department of Energy (USDOE) Graduate Automotive Technology Education (GATE) Center for Hybrid Electric Drivetrains and Control Strategies. A key goal was to produce a graduate level education program that educated and prepared students to address the technical challenges of designing and developing hybrid electric vehicles, as they progressed into the workforce. A second goal was to produce research that fostered the advancement of hybrid electric vehicles, their controls, and other related automotive technologies. Participationmore » ended at the University of Maryland after the 2004 fall semester. Four graduate courses were developed and taught during the course of this time, two of which evolved into annually-taught undergraduate courses, namely Vehicle Dynamics and Control Systems Laboratory. Five faculty members from Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and the Institute for Systems Research participated. Four Ph.D. degrees (two directly supported and two indirectly supported) and seven Master's degrees in Mechanical Engineering resulted from the research conducted. Research topics included thermoelectric waste heat recovery, fuel cell modeling, pre- and post-transmission hybrid powertrain control and integration, hybrid transmission design, H{sub 2}-doped combustion, and vehicle dynamics. Many of the participating students accepted positions in the automotive industry or government laboratories involved in automotive technology work after graduation. This report discusses the participating faculty, the courses developed and taught, research conducted, the students directly and indirectly supported, and the publication list. Based on this collection of information, the University of Maryland firmly believes that the key goal of the program was met and that the majority of the participating students are now contributing to the advancement of automotive technology in this country.« less

  2. NASA Systems Engineering Handbook

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Shishko, Robert; Aster, Robert; Chamberlain, Robert G.; Mcduffee, Patrick; Pieniazek, Les; Rowell, Tom; Bain, Beth; Cox, Renee I.; Mooz, Harold; Polaski, Lou

    1995-01-01

    This handbook brings the fundamental concepts and techniques of systems engineering to NASA personnel in a way that recognizes the nature of NASA systems and environment. It is intended to accompany formal NASA training courses on systems engineering and project management when appropriate, and is designed to be a top-level overview. The concepts were drawn from NASA field center handbooks, NMI's/NHB's, the work of the NASA-wide Systems Engineering Working Group and the Systems Engineering Process Improvement Task team, several non-NASA textbooks and guides, and material from independent systems engineering courses taught to NASA personnel. Five core chapters cover systems engineering fundamentals, the NASA Project Cycle, management issues in systems engineering, systems analysis and modeling, and specialty engineering integration. It is not intended as a directive. Superseded by: NASA/SP-2007-6105 Rev 1 (20080008301).

  3. Evaluating the Impact of Role-Playing Simulations on Global Competency in an Online Transnational Engineering Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wold, Kari

    2013-01-01

    Successfully interacting with those from different cultures is essential to excel in any field, particularly when global, transnational collaborations in the workplace are increasingly common. However, many higher education students in engineering are not explicitly taught how to display the global competency skills desired by future employers. To…

  4. Students' perceptions of the flipped classroom model in an engineering course: a case study

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Baytiyeh, Hoda; Naja, Mohamad K.

    2017-11-01

    The flipped classroom model is an innovative educational trend that has been widely adopted in the social sciences but not engineering education. In this model, an active instructional approach shifts the educational strategy from a teacher- to a student-centred approach. The purpose of this study is to compare the learning outcomes of engineering students attending a flipped-model section of the Dynamics of Structures course with students attending a traditional, lecture-based section of the same course taught by the same instructor. The results confirm previous research showing that test scores in the flipped course sections were slightly higher than traditional sections. Although the improvement in test scores was statistically insignificant, student statements indicated that the flipped model promoted a deeper, broader perspective on learning, facilitated problem-solving strategies and improved critical-thinking abilities, self-confidence and teamwork skills, which are needed for a successful engineering career.

  5. Catalog of Resources for Education in Ada (Trade Name) and Software Engineering (CREASE). Version 5.0.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1988-04-01

    are eligible to participate in this course. This course is not offered for graduate credit. This course is taught by Timothy J. Fullam. For more...information on this course, contact Timothy J. Fullman at the above address and phone number. University of Alaska Southeast CREASE Version 5.0 13 CS 202...259 DATA STRUCTURES USING Ada University Offeror: Gallaudet University Department of Math/Computer Science Washington, DC 20002 (202) 651-5315 The

  6. Gender Differences in Both Force Concept Inventory and Introductory Physics Performance

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Docktor, Jennifer; Heller, Kenneth

    2008-10-01

    We present data from a decade of introductory calculus-based physics courses for science and engineering students at the University of Minnesota taught using cooperative group problem solving. The data include 40 classes with more than 5500 students taught by 22 different professors. The average normalized gain for males is 0.4 for these large classes that emphasized problem solving. Female students made up approximately 20% of these classes. We present relationships between pre and post Force Concept Inventory (FCI) scores, course grades, and final exam scores for females and males. We compare our results with previous studies from Harvard [2] and the University of Colorado [3,4]. Our data show there is a significant gender gap in pre-test FCI scores that persists post-instruction although there is essentially no gender difference in course performance as determined by course grade.

  7. An exploration of the biomedical optics course construction of undergraduate biomedical engineering program in medical colleges

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Guo, Shijun; Lyu, Jie; Zhang, Peiming

    2017-08-01

    In this paper, the teaching goals, teaching contents and teaching methods in biomedical optics course construction are discussed. From the dimension of teaching goals, students should master the principle of optical inspection on the human body, diagnosis and treatment of methodology and instruments, through the study of the theory and practice of this course, and can utilize biomedical optics methods to solve practical problems in the clinical medical engineering practice. From the dimension of teaching contents, based on the characteristics of biomedical engineering in medical colleges, the organic integration of engineering aspects, medical optical instruments, and biomedical aspects dispersed in human anatomy, human physiology, clinical medicine fundamental related to the biomedical optics is build. Noninvasive measurement of the human body composition and noninvasive optical imaging of the human body were taken as actual problems in biomedical optics fields. Typical medical applications such as eye optics and laser medicine were also integrated into the theory and practice teaching. From the dimension of teaching methods, referencing to organ-system based medical teaching mode, optical principle and instrument principle were taught by teachers from school of medical instruments, and the histological characteristics and clinical actual need in areas such as digestive diseases and urinary surgery were taught by teachers from school of basic medicine or clinical medicine of medical colleges. Furthermore, clinical application guidance would be provided by physician and surgeons in hospitals.

  8. Nuclear Power Plant Technician

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Randall, George A.

    1975-01-01

    The author recognizes a body of basic knowledge in nuclear power plant technoogy that can be taught in school programs, and lists the various courses, aiming to fill the anticipated need for nuclear-trained manpower--persons holding an associate degree in engineering technology. (Author/BP)

  9. Addressing the United States Navy Need for Software Engineering Education

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1999-09-01

    taught in MA 1996 (5 - 0). Precalculus review, complex numbers and algebra, complex plane, DeMovire’s Theorem, matrix algebra, LU decomposition...This course was designed for the METOC and Combat Systems curricula. PREREQUISITE: Precalculus mathematics. MA1996 MATHEMATICS FOR SCIENTISTS AND...description for MAI995 (5 - 0). This course was designed for the METOC and Combat Systems curricula. PREREQUISITE: Precalculus mathematics. PHYSICS/SYSTEMS

  10. The shuttle main engine: A first look

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Schreur, Barbara

    1996-01-01

    Anyone entering the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) team attends a two week course to become familiar with the design and workings of the engine. This course provides intensive coverage of the individual hardware items and their functions. Some individuals, particularly those involved with software maintenance and development, have felt overwhelmed by this volume of material and their lack of a logical framework in which to place it. To provide this logical framework, it was decided that a brief self-taught introduction to the overall operation of the SSME should be designed. To aid the people or new team members with an interest in the software, this new course should also explain the structure and functioning of the controller and its software. This paper presents a description of this presentation.

  11. Mechatronics education at Virginia Tech

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bay, John S.; Saunders, William R.; Reinholtz, Charles F.; Pickett, Peter; Johnston, Lee

    1998-12-01

    The advent of more complex mechatronic systems in industry has introduced new opportunities for entry-level and practicing engineers. Today, a select group of engineers are reaching out to be more knowledgeable in a wide variety of technical areas, both mechanical and electrical. A new curriculum in mechatronics developed at Virginia Tech is starting to bring students from both the mechanical and electrical engineering departments together, providing them wit an integrated perspective on electromechanical technologies and design. The course is cross-listed and team-taught by faculty from both departments. Students from different majors are grouped together throughout the course, each group containing at least one mechanical and one electrical engineering student. This gives group members the ability to learn from one another while working on labs and projects.

  12. Marine Engine Technology. Instructor's Guide.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Seminole Community Coll., Sanford, FL.

    This instructor's manual covers 20 competency-based instructional units designed to prepare entry-level outboard marine technicians. The first section explains how to use the materials and lists the units and the modules that constitute each. The second section lists the competencies taught in the course. The third section suggests instructional…

  13. The Development of Curricular Guidelines for Introductory Microbiology that Focus on Understanding.

    PubMed

    Merkel, Susan

    2012-01-01

    The number of students who leave majors in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) due to a perception that courses are poorly taught is evidence that education reform in STEM is overdue. Despite decades of research that argues for student-centered teaching approaches, most introductory STEM courses are still taught in the large lecture format, focusing on rote memorization. While individual efforts in STEM educational reform are important, solutions will most certainly need to include institutional and cultural change. In biology, numerous national reports have called for educational reform to better prepare future scientists. We describe here a new, concept-based curriculum for Introductory Microbiology courses, designed to promote deep understanding of core concepts. Supported by the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) and based on the overarching concepts and competencies presented in the AAAS/NSF report Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education: A Call to Action, we hope it will empower instructors to adapt student-centered approaches so that students in Introductory Microbiology courses can leave the course with a core set of enduring understandings of microbiology.

  14. The Development of Curricular Guidelines for Introductory Microbiology that Focus on Understanding

    PubMed Central

    Merkel, Susan

    2012-01-01

    The number of students who leave majors in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) due to a perception that courses are poorly taught is evidence that education reform in STEM is overdue. Despite decades of research that argues for student-centered teaching approaches, most introductory STEM courses are still taught in the large lecture format, focusing on rote memorization. While individual efforts in STEM educational reform are important, solutions will most certainly need to include institutional and cultural change. In biology, numerous national reports have called for educational reform to better prepare future scientists. We describe here a new, concept-based curriculum for Introductory Microbiology courses, designed to promote deep understanding of core concepts. Supported by the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) and based on the overarching concepts and competencies presented in the AAAS/NSF report Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education: A Call to Action, we hope it will empower instructors to adapt student-centered approaches so that students in Introductory Microbiology courses can leave the course with a core set of enduring understandings of microbiology. PMID:23653779

  15. Comprehensive Cross-Training among STEM Disciplines in Geothermal Energy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nunn, J. A.; Dutrow, B. L.

    2012-12-01

    One of the foremost areas of sustainability is society's need for energy. The US uses more energy per capita than any other country in the world with most of this energy coming from fossil fuels. With its link to climate change coupled with declining resources, renewable alternatives are being pursued. Given the high demand for energy, it is not a question of if these alternatives will be utilized but when and where. One of the "greenest" of the green technologies is geothermal energy. It is a renewable resource with a small environmental footprint. To educate advanced undergraduate and graduate students from across STEM disciplines in geothermal energy, a series of three distinct but linked and related courses are being developed and taught. Courses are focused on one of the STEM disciplines to provide students with essential discipline-specific knowledge and taught by different faculty members in the departments of geology, petroleum engineering and mathematics. These courses provide the foundation necessary for interdisciplinary research projects. The first course on Geologic Properties and Processes of Geothermal Energy was developed and taught in 2012. The class had an enrollment of 27 students including: 5 undergraduates and 4 graduate students in Geology, 12 undergraduates and two graduate students in Petroleum Engineering, and 4 non-matriculated undergraduate students. The course began with the essentials of heat and mass transfer, a common deficiency for all students, then progressed to the geologic materials of these systems: minerals, rocks and fluids. To provide students with first hand experience, two short research projects were embedded into the course. The first project involved analyses of cuttings from a well-studied geothermal system (Salton Sea, CA). Students were in teams consisting of both engineers and geologists. The first assignment was to identify minerals in the cuttings. They were then provided with XRD patterns for their cuttings to more precisely identify the mineralogy of the cuttings. Based on this data with depth, they were asked to predict an approximate temperature range and calculate various fluid parameters for these conditions. The second research project was completed individually, each student covered aspects of heat transport and geologic materials on a specific geothermal field of their choice, created a poster, and gave a brief oral presentation of the poster similar to what is done at scientific meetings. This not only helped students develop communication skills it also provide the class and the instructors information on the breath and diversity of geothermal projects already underway throughout the world and helped to improve critical thinking skills. Continued integration of our research and graduate training programs in Geology and Geophysics, Petroleum Engineering, and Mathematics will occur in 2012-2013. The Petroleum Engineering course will be offered in the fall semester of 2012 and the Mathematics class in the spring semester of 2013. Providing this three semester sequence of courses across the STEM disciplines promotes comprehensive cross-training among disciplines and provides a template for future directions of teaching sustainability across the disciplines.

  16. Analysis of the Impact of Introductory Physics on Engineering Students at Texas A&M University

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Perry, Jonathan; Bassichis, William

    Introductory physics forms a major part of the foundational knowledge of engineering majors, independent of discipline and institution. While the content of introductory physics courses is consistent from institution to institution, the manner in which it is taught can vary greatly due to professor, textbook, instructional method, and overall course design. This work attempts to examine variations in student success, as measured by overall academic performance in an engineering major, and matriculation rates, based on the type of introductory physics a student took while enrolled in an engineering degree at Texas A&M University. Specific options for introductory physics at Texas A&M University include two calculus based physics courses, one traditional (UP), and one more mathematically rigorous (DP), transfer credit, and high school (AP or dual) credit. In order to examine the impact of introductory physics on a student's degree progression, data mining analyses are performed on a data set of relatively comprehensive academic records for all students enrolled as an engineering major for a minimum of one academic term. Student data has been collected for years of entering freshman beginning in 1990 and ending in 2010. Correlations will be examined between freshman level courses, including introductory physics, and follow on engineering courses, matriculation rates, and time to graduation.

  17. Development of Graduate Course Education by Industry Collaboration in Center for Engineering Education Development, CEED

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Noguchi, Toru; Yoshikawa, Kozo; Nakamura, Masato; Kaneko, Katsuhiko

    New education programs for engineering graduate courses, and the achievements are described. Following the previous reports on overseas and domestic internship2) , 3) , this article states other common programs ; seminars on state of technologies in industries, practical English and internationalization programs, and a program to accept overseas internship students. E-learning system to assist off-campus students is also described. All these programs are developed and conducted by specialist professors invited from industries and national institutions, in collaboration with faculty professors. Students learn how the engineering science apply to the practical problems, acquire wider view and deeper understanding on industries, and gain abilities to act in global society including communication skill, those are not taught in classrooms and laboratories. Educational effects of these industry collaborated programs is significant to activate the graduate course education, although the comprehensive evaluation is the future subject.

  18. Teaching Computer-Aided Design of Fluid Flow and Heat Transfer Engineering Equipment.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gosman, A. D.; And Others

    1979-01-01

    Describes a teaching program for fluid mechanics and heat transfer which contains both computer aided learning (CAL) and computer aided design (CAD) components and argues that the understanding of the physical and numerical modeling taught in the CAL course is essential to the proper implementation of CAD. (Author/CMV)

  19. Software Engineering Education.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1987-05-01

    A-D-AI82bN3 JO U4WR El 14N NWRC j MCA! CIo~~l-MN~J02Ua~ 1/1 NYSI/ EI- -TR- SWT -8 -L U NCLA SSI F IED PAYF/G L2/5 MI. 1.0I2 W 136 2’ UN,, - mll I m...tghteeight aurriuls . empae ta t i ohe An additional refinement of the curriculum content can bem aterial taught m ight also be taught in co urses w hose a...descriptions of possible courses. Bloo -. [Bioom56] has defined a taxonomy of educational Software System Clsae. Several different classes can obe

  20. BioMEMS and Lab-on-a-Chip Course Education at West Virginia University

    PubMed Central

    Liu, Yuxin

    2011-01-01

    With the rapid growth of Biological/Biomedical MicroElectroMechanical Systems (BioMEMS) and microfluidic-based lab-on-a-chip (LOC) technology to biological and biomedical research and applications, demands for educated and trained researchers and technicians in these fields are rapidly expanding. Universities are expected to develop educational plans to address these specialized needs in BioMEMS, microfluidic and LOC science and technology. A course entitled BioMEMS and Lab-on-a-Chip was taught recently at the senior undergraduate and graduate levels in the Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering at West Virginia University (WVU). The course focused on the basic principles and applications of BioMEMS and LOC technology to the areas of biomedicine, biology, and biotechnology. The course was well received and the enrolled students had diverse backgrounds in electrical engineering, material science, biology, mechanical engineering, and chemistry. Student feedback and a review of the course evaluations indicated that the course was effective in achieving its objectives. Student presentations at the end of the course were a highlight and a valuable experience for all involved. The course proved successful and will continue to be offered regularly. This paper provides an overview of the course as well as some development and future improvements. PMID:25586697

  1. Entrepreneurship 101: Not Just for Business School Any More

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wasley, Paula

    2008-01-01

    Entrepreneurial ingenuity and risk taking may seem like traits that can't be taught, but colleges are increasingly attempting to do just that--and they are doing so in nontraditional contexts. Long a staple of business and M.B.A. programs, and of some engineering programs, courses in kick-starting new companies are now taking hold in research…

  2. Digital or Didactic: Using Learning Technology to Confront the Challenge of Large Cohort Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Saunders, Fiona C.; Gale, Andrew W.

    2012-01-01

    This paper investigates whether the selective use of technology can begin to overcome the challenge of large cohort teaching and deliver an enhanced student learning experience. It describes the initial development and evaluation of a campus-based management course taught to 270 third year engineering undergraduates at The University of…

  3. The Impact of Language and Culture on Technical Communication in Japan.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kohl, John R.; And Others

    1993-01-01

    Analyzes ambiguity as a factor in Japanese language and culture as they affect technical communication. Presents and interprets results of a survey of Japanese and U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists concerning the kinds of communication products they produce and use and their ideas of what should be taught in technical communication courses.…

  4. SDLDS--System for Digital Logic Design and Simulation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stanisavljevic, Z.; Pavlovic, V.; Nikolic, B.; Djordjevic, J.

    2013-01-01

    This paper presents the basic features of a software system developed to support the teaching of digital logic, as well as the experience of using it in the Digital Logic course taught at the School of Electrical Engineering, University of Belgrade, Serbia. The system has been used for several years, both by students for self-learning and…

  5. An exploratory investigation of teaching innovations and learning factors in a lean manufacturing systems engineering course

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Choomlucksana, Juthamas; Doolen, Toni L.

    2017-11-01

    The use of collaborative activities and simulation sessions in engineering education has been explored previously. However, few studies have investigated the relationship of these types of teaching innovations with other learner characteristics, such as self-efficacy and background knowledge. This study explored the effects of collaborative activities and simulation sessions on learning and the relationships between self-efficacy beliefs, background knowledge, and learning. Data were collected from two different terms in an upper division engineering course entitled Lean Manufacturing Systems Engineering. Findings indicated that the impact of collaborative activities and simulation sessions appears to be different, depending on the concepts being taught. Simulation sessions were found to have a significant effect on self-efficacy beliefs, and background knowledge had a mixed effect on learning. Overall the results of this study highlight the complex set of relationships between classroom innovations, learner characteristics, and learning.

  6. Introducing a flipped classroom to engineering students: A case study in mechanics of materials course

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Suwapaet, Nuchida

    2018-03-01

    Flipped classroom is basically a reversed way of learning in classroom. Lecture is brought outside classroom and available online in many forms such as video lecture and e-books. In-class time is focused more on discussions and practices such as exercises and projects. Flipped classroom was introduced to Mechanical Engineering students in Mechanics of Materials course in 2016 academic year at Mahasarakham University, Thailand. The course was still taught in traditional way and series of video lecture were used as additional class materials outside classroom. There were 2 groups of students that enrolled in the course in 2 different semesters. Students in 1st semester were taught in traditional way (control group) and students in 2nd semester were used flipped classroom (experiment group). Students' grades between 2 groups were compared and analyzed. Satisfaction survey of using flipped classroom was carried out and evaluated. There were 3 aspects of evaluation which were content, varieties of activity, and functions. Results showed that the course's GPA of experiment group was 1.92 which was greater than the control group of 1.68. The greatly reduction of failed students in experiment group was noticeable. The percentages of failed students of control and experiment groups were 17% and 6%. Satisfaction survey evaluation results showed that the students satisfied in high level in every aspect. The comments pointed out that flipped classroom were easy to use and promoted self-study outside classroom. Those qualities would help students develop more skills in lifelong learning and learning to learn.

  7. Evolving Impressions: Undergraduate Perceptions of Graduate Teaching Assistants and Faculty Members over a Semester

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kendall, K. Denise; Schussler, Elisabeth E.

    2013-01-01

    Undergraduate experiences in lower-division science courses are important factors in student retention in science majors. These courses often include a lecture taught by faculty, supplemented by smaller sections, such as discussions and laboratories, taught by graduate teaching assistants (GTAs). Given that portions of these courses are taught by…

  8. The Teaching of Psychology on Health Professional Courses

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Upton, Dominic; Mansell, Hayley

    2008-01-01

    Psychology is taught on a range of vocational courses including such training for professions as nurses, medics, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, and other health care professionals. However, what is uncertain is what psychology is taught, who it is taught by and how it is taught. This project aims to address these unresolved questions…

  9. Programming for physicians: A free online course.

    PubMed

    Kubben, Pieter L

    2016-01-01

    This article is an introduction for clinical readers into programming and computational thinking using the programming language Python. Exercises can be done completely online without any need for installation of software. Participants will be taught the fundamentals of programming, which are necessarily independent of the sort of application (stand-alone, web, mobile, engineering, and statistical/machine learning) that is to be developed afterward.

  10. Application of PBL in the Course Fluid and Electrical Drive Systems, Case Study: Manufacturing an Automated Punch Machine

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sedaghat, Ahmad; AlJundub, Mohammad; Eilaghi, Armin; Bani-Hani, Ehab; Sabri, Farhad; Mbarki, Raouf; Assad, M. El Haj

    2017-01-01

    The PBL unit of fluid and electrical drive systems is taught in final semester of undergraduates in mechanical engineering department of the Australian College of Kuwait (ACK). The recent project on an automated punching machine is discovered more appealing to both students and instructors in triggering new ideas and satisfaction end results. In…

  11. The acquisition and transfer of knowledge of electrokinetic-hydrodynamics (EKHD) fundamentals: an introductory graduate-level course

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pascal, Jennifer; Tíjaro-Rojas, Rocío; Oyanader, Mario A.; Arce, Pedro E.

    2017-09-01

    Relevant engineering applications, such as bioseparation of proteins and DNA, soil-cleaning, motion of colloidal particles in different media, electrical field-based cancer treatments, and the cleaning of surfaces and coating flows, belongs to the family of 'Applied Field Sensitive Process Technologies' requiring an external field to move solutes in a fluid within a fibrous (or porous) domain. This field incorporates an additional variable that makes the analysis very challenging and can create for the student a number of new problems to solve. A graduate-level course, based on active-learning approaches and High Performance Learning Environments, where transfer of knowledge plays a key role, was designed by the Chemical Engineering Department at Tennessee Technological University. This course, where the fundamentals principles of EKHD were taught to science, engineering and technology students was designed by the Chemical Engineering Department at the Tennessee Technological University, Cookeville, TN. An important number of these students were able to grasp the tools required to advance their research projects that led to numerous technical presentations in professional society meetings and publications in peered-reviewed journals.

  12. Using clickers in nonmajors- and majors-level biology courses: student opinion, learning, and long-term retention of course material.

    PubMed

    Crossgrove, Kirsten; Curran, Kristen L

    2008-01-01

    Student response systems (clickers) are viewed positively by students and instructors in numerous studies. Evidence that clickers enhance student learning is more variable. After becoming comfortable with the technology during fall 2005-spring 2006, we compared student opinion and student achievement in two different courses taught with clickers in fall 2006. One course was an introductory biology class for nonmajors, and the other course was a 200 level genetics class for biology majors. Students in both courses had positive opinions of the clickers, although we observed some interesting differences between the two groups of students. Student performance was significantly higher on exam questions covering material taught with clickers, although the differences were more dramatic for the nonmajors biology course than the genetics course. We also compared retention of information 4 mo after the course ended, and we saw increased retention of material taught with clickers for the nonmajors course, but not for the genetics course. We discuss the implications of our results in light of differences in how the two courses were taught and differences between science majors and nonmajors.

  13. Programming for physicians: A free online course

    PubMed Central

    Kubben, Pieter L.

    2016-01-01

    This article is an introduction for clinical readers into programming and computational thinking using the programming language Python. Exercises can be done completely online without any need for installation of software. Participants will be taught the fundamentals of programming, which are necessarily independent of the sort of application (stand-alone, web, mobile, engineering, and statistical/machine learning) that is to be developed afterward. PMID:27127694

  14. "They [The Lecturers] Have to Get through a Certain Amount in an Hour": First Year Students' Problems with Service Mathematics Lectures

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Harris, Diane; Pampaka, Maria

    2016-01-01

    Drawing on large-scale survey data and interviews with students during their first year at university, and case studies in their institutions, we explore the problems faced by students taking mathematically demanding courses, e.g. physics and engineering. These students are often taught mathematics as a service subject by lecturers of mathematics.…

  15. Computational materials science and engineering education: A survey of trends and needs

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Thornton, K.; Nola, Samanthule; Edwin Garcia, R.; Asta, Mark; Olson, G. B.

    2009-10-01

    Results from a recent reassessment of the state of computational materials science and engineering (CMSE) education are reported. Surveys were distributed to the chairs and heads of materials programs, faculty members engaged in computational research, and employers of materials scientists and engineers, mainly in the United States. The data was compiled to assess current course offerings related to CMSE, the general climate for introducing computational methods in MSE curricula, and the requirements from the employers’ viewpoint. Furthermore, the available educational resources and their utilization by the community are examined. The surveys show a general support for integrating computational content into MSE education. However, they also reflect remaining issues with implementation, as well as a gap between the tools being taught in courses and those that are used by employers. Overall, the results suggest the necessity for a comprehensively developed vision and plans to further the integration of computational methods into MSE curricula.

  16. Solutions that stick: activating cross-disciplinary collaboration in a graduate-level public health innovations course at the University of California, Berkeley.

    PubMed

    Sandhu, Jaspal S; Hosang, Robert Nap; Madsen, Kristine A

    2015-03-01

    Since 2011 we have taught a public health innovations course at the University of California, Berkeley. Students gain skills in systematic innovation, or human-centered design, while working in small interdisciplinary teams on domestic and global health projects with client organizations. To support acquisition of meaningful problem-solving skills, we structured the course so that the majority of learning happens in scenarios that do not involve faculty. Taken by students representing 26 graduate programs (as diverse as epidemiology, city planning, and mechanical engineering), it is one of the 10 highest-rated courses offered by the School of Public Health. We present the blueprints for our course with the hope that other institutions whose students could benefit will borrow from our model.

  17. Research Skills and Ethics--A Graduate Course Empowering Graduate Students for Productive Research Careers in Graduate School and Beyond

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mabrouk, Patricia Ann

    2001-12-01

    This paper describes a course for first-year graduate students that teaches the fundamental so-called "soft skills" required for success in graduate school and beyond. Topics covered are ethics, laboratory safety and waste management, chemical information retrieval and literacy, experimental design, scientific record keeping, statistics, career development, and communications, including technical writing and oral presentation. Whenever possible students are put in direct contact with local technical experts and available resources. The course, well regarded by both students and faculty, has now been taught at Northeastern University for five years in the summer academic quarter to graduate students in chemistry and related departments (pharmacy and chemical engineering) who have successfully completed their first-year course work.

  18. Group by Subject or by Ability? Tertiary Mathematics for Engineering Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Plank, Michael; James, Alex; Hannah, John

    2011-01-01

    The mathematics topics taught to engineering students at university are ostensibly no different to those taught to mathematics majors, so should these students be taught together or separately? Should engineering students be segregated by ability in their mathematics classes? This study analyses the grades of over 1000 engineering students, and…

  19. Course fees and academic ranking: insights from the IMI EMTRAIN on-course® database.

    PubMed

    Payton, Antony; Dallakian, Pavel; Fitton, Alexander; Payton, Anna; Hardman, Mike; Yuille, Martin

    2014-07-01

    The Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) funded project on-course® (http://www.on-course.eu/) lists postgraduate biomedical courses in Europe and is comprehensive for all taught and research master's courses. Using on-course®, new insights into education and training in Europe can be delivered; and here we investigate the relationship between master's course fees and university ranking. We hypothesise that higher master's course fees would be associated with higher university ranking. This was indeed the case for research master's courses and for taught master's courses for non-EU students. However, we observed no correlation between taught master's course fees for EU students and university ranking, meaning EU students are paying on average as much for courses at lower ranked universities as they are for courses at higher ranked universities. Crown Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Using Clickers in Nonmajors- and Majors-Level Biology Courses: Student Opinion, Learning, and Long-Term Retention of Course Material

    PubMed Central

    Crossgrove, Kirsten

    2008-01-01

    Student response systems (clickers) are viewed positively by students and instructors in numerous studies. Evidence that clickers enhance student learning is more variable. After becoming comfortable with the technology during fall 2005–spring 2006, we compared student opinion and student achievement in two different courses taught with clickers in fall 2006. One course was an introductory biology class for nonmajors, and the other course was a 200 level genetics class for biology majors. Students in both courses had positive opinions of the clickers, although we observed some interesting differences between the two groups of students. Student performance was significantly higher on exam questions covering material taught with clickers, although the differences were more dramatic for the nonmajors biology course than the genetics course. We also compared retention of information 4 mo after the course ended, and we saw increased retention of material taught with clickers for the nonmajors course, but not for the genetics course. We discuss the implications of our results in light of differences in how the two courses were taught and differences between science majors and nonmajors. PMID:18316817

  1. Strengthening Environmental Engineering Education in Afghanistan through Cooperating Military Academies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Christ, J. A.; Mahbob, M.; Seely, G. E.; Ressler, S. J.

    2007-12-01

    Many developing countries suffer from substandard employment of environmental engineering and science principles, which leads to poor management of natural and cultural resources, increased public health concerns, and limitations on economic investment and growth. Thus, prior to the implementation of well-intentioned programs designed to promote development, methods for sustaining basic needs, which are the focus of most environmental engineering disciplines, must be designed into the social fabric of the developing culture. Education is a promising method for fostering this development across cultures. Recently, the US Air Force Academy (USAFA) partnered with the US Military Academy (USMA) to implement a Civil Engineering Program at the National Military Academy of Afghanistan (NMAA), Kabul, Afghanistan. This work will outline the process followed during course development, deployment, and implementation, paying particular attention to challenges and benefits at each stage in the process. This cooperation may serve as a model for future implementation of science, technology, engineering and mathematics education programs in developing countries. Consistent with US Civil Engineering programs, the NMAA Civil Engineering program introduces students to a broad range of introductory-level civil engineering subjects--environmental, hydraulic, geotechnical, structural, construction, and transportation engineering. Basic environmental engineering and science principles are addressed through the implementation of an introductory environmental engineering course. Course development followed a three-stage process: (1) course development by US faculty at their home institution, (2) imbedding of US Faculty at the NMAA, and (3) implementation of the course within the NMAA Civil Engineering curriculum using adjunct Afghan faculty hired from Kabul University. An existing environmental engineering course taught at USAFA was used as a model for course development. Although this existing course provided the necessary framework for the Afghan course, there were a number of challenges with tailoring the course material to the education level, experience, and needs of the Afghan students and faculty. These challenges were overcome, in part, during the imbedding process of US instructors within the NMAA faculty. On-site transfer of course material and knowledge proved a necessary step in the implementation of the course. The imbedding process enabled US instructors to discuss the course with current NMAA faculty and identify an implementation path that met the needs of the program while appreciating the uniqueness of the Afghan experience. Implementation of the course is on-going with reach-back capability for Afghan faculty to continue the mentoring relationship with their US colleagues. Challenges that arise during course implementation (e.g., wet lab deployments, field trip relevance) will be overcome and used as learning tools for future course offerings. Ultimately, this course will provide future leaders of Afghanistan with the educational tools to make informed environmental management decisions and will serve as a model for similar courses implemented throughout Afghanistan.

  2. Tagging and Purifying Proteins to Teach Molecular Biology and Advanced Biochemistry

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Roecklein-Canfield, Jennifer A.; Lopilato, Jane

    2004-01-01

    Two distinct courses, "Molecular Biology" taught by the Biology Department and "Advanced Biochemistry" taught by the Chemistry Department, complement each other and, when taught in a coordinated and integrated way, can enhance student learning and understanding of complex material. "Molecular Biology" is a comprehensive lecture-based course with a…

  3. Bachelor of Science-Engineering Technology Program and Fuel Cell Education Program Concentration

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Block, David L.; Sleiti, Ahmad

    2011-09-19

    The Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology education project has addressed DOE goals by supplying readily available, objective, technical, and accurate information that is available to students, industry and the public. In addition, the program has supplied educated trainers and training opportunities for the next generation workforce needed for research, development, and demonstration activities in government, industry, and academia. The project has successfully developed courses and associated laboratories, taught the new courses and labs and integrated the HFCT option into the accredited engineering technology and mechanical engineering programs at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNCC). The project has alsomore » established ongoing collaborations with the UNCC energy related centers of the Energy Production & Infrastructure Center (EPIC), the NC Motorsports and Automotive Research Center (NCMARC) and the Infrastructure, Design, Environment and Sustainability Center (IDEAS). The results of the project activities are presented as two major areas – (1) course and laboratory development, offerings and delivery, and (2) program recruitment, promotions and collaborations. Over the project period, the primary activity has been the development and offering of 11 HFCT courses and accompanying laboratories. This process has taken three years with the courses first being developed and then offered each year over the timeframe.« less

  4. Flipped Statistics Class Results: Better Performance than Lecture over One Year Later

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Winquist, Jennifer R.; Carlson, Keith A.

    2014-01-01

    In this paper, we compare an introductory statistics course taught using a flipped classroom approach to the same course taught using a traditional lecture based approach. In the lecture course, students listened to lecture, took notes, and completed homework assignments. In the flipped course, students read relatively simple chapters and answered…

  5. Student Perceptions of a Course Taught in Second Life

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cheal, Catheryn

    2009-01-01

    Catheryn Cheal describes student reactions to a course she and Vagner Whitehead taught in Second Life. The course required students to research a topic about virtual worlds, write a paper, and illustrate their findings by building an environment in Second Life. Negative student responses to the course coupled with the observation that students…

  6. Multiple strategy peer-taught evidence-based medicine course in a poor resource setting.

    PubMed

    Sabouni, Ammar; Bdaiwi, Yamama; Janoudi, Saad L; Namous, Lubaba O; Turk, Tarek; Alkhatib, Mahmoud; Abbas, Fatima; Yafi, Ruba Zuhri

    2017-05-04

    Teaching Evidence Based Medicine (EBM) is becoming a priority in the healthcare process. For undergraduates, it has been proved that integrating multiple strategies in teaching EBM yields better results than a single, short-duration strategy. However, there is a lack of evidence on applying EBM educational interventions in developing countries. In this study, we aim to evaluate the effectiveness of a multiple strategy peer-taught online course in improving EBM awareness and skills among medical students in two developing countries, Syria and Egypt. We conducted a prospective study with pre- and post- course assessment of 84 medical students in three universities, using the Berlin questionnaire and a set of self-reported questions which studied the students' EBM knowledge, attitude and competencies. The educational intervention was a peer-taught online course consisting of six sessions (90 min each) presented over six weeks, and integrated with assignments, group discussions, and two workshops. The mean score of pre- and post-course Berlin tests was 3.5 (95% CI: 2.94-4.06) and 5.5 (95% CI: 4.74-6.26) respectively, increasing by 2 marks (95% CI: 1.112-2.888; p-value <0.001), which indicates a statistically significant increase in students' EBM knowledge and skill, similar to a previous expert-taught face to face contact course. Self-reported confidences also increased significantly. However, our course did not have a major effect on students' attitudes toward EBM (1.9-10.8%; p-value: 0.12-0.99). In developing countries, multiple strategy peer-taught online courses may be an effective alternative to face to face expert-taught courses, especially in the short term.

  7. Linking mathematics with engineering applications at an early stage - implementation, experimental set-up and evaluation of a pilot project

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rooch, Aeneas; Junker, Philipp; Härterich, Jörg; Hackl, Klaus

    2016-03-01

    Too difficult, too abstract, too theoretical - many first-year engineering students complain about their mathematics courses. The project MathePraxis aims to resolve this disaffection. It links mathematical methods as they are taught in the first semesters with practical problems from engineering applications - and thereby shall give first-year engineering students a vivid and convincing impression of where they will need mathematics in their later working life. But since real applications usually require more than basic mathematics and first-year engineering students typically are not experienced with construction, mensuration and the use of engineering software, such an approach is hard to realise. In this article, we show that it is possible. We report on the implementation of MathePraxis at Ruhr-Universität Bochum. We describe the set-up and the implementation of a course on designing a mass damper which combines basic mathematical techniques with an impressive experiment. In an accompanying evaluation, we have examined the students' motivation relating to mathematics. This opens up new perspectives how to address the need for a more practically oriented mathematical education in engineering sciences.

  8. Undergraduate, Nonprofessional Pharmacology: Status of Courses Taught by North American Colleges of Pharmacy and Medicine.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gerald, Michael C.

    1989-01-01

    A study assessed and compared the current status of undergraduate, nonprofessional pharmacology courses as taught in the U. S. and Canadian colleges of pharmacy and medicine; courses offered by veterinary medicine are also noted. Pharmacy courses seek to increase general drug knowledge and promote rational drug use. (Author/MLW)

  9. Improving Business School Courses by Applying Lean Principles and Practices

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Emiliani, M. L.

    2004-01-01

    Describes the application of lean principles and practices to the design and delivery of a graduate business course on leadership taken by part-time working professional students in a classroom setting. The principal objectives were to improve consistency between what was taught in the course and how the course was taught, eliminate waste, improve…

  10. Effect of Instructor Gender and Gender Role on Student Willingness to Take a Psychology Course.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Freeman, Harvey R.

    1992-01-01

    Presents a study of students' preferences regarding teachers. Reports that students selected psychology courses taught by instructors possessing stereotypically male, female, or androgynous characteristics. Concludes that students preferred courses taught by those with "feminine" or androgynous characteristics over those possessing…

  11. An Introduction to Business German.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ambacher, Robert

    At Millersville University (Pennsylvania), business German is taught in the German section in a two-semester introduction at the sophomore level, a junior-level advanced course, and a senior-level translation course. These four courses are augmented by introductions to business and economics, both taught in English outside the German section.…

  12. The Fruit of Silence

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nelson, Marilyn

    2006-01-01

    This presentation explores how contemplative practices, especially those anchored in an active listening to silence, are integrated into creative writing courses. It pays particular attention to a course taught at the United States Military Academy at West Point and to a course on the poetry of war and peace taught at the University of…

  13. Student Perceptions of University Physical Activity Instruction Courses Taught Utilizing Sport Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mohr, Derek J.; Sibley, Benjamin A.; Townsend, J. Scott

    2012-01-01

    Limited research exists on effective teaching methods in university physical activity instruction (PAI) program courses. The purpose of this study was to evaluate PAI courses taught utilizing a sport education curriculum and instructional model. The Individual Development and Educational Assessment (IDEA) teaching evaluation was administered to…

  14. Mathematical modelling in engineering: an alternative way to teach Linear Algebra

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Domínguez-García, S.; García-Planas, M. I.; Taberna, J.

    2016-10-01

    Technological advances require that basic science courses for engineering, including Linear Algebra, emphasize the development of mathematical strengths associated with modelling and interpretation of results, which are not limited only to calculus abilities. Based on this consideration, we have proposed a project-based learning, giving a dynamic classroom approach in which students modelled real-world problems and turn gain a deeper knowledge of the Linear Algebra subject. Considering that most students are digital natives, we use the e-portfolio as a tool of communication between students and teachers, besides being a good place making the work visible. In this article, we present an overview of the design and implementation of a project-based learning for a Linear Algebra course taught during the 2014-2015 at the 'ETSEIB'of Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC).

  15. Postgraduate Taught Portfolio Review--The Cluster Approach, Non-Subject-Based Grouping of Courses and Relevant Performance Indicators

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Konstantinidis-Pereira, Alicja

    2018-01-01

    This paper summarises a new method of grouping postgraduate taught (PGT) courses introduced at Oxford Brookes University as a part of a Portfolio Review. Instead of classifying courses by subject, the new cluster approach uses statistical methods to group the courses based on factors including flexibility of study options, level of specialisation,…

  16. Expectations of University Students in Team Taught Interdisciplinary Courses.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Goodwin, William M.; LeBold, William K.

    Educational goals were presented to faculty involved in a group of eight team taught interdisciplinary (TTI) courses and were rated in terms of their importance to the courses as a group. The goals rated highest by the faculty were then presented to students enrolled in one of the TTI courses during the first and last weeks of the semester and…

  17. Biofluid Mechanics Education at U Michigan

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Grotberg, James

    2007-11-01

    At the University of Michigan, biofluid mechanics is taught in the Department of Biomedical Engineering with cross-listing in Mechanical Engineering. The course has evolved over 25 years and serves advanced undergraduates and graduate students. The course description is as follows: BiomedE/MechE 476 Biofluid Mechanics. CATALOG DESCRIPTION: This is an intermediate level fluid mechanics course which uses examples from biotechnology processes and physiologic applications including cellular, cardiovascular, respiratory, ocular, renal, orthopedic, and gastrointestinal systems. COURSE TOPICS: 1. Dimensional analysis (gastrointestinal, renal) 2. Approximation methods, numerical methods (biotechnology, respiratory) 3. Particle kinematics in Eulerian and Lagrangian references frames (biotechnology, respiratory) 4. Conservation of mass and momentum 5. Constitutive equations (blood, mucus) 6. Kinematic and stress boundary conditions: rigid, flexible, porous (cardio-pulmonary, cellular) 7. Surface tension phenomena (pulmonary, ocular) 8. Flow and wave propagation in flexible tubes (cardio-pulmonary) 9. Oscillatory and pulsatile flows (cardio-pulmonary, orthopedic) 10. High Reynolds number flows (cardio-pulmonary) 11. Low Reynolds number flows (biotechnology, cellular, vascular) 12. Lubrication theory (vascular, orthopedic) 13. Flow in poroelastic media (orthopedic, pulmonary, ocular) 14. Video presentations of laboratory experiments.

  18. Research approach to teaching groundwater biodegradation in karst aquifers

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    King, L.; Byl, T.; Painter, R.

    2006-01-01

    TSU in partnership with the USGS has conducted extensive research regarding biode??gradation of contaminants in karst aquifers. This research resulted in the development of a numerical approach to modeling biodegradation of contaminants in karst aquifers that is taught to environmental engineering students in several steps. First, environmental engineering students are taught chemical-reaction engineering principles relating to a wide variety of environmental fate and transport issues. Second, as part of TSU's engineering course curriculum, students use a non-ideal flow laboratory reactor system and run a tracer study to establish residence time distribution (RTD). Next, the students couple that formula to a first-order biodegradation rate and predict the removal of a biodegradable contaminant as a function of residence time. Following this, students are shown data collected from karst bedrock wells that suggest that karst aquifers are analogous to non-ideal flow reactors. The students are challenged to develop rates of biodegradation through lab studies and use their results to predict biodegradaton at an actual contaminated karst site. Field studies are also conducted to determine the accuracy of the students' predictions. This academic approach teaches biodegradation processes, rate-kinetic processes, hydraulic processes and numerical principles. The students are able to experience how chemical engineering principles can be applied to other situations, such as, modeling biodegradation of contaminants in karst aquifers. This paper provides background on the chemical engineering principles and karst issues used in the research-enhanced curriculum. ?? American Society for Engineering Education, 2006.

  19. Quickulum: A Process for Quick Response Curriculum Verification

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lovett, Marvin; Jones, Irma S.; Stingley, Paul

    2010-01-01

    This paper addresses the need for a method of continual and frequent verification regarding course content taught in some post-secondary courses. With excessive amounts of information generated within the workplace, continual change exists for what is taught in some of our business courses. This is especially true for specific content areas such…

  20. Linking Class and Community: An Investigation of Service Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fleck, Bethany; Hussey, Heather D.; Rutledge-Ellison, Lily

    2017-01-01

    This study contributes to the service learning (SL) literature by providing new empirical evidence of learning from a problem-based SL research project conducted in a developmental research methods course. Two sections of the course taught in a traditional manner were compared to two sections of the course taught with an integrated SL project…

  1. A Leadership Elective Course Developed and Taught by Graduate Students

    PubMed Central

    Garza, Oscar W.; Witry, Matthew J.; Chang, Elizabeth H.; Letendre, Donald E.; Trewet, CoraLynn B.

    2013-01-01

    Objective. To develop and implement a flexible-credit elective course to empower student pharmacists to develop lifelong leadership skills and provide teaching practice opportunities for graduate students. Design. An elective course focusing on leadership development for second- and third-year doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) students was designed and taught by 4 graduate students under the mentorship of 2 faculty members. Student pharmacists could enroll in a 1-, 2-, or 3-credit-hour version of the course. Assessment. Attainment of course objectives was measured using student pharmacist reflection papers and continuing professional development portfolios. Additionally, self-assessments of graduate students and faculty members delivering the course were conducted. In their responses on course evaluations, student pharmacists indicated they found the course a valuable learning experience. Graduate students found course development to be challenging but useful in developing faculty skills. Conclusion. This flexible-credit elective course taught by graduate students was an innovative way to offer formal leadership instruction using limited college resources. PMID:24371347

  2. A School in Siberia: 14-Year-Olds Take University Math Course.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bogdanovsky, Georgy

    1978-01-01

    Ordinary students (n=40) are participating in a Soviet experiment wherein they are taught by well-known scientists and specialists in a math-intensive course comparable to that taught at the Kiev University. (JC)

  3. Evaluation of team-based learning in a doctor of physical therapy curriculum in the United States.

    PubMed

    Lein, Donald H; Lowman, John D; Eidson, Christopher A; Yuen, Hon K

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this retrospective study was to evaluate students' academic outcomes after implementation of the team-based learning (TBL) approach in patient/client management courses in an entry-level doctor of physical therapy (DPT) curriculum. The research design of this study involved comparing written and practical exam scores from DPT student cohorts taught with the traditional instructional methods (lecture-based) to those of students from subsequent cohorts taught using the TBL approach in two patient/client management courses: basic skills and cardiopulmonary. For this comparison, the exams used, the number of contact hours and labs, and the instructors who taught these courses remained the same during the transition between these two instructional methods (traditional vs. TBL). The average of all individual course exam scores was used for data analysis. In both courses, there were no meaningful differences in the mean exam scores among students across years of cohorts receiving the same instructional method, which allowed clustering students from different years of cohorts in each course receiving the same instructional method into one group. For both courses, the mean exam score was significantly higher in the TBL group than in the traditional instruction group: basic skills course (P<0.001) and cardiopulmonary course (P<0.001). Student cohorts taught using the TBL approach academically outperformed those who received the traditional instructional method in both entry-level DPT patient/client management courses.

  4. A Pilot Study of Students' Learning Outcomes Using Didactic and Socratic Instructional Methods: An Assessment Based on Bloom's Taxonomy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Akinde, Oluwatoyin Adenike

    2015-01-01

    This work is a pilot study on the learning outcomes of students, who were taught a research course for seven weeks, using didactic and Socratic instruction methods. The course was taught in two sessions concurrently. The students were divided into two groups (A and B) and both groups were taught either with Socratic instruction method or didactic…

  5. A paperless course on structural engineering programming: investing in educational technology in the times of the Greek financial recession

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sextos, Anastasios G.

    2014-01-01

    This paper presents the structure of an undergraduate course entitled 'programming techniques and the use of specialised software in structural engineering' which is offered to the fifth (final) year students of the Civil Engineering Department of Aristotle University Thessaloniki in Greece. The aim of this course is to demonstrate the use of new information technologies in the field of structural engineering and to teach modern programming and finite element simulation techniques that the students can in turn apply in both research and everyday design of structures. The course also focuses on the physical interpretation of structural engineering problems, in a way that the students become familiar with the concept of computational tools without losing perspective from the engineering problem studied. For this purpose, a wide variety of structural engineering problems are studied in class, involving structural statics, dynamics, earthquake engineering, design of reinforced concrete and steel structures as well as data and information management. The main novelty of the course is that it is taught and examined solely in the computer laboratory ensuring that each student can accomplish the prescribed 'hands-on' training on a dedicated computer, strictly on a 1:1 student over hardware ratio. Significant effort has also been put so that modern educational techniques and tools are utilised to offer the course in an essentially paperless mode. This involves electronic educational material, video tutorials, student information in real time and exams given and assessed electronically through an ad hoc developed, personalised, electronic system. The positive feedback received from the students reveals that the concept of a paperless course is not only applicable in real academic conditions but is also a promising approach that significantly increases student productivity and engagement. The question, however, is whether such an investment in educational technology is indeed timely during economic recession, where the academic priorities are rapidly changing. In the light of this unfavourable and unstable financial environment, a critical overview of the strengths, the weaknesses, the opportunities and the threats of this effort is presented herein, hopefully contributing to the discussion on the future of higher education in the time of crisis.

  6. Effects of Virtual Education on Academic Culture: Perceived Advantages and Disadvantages

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jefferson, Renee N.; Arnold, Liz W.

    2009-01-01

    The perceived advantages and disadvantages of courses taught in online and face-to-face learning environments were explored for students taking an accounting and a data collection and analysis course. Both courses were taught in a face-to-face learning environment at the main or satellite campus. It was hypothesized that there would be…

  7. Bioregenerative system

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1987-01-01

    The design course is an eight semester credit multi-disciplinary engineering design course taught primarily to Engineering Science, Aerospace, Electrical and Mechanical Engineering seniors. This year the course project involved the design of the three interrelated loops: atmospheric, liquid nutrient and solid waste management, associated with growing higher plants to support man during long-term space missions. The project is complementary to the NASA Kennedy Space Center Controlled Environmental Life Support System (CELSS) project. The first semester the class worked on a preliminary design for a complete system. This effort included means for monitoring and control of composition, temperature, flow rate, etc., for the atmosphere and liquid nutrient solution; disease and contaminant monitoring and control; plant mechanical support, propagation and harvesting; solid and liquid waste recycling; and system maintenance and refurbishing. The project has significant biological, mechanical, electrical and Al/Robotics aspects. The second semester a small number of subsystems or components, identified as important and interesting during the first semester, were selected for detail design, fabrication, and testing. The class was supported by close cooperation with The Kennedy Space Center and by two teaching assistants. The availability of a dedicated, well equipped project room greatly enhanced the communication and team spirit of the class.

  8. Hydrology

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Brutsaert, Wilfried

    2005-08-01

    Water in its different forms has always been a source of wonder, curiosity and practical concern for humans everywhere. Hydrology - An Introduction presents a coherent introduction to the fundamental principles of hydrology, based on the course that Wilfried Brutsaert has taught at Cornell University for the last thirty years. Hydrologic phenomena are dealt with at spatial and temporal scales at which they occur in nature. The physics and mathematics necessary to describe these phenomena are introduced and developed, and readers will require a working knowledge of calculus and basic fluid mechanics. The book will be invaluable as a textbook for entry-level courses in hydrology directed at advanced seniors and graduate students in physical science and engineering. In addition, the book will be more broadly of interest to professional scientists and engineers in hydrology, environmental science, meteorology, agronomy, geology, climatology, oceanology, glaciology and other earth sciences. Emphasis on fundamentals Clarification of the underlying physical processes Applications of fluid mechanics in the natural environment

  9. Teaching Electrostatics and Entropy in Introductory Physics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Reeves, Mark

    Entropy changes underlie the physics that dominates biological interactions. Indeed, introductory biology courses often begin with an exploration of the qualities of water that are important to living systems. However, one idea that is not explicitly addressed in most introductory physics or biology courses is important contribution of the entropy in driving fundamental biological processes towards equilibrium. I will present material developed to teach electrostatic screening in solutions and the function of nerve cells where entropic effects act to counterbalance electrostatic attraction. These ideas are taught in an introductory, calculus-based physics course to biomedical engineers using SCALEUP pedagogy. Results of student mastering of complex problems that cross disciplinary boundaries between biology and physics, as well as the challenges that they face in learning this material will be presented.

  10. Teaching with technology: learning outcomes for a combined dental and dental hygiene online hybrid oral histology course.

    PubMed

    Gadbury-Amyot, Cynthia C; Singh, Amul H; Overman, Pamela R

    2013-06-01

    Among the challenges leaders in dental and allied dental education have faced in recent years is a shortage of well-qualified faculty members, especially in some specialty areas of dentistry. One proposed solution has been the use of technology. At the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Dentistry, the departure of a faculty member who taught the highly specialized content in oral histology and embryology provided the opportunity to implement distance delivery of that course. The course is taught once a year to a combined group of dental and dental hygiene students. Previous to spring semester of 2009, the course was taught using traditional face-to-face, in-class lectures and multiple-choice examinations. During the spring semesters of 2009, 2010, and 2011, the course was taught using synchronous and asynchronous distance delivery technology. Outcomes for these courses (including course grades and performance on the National Board Dental Examination Part I) were compared to those from the 2006, 2007, and 2008 courses. Students participating in the online hybrid course were also given an author-designed survey, and the perceptions of the faculty member who made the transition from teaching the course in a traditional face-to-face format to teaching in an online hybrid format were solicited. Overall, student and faculty perceptions and student outcomes and course reviews have been positive. The results of this study can provide guidance to those seeking to use technology as one method of curricular delivery.

  11. Comparing Student Outcomes in Blended and Face-to-Face Courses

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Roscoe, Douglas D.

    2012-01-01

    This article reports on a study of student outcomes in a pair of matched courses, one taught face-to-face and one taught in a blended format, in which students completed most of the work online but met several times face-to-face. Learning objectives, course content, and pedagogical approaches were identical but the mode of instruction was…

  12. Redesigning a Large Enrollment Course: The Impact on Academic Performance, Course Completion and Student Perceptions in Introductory Psychology

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hudson, Danae L.; Whisenhunt, Brooke L.; Shoptaugh, Carol F.; Rost, Ann D.; Fondren-Happel, Rachel N.

    2014-01-01

    Increasing college enrollments, and decreased funding have led institutions and instructors to focus on developing courses that can be taught effectively in a large class format. This article presents the effectiveness of a redesigned, blended format of Introductory Psychology taught in large sections. The goals of the project included improving…

  13. Transformation of a Traditional, Freshman Biology, Three-Semester Sequence, to a Two-Semester, Integrated Thematically Organized, and Team-Taught Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Soto, Julio G.; Everhart, Jerry

    2016-01-01

    Biology faculty at San José State University developed, piloted, implemented, and assessed a freshmen course sequence based on the macro-to micro-teaching approach that was team-taught, and organized around unifying themes. Content learning assessment drove the conceptual framework of our course sequence. Content student learning increased…

  14. Computer-Assisted Learning in Anatomy at the International Medical School in Debrecen, Hungary: A Preliminary Report

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kish, Gary; Cook, Samuel A.; Kis, Greta

    2013-01-01

    The University of Debrecen's Faculty of Medicine has an international, multilingual student population with anatomy courses taught in English to all but Hungarian students. An elective computer-assisted gross anatomy course, the Computer Human Anatomy (CHA), has been taught in English at the Anatomy Department since 2008. This course focuses on an…

  15. To Stream or Not to Stream in a Quantitative Business Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Buhagiar, Tarek; Potter, Robert

    2010-01-01

    This paper investigates whether there is a difference in student learning in a quantitative business course taught through video streaming with the option of going to a face-to-face lecture, compared to the same course taught only through face-to-face lecture. This topic has been the subject of research in recent years because of the importance of…

  16. Tagging and purifying proteins to teach molecular biology and advanced biochemistry.

    PubMed

    Roecklein-Canfield, Jennifer A; Lopilato, Jane

    2004-11-01

    Two distinct courses, "Molecular Biology" taught by the Biology Department and "Advanced Biochemistry" taught by the Chemistry Department, complement each other and, when taught in a coordinated and integrated way, can enhance student learning and understanding of complex material. "Molecular Biology" is a comprehensive lecture-based course with a 3-h laboratory once a week, while "Advanced Biochemistry" is a completely laboratory-based course with lecture fully integrated around independent student projects. Both courses emphasize and utilize cutting-edge technology. Teaching across departmental boundaries allows students access to faculty expertise and techniques rarely used at the undergraduate level, namely the tagging of proteins and their use in protein purification. Copyright © 2004 International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

  17. Jurisprudence and business management course content taught at accredited chiropractic colleges: A comparative audit.

    PubMed

    Gleberzon, Brian J

    2010-03-01

    the purpose of this study was to conduct a comparative audit of the jurisprudence and business management courses offered at a number of different accredited chiropractic colleges. Faculty members responsible for teaching students jurisprudence and/or business management courses at a number of accredited colleges were contacted and asked to electronically submit their course outlines for review. Of the 62 different topics delivered at the 11 chiropractic colleges surveyed, not one topic was taught at all of them. The following topics were taught at 10 of the 11 respondent chiropractic colleges: business plan development; ethics and codes of conduct and; office staff/employees. Several topics were only taught at one accredited chiropractic college. While most chiropractic colleges provide some education in the areas of jurisprudence and business management, it would appear that there is no consensus opinion or 'model curriculum' on these topics towards which chiropractic programs may align themselves. Based on a literature search, this study is the first of its kind. A more extensive study is required, as well as a Delphi process to determine what should be taught to chiropractic students with respect to jurisprudence and business management in order to protect the public interest.

  18. Technical Subjects in Secondary Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Howard, A. E.

    2008-01-01

    Purpose: This paper aims to examine technical education in various types of secondary schools, and suggests three levels of technical courses to be taught in secondary schools. Design/methodology/approach: The paper discusses the differences between technical schools and colleges, and vocational technical courses taught in "academic"…

  19. Asynchronous Video Streaming vs. Synchronous Videoconferencing for Teaching a Pharmacogenetic Pharmacotherapy Course

    PubMed Central

    2007-01-01

    Objectives To compare students' performance and course evaluations for a pharmacogenetic pharmacotherapy course taught by synchronous videoconferencing method via the Internet and for the same course taught via asynchronous video streaming via the Internet. Methods In spring 2005, a pharmacogenetic therapy course was taught to 73 students located on Amarillo, Lubbock, and Dallas campuses using synchronous videoconferencing, and in spring 2006, to 78 students located on the same 3 campuses using asynchronous video streaming. A course evaluation was administered to each group at the end of the courses. Results Students in the asynchronous setting had final course grades of 89% ± 7% compared to the mean final course grade of 87% ± 7% in the synchronous group (p = 0.05). Regardless of which technology was used, average course grades did not differ significantly among the 3 campus sites. Significantly more of the students in the asynchronous setting agreed (57%) with the statement that they could read the lecture notes and absorb the content on their own without attending the class than students in the synchronous class (23%; chi-square test; p < 0.001). Conclusions Students in both asynchronous and synchronous settings performed well. However, students taught using asynchronous videotaped lectures had lower satisfaction with the method of content delivery, and preferred live interactive sessions or a mix of interactive sessions and asynchronous videos over delivery of content using the synchronous or asynchronous method alone. PMID:17429516

  20. Challenges in teaching modern manufacturing technologies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ngaile, Gracious; Wang, Jyhwen; Gau, Jenn-Terng

    2015-07-01

    Teaching of manufacturing courses for undergraduate engineering students has become a challenge due to industrial globalisation coupled with influx of new innovations, technologies, customer-driven products. This paper discusses development of a modern manufacturing course taught concurrently in three institutions where students collaborate in executing various projects. Lectures are developed to contain materials featuring advanced manufacturing technologies, R&D trends in manufacturing. Pre- and post-surveys were conducted by an external evaluator to assess the impact of the course on increase in student's knowledge of manufacturing; increase students' preparedness and confidence in effective communication and; increase students' interest in pursuing additional academic studies and/or a career path in manufacturing and high technology. The surveyed data indicate that the students perceived significant gains in manufacturing knowledge and preparedness in effective communication. The study also shows that implementation of a collaborative course within multiple institutions requires a robust and collective communication platform.

  1. Preparing systems engineering and computing science students in disciplined methods, quantitative, and advanced statistical techniques to improve process performance

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    McCray, Wilmon Wil L., Jr.

    The research was prompted by a need to conduct a study that assesses process improvement, quality management and analytical techniques taught to students in U.S. colleges and universities undergraduate and graduate systems engineering and the computing science discipline (e.g., software engineering, computer science, and information technology) degree programs during their academic training that can be applied to quantitatively manage processes for performance. Everyone involved in executing repeatable processes in the software and systems development lifecycle processes needs to become familiar with the concepts of quantitative management, statistical thinking, process improvement methods and how they relate to process-performance. Organizations are starting to embrace the de facto Software Engineering Institute (SEI) Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI RTM) Models as process improvement frameworks to improve business processes performance. High maturity process areas in the CMMI model imply the use of analytical, statistical, quantitative management techniques, and process performance modeling to identify and eliminate sources of variation, continually improve process-performance; reduce cost and predict future outcomes. The research study identifies and provides a detail discussion of the gap analysis findings of process improvement and quantitative analysis techniques taught in U.S. universities systems engineering and computing science degree programs, gaps that exist in the literature, and a comparison analysis which identifies the gaps that exist between the SEI's "healthy ingredients " of a process performance model and courses taught in U.S. universities degree program. The research also heightens awareness that academicians have conducted little research on applicable statistics and quantitative techniques that can be used to demonstrate high maturity as implied in the CMMI models. The research also includes a Monte Carlo simulation optimization model and dashboard that demonstrates the use of statistical methods, statistical process control, sensitivity analysis, quantitative and optimization techniques to establish a baseline and predict future customer satisfaction index scores (outcomes). The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) model and industry benchmarks were used as a framework for the simulation model.

  2. Evaluation of Parallel Authentic Research-Based Courses in Human Biology on Student Experiences at Stanford University and the University of Gothenburg

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lindh, Jacob; Annerstedt, Claes; Besier, Thor; Matheson, Gordon O.; Rydmark, Martin

    2016-01-01

    Under a previous grant (2005-08), researchers and teachers at Stanford University (SU) and the University of Gothenburg (GU) co-designed a ten-week interdisciplinary, research-based laboratory course in human biology to be taught online to undergraduate students. Essentials in the subject were taught during the first four weeks of this course.…

  3. Changing the Learning Environment in the College of Engineering and Applied Science: The impact of Educational Training on Future Faculty and Student- Centered Pedagogy on Undergraduate Students

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gaskins, Whitney

    Over the past 20 years there have been many changes to the primary and secondary educational system that have impacted students, teachers, and post-secondary institutions across the United States of America. One of the most important is the large number of standardized tests students are required to take to show adequate performance in school. Students think differently because they are taught differently due to this focus on standardized testing, thus changing the skill sets students acquire in secondary school. This presents a critical problem for colleges and universities, as they now are using practices for and have expectations of these students that are unrealistic for the changing times. High dropout rates in the College of Engineering have been attributed to the cultural atmosphere of the institution. Students have reported a low sense of belonging and low relatability to course material. This study developed a "preparing the future" faculty program that gave graduate students at the University of Cincinnati a unique training experience that helped them understand the students they will educate. They received educational training, developed from a future educator's curriculum that covered classroom management, standards, and pedagogy. Graduate students who participated in the training program reported increases in self-efficacy and student understanding. To reduce negative experiences and increase motivation, Challenge Based Learning (CBL) was introduced in an undergraduate Basic Electric Circuits (BEC) course. CBL is a structured model for course content with a foundation in problem-based learning. CBL offers general concepts from which students derive the challenges they will address. Results show an improved classroom experience for students who were taught with CBL.

  4. From gene to protein: A 3-week intensive course in molecular biology for physical scientists.

    PubMed

    Nadeau, Jay L

    2009-07-01

    This article describes a 3-week intensive molecular biology methods course based upon fluorescent proteins, which is successfully taught at the McGill University to advanced undergraduates and graduates in physics, chemical engineering, biomedical engineering, and medicine. No previous knowledge of biological terminology or methods is expected, so the material could readily be adapted to earlier undergraduates or students in other fields. The course emphasizes hands-on experience with one half-hour of lecture and 3 and a half hours of laboratory 4 days per week, for a total of 39 hours. The materials are simple and low in cost and all software used is free, making the budget accessible to small universities and community colleges that possess basic teaching wet labs. Conceptual understanding is reinforced with lab reports and an independent final paper on a subject of the student's choice. The final paper describes a possible thesis project, not necessarily the student's own, with assessment based upon grasping of key concepts and methods of molecular biology. Copyright © 2009 International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

  5. A Source Book for Teaching Chemical Oceanography.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Loder, Theodore C.; Glibert, Patricia M.

    Chemical oceanography or marine chemistry are taught in many colleges and universities. This publication provides sources for instructors of such courses. The first section of this report is a detailed composite outline of a course in chemical oceanography. It includes fundamental topics taught in many chemical oceanography classes. The outline…

  6. A Research-Based Development Economics Course for Undergraduates

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Singh, Prakarsh; Guo, Hongye; Morales, Alvaro

    2015-01-01

    The authors present details of a research-based course in development economics taught at a private liberal arts college. There were three key elements in this class: teaching of applied econometrics, group presentations reviewing published and working papers in development economics, and using concepts taught in class to write an original…

  7. Teaching Writing in Sociology: A Social Constructionist Approach.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Anderson, Leon; Holt, Mara

    1990-01-01

    Provides an overview of the "social constructionist" approach to teaching composition in sociology courses. Describes a course that is team taught by the authors and is based on the social constructionist paradigm. Stresses that sociological writing is a special type of discourse that can be taught most effectively by sociologists who…

  8. Does Video-Autotutorial Instruction Improve College Student Achievement?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fisher, K. M.; And Others

    1977-01-01

    Compares student achievement in an upper-division college introductory course taught by the video-autotutorial method with that in two comparable courses taught by the lecture-discussion method. Pre-post tests of 623 students reveal that video-autotutorial students outperform lecture/discussion participants at all ability levels and that in…

  9. Benefits and Limitations of Online Instruction in Natural Science Undergraduate Liberal Arts Courses

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liddicoat, Joseph; Roberts, Godfrey; Liddicoat, Kendra; Porzecanski, Ana Luz; Mendez, Martin; McMullen, David

    2013-04-01

    Online courses in the Natural Sciences are taught three ways at New York University to undergraduate students majoring in the liberal arts and professional programs - synchronous courses in which students communicate online with the instructor and classmates in real time, asynchronous courses when faculty present course material for students to access and learn at their leisure, and hybrid or blended courses when part is taught asynchronously and part is taught face-to-face in a classroom with all students present. We have done online courses each way - Global Ecology (synchronous); Stars, Planets, and Life (synchronous and asynchronous); Darwin to DNA: An Overview of Evolution (asynchronous); Biodiversity Conservation (asynchronous); and Biology of Hunger and Population (blended). We will present the advantages and challenges we experienced teaching courses online in this fashion. Besides the advantages listed in the description for this session, another can be programmed learning that allows a set of sequential steps or a more complex branching of steps that allows students to repeat lessons multiple times to master the material. And from an academic standpoint, course content and assessment can be standardized, making it possible for each student to learn the same material. Challenges include resistance to online learning by a host of stakeholders who might be educators, students, parents, and the community. Equally challenging might be the readiness of instructors and students to teach and learn online. Student integrity issues such as plagiarism and cheating are a concern in a course taught online (Thormann and Zimmerman, 2012), so we will discuss our strategies to mitigate them.

  10. Jurisprudence and business management course content taught at accredited chiropractic colleges: A comparative audit

    PubMed Central

    Gleberzon, Brian J.

    2010-01-01

    Introduction: the purpose of this study was to conduct a comparative audit of the jurisprudence and business management courses offered at a number of different accredited chiropractic colleges. Methods: Faculty members responsible for teaching students jurisprudence and/or business management courses at a number of accredited colleges were contacted and asked to electronically submit their course outlines for review. Results: Of the 62 different topics delivered at the 11 chiropractic colleges surveyed, not one topic was taught at all of them. The following topics were taught at 10 of the 11 respondent chiropractic colleges: business plan development; ethics and codes of conduct and; office staff/employees. Several topics were only taught at one accredited chiropractic college. Conclusion: While most chiropractic colleges provide some education in the areas of jurisprudence and business management, it would appear that there is no consensus opinion or ‘model curriculum’ on these topics towards which chiropractic programs may align themselves. Based on a literature search, this study is the first of its kind. A more extensive study is required, as well as a Delphi process to determine what should be taught to chiropractic students with respect to jurisprudence and business management in order to protect the public interest. PMID:20195426

  11. Great teachers of Gaspare Tagliacozzi (1546-1599).

    PubMed

    Gurunluoglu, Raffi; Gurunluoglu, Aslin; Arton, Jamie

    2017-08-01

    Gaspare Tagliacozzi successfully practised the art of plastic surgery in the sixteenth century and conducted a long series of precise observations on the basis of which he formulated detailed principles for rhinoplastic. He wrote the first complete description of nasal reconstruction using skin from the arm. Tagliacozzi's teachers at the University of Bologna during his student days remain largely unfamiliar, Giulio Cesare Aranzio, Ulisse Aldrovandi and Girolamo Cardano. Aldrovandi taught the 'ordinary', that is the principal course in natural philosophy. Aranzio taught the chief course in surgery and anatomy. Cardano taught a course in the theory of medicine. Their activity contributed to the slow move from Galenic teaching in medicine and the static acceptance of tradition in all science.

  12. Comparison of traditional six-year and new four-year dental curricula in South Korea.

    PubMed

    Komabayashi, Takashi; Ahn, Chul; Kim, Kang-Ju; Oh, Hyo-Won

    2012-01-01

    This study aimed to compare the dental curriculum of the traditional six-year system with that of the new four-year (graduate-entry) system in South Korea. There are 11 dental schools in South Korea: six are public and five are private. Eight offer the new four-year program and the other three offer the traditional six-year program. Descriptive analyses were conducted using bibliographic data and local information along with statistical analyses such as chi-square tests. In the six-year programs, clinical dentistry subjects were taught almost equally in practical and didactic courses, while the basic science courses were taught more often as practical courses (P < 0.0001). In the four-year programs, both the basic science and clinical dentistry subjects were taught didactically more often; while more dentistry subjects were taught than basic sciences (P = 0.004). The four-year program model in South Korea is more focused on dentistry than on basic science, while both basic and clinical dentistry subjects were equally taught in the six-year program.

  13. Improving student learning in calculus through applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Young, C. Y.; Georgiopoulos, M.; Hagen, S. C.; Geiger, C. L.; Dagley-Falls, M. A.; Islas, A. L.; Ramsey, P. J.; Lancey, P. M.; Straney, R. A.; Forde, D. S.; Bradbury, E. E.

    2011-07-01

    Nationally only 40% of the incoming freshmen Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) majors are successful in earning a STEM degree. The University of Central Florida (UCF) EXCEL programme is a National Science Foundation funded STEM Talent Expansion Programme whose goal is to increase the number of UCF STEM graduates. One of the key requirements for STEM majors is a strong foundation in Calculus. To improve student learning in calculus, the EXCEL programme developed two special courses at the freshman level called Applications of Calculus I (Apps I) and Applications of Calculus II (Apps II). Apps I and II are one-credit classes that are co-requisites for Calculus I and II. These classes are teams taught by science and engineering professors whose goal is to demonstrate to students where the calculus topics they are learning appear in upper level science and engineering classes as well as how faculty use calculus in their STEM research programmes. This article outlines the process used in producing the educational materials for the Apps I and II courses, and it also discusses the assessment results pertaining to this specific EXCEL activity. Pre- and post-tests conducted with experimental and control groups indicate significant improvement in student learning in Calculus II as a direct result of the application courses.

  14. Two Key Strategies for Teaching Prevention: Specialized Course and Infusion

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Conyne, Robert K.; Newmeyer, Mark D.; Kenny, Maureen; Romano, John L.; Matthews, Constance R.

    2008-01-01

    Prevention is taught only rarely in counseling and counseling psychology curricula. Failure to teach it suggests that graduates may be less likely to conduct prevention. In this article, we describe two key strategies for addressing this problem, where prevention is being taught through (a) required courses, and (b) infusion within existing…

  15. Should a First Course in ANOVA Be Taught Through MLR?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Williams, John D.

    Before implementing a course in the analysis of variance (ANOVA) taught through multiple linear regression, several concerns must be addressed. Adequate computer facilities that are available to students on a low-cost or cost-free basis are necessary; also students must be able to meaningfully communicate with their major advisor regarding their…

  16. Faculty Perceptions of Moving a Face-to-Face Course to Online Instruction

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chiasson, Kari; Terras, Katherine; Smart, Kathy

    2015-01-01

    This qualitative study explores the experiences of 10 faculty members who developed and taught an online course that they had previously taught in a face-to-face classroom. The categories from the data analysis included planning, implementation, and reflection. Within the categories, eight themes emerged from the data. The themes addressed…

  17. Professional Education in Expert Search: A Content Model

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Smith, Catherine L.; Roseberry, Martha I.

    2013-01-01

    This paper presents a descriptive model of the subject matter taught in courses on expert search in ALA-accredited programs, answering the question: What is taught in formal professional education on search expertise? The model emerged from a grounded content analysis of 44 course descriptions and 16 syllabi, and was validated via a review of…

  18. The Professors behind the MOOC Hype

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kolowich, Steve

    2013-01-01

    The largest-ever survey of professors who have taught MOOCs, or massive open online courses, shows that the process is time-consuming, but, according to the instructors, often successful. Nearly half of the professors felt their online courses were as rigorous academically as the versions they taught in the classroom. The survey, conducted by "The…

  19. Implementation and Outcomes of Inquiry-Based Learning in Mathematics Content Courses for Pre-Service Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Laursen, Sandra L.; Hassi, Marja-Liisa; Hough, Sarah

    2016-01-01

    This mixed-methods study describes classroom characteristics and student outcomes from university mathematics courses that are based in mathematics departments, targeted to future pre-tertiary teachers, and taught with inquiry-based learning (IBL) approaches. The study focused on three two-term sequences taught at two research universities,…

  20. A Framework for Measuring Student Learning Gains and Engagement in an Introductory Computing Course: A Preliminary Report of Findings

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lim, Billy; Hosack, Bryan; Vogt, Paul

    2012-01-01

    This paper describes a framework for measuring student learning gains and engagement in a Computer Science 1 (CS 1) / Information Systems 1 (IS 1) course. The framework is designed for a CS1/IS1 course as it has been traditionally taught over the years as well as when it is taught using a new pedagogical approach with Web services. It enables the…

  1. Academic performance in a pharmacotherapeutics course sequence taught synchronously on two campuses using distance education technology.

    PubMed

    Steinberg, Michael; Morin, Anna K

    2011-10-10

    To compare the academic performance of campus-based students in a pharmacotherapeutics course with that of students at a distant campus taught via synchronous teleconferencing. Examination scores and final course grades for campus-based and distant students completing the case-based pharmacotherapeutics course sequence over a 5-year period were collected and analyzed. The mean examination scores and final course grades were not significantly different between students on the 2 campuses. The use of synchronous distance education technology to teach students does not affect students' academic performance when used in an active-learning, case-based pharmacotherapeutics course.

  2. Engineering Design Modules as Physics Teaching Tools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Oliver, Douglas L.; Kane, Jackie

    2011-01-01

    Pre-engineering is increasingly being taught as a high school subject. This development presents challenges as well as opportunities for the physics education community. If pre-engineering is taught as a separate class, it may divert resources and students from traditional physics classes. However, design modules can be used as physics teaching…

  3. How do educators in one New Zealand undergraduate Bachelor of Oral Health course teach and nurture professionalism?

    PubMed

    Smith, L; Adam, L; Moffat, S; Meldrum, A; Ahmadi, R

    2018-05-01

    Research on integrated dental hygiene and dental therapy courses is scarce; studies reporting on how staff in these combined scope courses teach professionalism are even more scarce. This study aimed to partially fill these research gaps. In 2016, online surveys were sent to 34 staff members who taught into the integrated Bachelor of Oral Health (BOH) course at the University of Otago's Faculty of Dentistry; 13 were returned. Two focus groups were conducted with six BOH educators. Aspects of professionalism were taught and nurtured in the formal curriculum, the clinic and the informal curriculum. In the formal curriculum, policies outlining the professional standards of behaviour expected of oral health practitioners and students in New Zealand and the Faculty were discussed. In the clinic, educators taught professionalism through modelling clinical skills, assessing students' performance and commenting on their reflective logbooks. In the informal curriculum, BOH teachers nurtured professionalism through discussions about standards of behaviour outside of the university. Role modelling was the most common method that participants reported they taught or nurtured professionalism in their students. Professionalism is a complex concept that is taught and nurtured in a number of ways over all aspects of the course. Oral Health educators need to maintain a high standard of professionalism when interacting with students and patients, as well as in public spaces, in order to model professionalism to their students. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  4. Power Quality and Reliability Project

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Attia, John O.

    2001-01-01

    One area where universities and industry can link is in the area of power systems reliability and quality - key concepts in the commercial, industrial and public sector engineering environments. Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU) has established a collaborative relationship with the University of'Texas at Arlington (UTA), NASA/Johnson Space Center (JSC), and EP&C Engineering and Technology Group (EP&C) a small disadvantage business that specializes in power quality and engineering services. The primary goal of this collaboration is to facilitate the development and implementation of a Strategic Integrated power/Systems Reliability and Curriculum Enhancement Program. The objectives of first phase of this work are: (a) to develop a course in power quality and reliability, (b) to use the campus of Prairie View A&M University as a laboratory for the study of systems reliability and quality issues, (c) to provide students with NASA/EPC shadowing and Internship experience. In this work, a course, titled "Reliability Analysis of Electrical Facilities" was developed and taught for two semesters. About thirty seven has benefited directly from this course. A laboratory accompanying the course was also developed. Four facilities at Prairie View A&M University were surveyed. Some tests that were performed are (i) earth-ground testing, (ii) voltage, amperage and harmonics of various panels in the buildings, (iii) checking the wire sizes to see if they were the right size for the load that they were carrying, (iv) vibration tests to test the status of the engines or chillers and water pumps, (v) infrared testing to the test arcing or misfiring of electrical or mechanical systems.

  5. Essential Mathematics for the Physical Sciences; Volume I: Homogeneous boundary value problems, Fourier methods, and special functions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Borden, Brett; Luscombe, James

    2017-10-01

    Physics is expressed in the language of mathematics; it is deeply ingrained in how physics is taught and how it's practiced. A study of the mathematics used in science is thus a sound intellectual investment for training as scientists and engineers. This first volume of two is centered on methods of solving partial differential equations and the special functions introduced. This text is based on a course offered at the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) and while produced for NPS needs, it will serve other universities well.

  6. Combining Chemical Information Literacy, Communication Skills, Career Preparation, Ethics, and Peer Review in a Team-Taught Chemistry Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jones, Mary Lou Baker; Seybold, Paul G.

    2016-01-01

    The widely acknowledged need to include chemical information competencies and communication skills in the undergraduate chemistry curriculum can be accommodated in a variety of ways. We describe a team-taught, semester-length course at Wright State University which combines chemical information literacy, written and oral communication skills,…

  7. Laboratory Activity: Specific Heat by Change in Internal Energy of Silly Putty

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Koser, John

    2011-01-01

    Students in introductory physics courses often don't study thermodynamics or thermodynamic events. If any thermal physics is taught in introductory courses (e.g., Physics 101 for Liberal Arts Majors), it usually involves the concepts of specific heat and various temperature scales. Seldom are the first and second laws of thermodynamics taught in…

  8. Using a Simple Sports Analogy to Help Students Cope with Negotiability, Liability, and Holders in Due Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Boggs, Glenn

    2004-01-01

    Those who have taught commercial paper, sometimes referred to as negotiable instruments, to undergraduate business students know all too well that complexity abounds: "Holders in due course!" "Liability of the parties!" Those who have taught in this area also know the fear students experience as these topics are introduced and…

  9. The Influence of Learning Styles on Student Perception and Satisfaction in a Highly Collaborative Team Taught Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sullivan, Daniel; Colburn, Michael; Fox, Daniel E.

    2013-01-01

    Team teaching an undergraduate business capstone course has the potential of providing students with an enhanced learning experience in a number of ways. This study examines the relationship between faculty and student learning styles and their impact on student perception and satisfaction in a highly collaborative team taught undergraduate…

  10. Enhancing Professional Self-Efficacy: Factors Contributing to Successful Implementation of Articulated Workplace Intentions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kile, Kimberly S.

    2012-01-01

    Competency-based education programs foster participants' abilities to perform or implement a skill taught within the curriculum. A competency-based course enhances a participant's professional self-efficacy by imparting in them the confidence to successfully implement one or more of the skills taught within the course. The Career…

  11. Flipping the Math Classroom for Non-Math Majors to Enrich Their Learning Experience

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Heuett, William J.

    2017-01-01

    Students' learning experiences in an introductory statistics course for non-math majors are compared between two different instructional approaches under controlled conditions. Two sections of the course (n = 52) are taught using a flipped classroom approach and one section (n = 30) is taught using a traditional lecture approach. All sections are…

  12. The Disposable Blog: Using the Weblog to Facilitate Classroom Learning and Communications

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pimpare, Stephen; Fast, Jonathan

    2008-01-01

    This article describes two case studies: one is from a graduate course in social work practice evaluation taught by the second author; the other is from an undergraduate political science course in media and politics taught by the first author. These cases describe the way blogs, created by students and the professors, facilitate communications…

  13. Approaches to Cycle Analysis and Performance Metrics

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Parson, Daniel E.

    2003-01-01

    The following notes were prepared as part of an American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) sponsored short course entitled Air Breathing Pulse Detonation Engine (PDE) Technology. The course was presented in January of 2003, and again in July of 2004 at two different AIAA meetings. It was taught by seven instructors, each of whom provided information on particular areas of PDE research. These notes cover two areas. The first is titled Approaches to Cycle Analysis and Performance Metrics. Here, the various methods of cycle analysis are introduced. These range from algebraic, thermodynamic equations, to single and multi-dimensional Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) solutions. Also discussed are the various means by which performance is measured, and how these are applied in a device which is fundamentally unsteady. The second topic covered is titled PDE Hybrid Applications. Here the concept of coupling a PDE to a conventional turbomachinery based engine is explored. Motivation for such a configuration is provided in the form of potential thermodynamic benefits. This is accompanied by a discussion of challenges to the technology.

  14. Applied Electronics and Optical Laboratory: an optimized practical course for comprehensive training on optics and electronics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Kaiwei; Wang, Xiaoping

    2017-08-01

    In order to enhance the practical education and hands-on experience of optoelectronics and eliminate the overlapping contents that previously existed in the experiments section adhering to several different courses, a lab course of "Applied Optoelectronics Laboratory" has been established in the College of Optical Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University. The course consists of two sections, i.e., basic experiments and project design. In section 1, basic experiments provide hands-on experience with most of the fundamental concept taught in the corresponding courses. These basic experiments including the study of common light sources such as He-Ne laser, semiconductor laser and solid laser and LED; the testing and analysis of optical detectors based on effects of photovoltaic effect, photoconduction effect, photo emissive effect and array detectors. In section 2, the course encourages students to build a team and establish a stand-alone optical system to realize specific function by taking advantage of the basic knowledge learned from section 1. Through these measures, students acquired both basic knowledge and the practical application skills. Moreover, interest in science has been developed among students.

  15. Learning by doing at the Colorado School of Mines

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Furtak, Thomas E.; Ruskell, Todd G.

    2013-03-01

    With over 260 majors, the undergraduate physics program at CSM is among the largest in the country. An underlying theme in this success is experiential learning, starting with a studio teaching method in the introductory calculus-based physics courses. After their second year students complete a 6-week full-time summer course devoted to hands-on practical knowledge and skills, including machine shop techniques, high-vacuum technology, applied optics, electronic control systems, and computational tools. This precedes a two-semester laboratory sequence that can be taught at an advanced level because of the students' experience. The required capstone senior course is a year-long open-ended challenge in which students partner with members of the faculty to work on authentic research projects, teaming with grad students or post-docs as contributing members to the department's externally funded scholarship. All of these features are important components of our B.S. degree, Engineering Physics, which is officially accredited by ABET.

  16. Climate Engineering: A Nexus of Ethics, Science and Governance

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ackerman, T. P.

    2015-12-01

    Climate engineering (or geoengineering) has emerged as a possible component of a strategy to mitigate global warming. This emergence has produced a novel intersection of atmospheric science, environmental ethics and global governance. The scientific questions of climate engineering, while difficult to answer in their own right, are compounded by ethical considerations regarding whether these questions should be addressed and governance questions of how research and deployment could be managed. In an effort to address this intersection of ideas and provide our students with a rich interdisciplinary experience, we (T. Ackerman and S. Gardiner, both senior professors at the University of Washington) taught a cross-listed course in the Atmospheric Sciences and Philosophy departments. The course attracted 12 students (mostly graduate students but with two upper level undergraduates), with roughly equal representation from environmental sciences, ethics, and public policy disciplines, as well as two post-docs. Our primary goal for the course was to develop a functioning research community to address the core issues at the intersection of science and ethics. In this presentation, we discuss the course structure, identify strategies that were successful (or less so), and describe outcomes. We consider this course to be primarily pedagogical in nature, but we also recognize that many of the students in the class, perhaps even a majority, are intending to pursue careers outside academia in areas of public policy, environmental consulting, etc., which added an extra dimension to our class. Here, we also discuss the possibility of developing and teaching such courses in an academic environment that is stressed financially and increasingly dependent on metrics related to class size and student credit hours.

  17. Summer enrichment partnership (SEP) - society of hispanic professional engineers (SHPE)

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Vela, C.E.

    1994-12-31

    SEP recruits talented Hispanic high school students in the Washington metropolitan area and seeks to increase the number of Hispanics who enter graduate programs in engineering and science. New students are exposed to engineering, experimental science and business, and visit R&D centers and corporations. Returning students take college level courses, such as Vector-Based Analytic Geometry and Probability and Statistics. Advanced students work on special projects. Hispanic engineers, scientists, and managers offer career guidance. Parental participation is actively encouraged. Students are selected based on: (a) commitment to succeed, (b) academic record, and (c) willingness to attend the program through graduation. Coursesmore » are taught by university faculty, with one teacher assistant per five students. Program evaluation encompasses: (1) student participation and performance, (2) school achievement, and (3) continuation to college. SEP is a partnership between the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, The Catholic University of America, NASA, school districts, parents and students, and Hispanic professionals.« less

  18. Evaluation of a Map Interpretation and Terrain Analysis Course for Nap-of-the-Earth Navigation. Research Report 1198.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Holman, Garvin L.

    This report documents the training effectiveness of a map interpretation and terrain analysis course (MITAC) developed to enhance the ability of helicopter pilots to navigate accurately during low altitude terrain following flight. A study comparing student aviators taught by the MITAC technique with a control group of students taught by…

  19. Curriculum Guide for Consumer Education. Part One. Grade 11 or 12.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chicago Board of Education, IL.

    Consumer education may be included in the curriculum in four ways: (1) as a separate course; (2) taught jointly by a home economics teacher and a business education teacher; (3) taught by teams of teachers in home economics, business education, and social studies; and (4) by including consumer education subject matter in a course in business, home…

  20. An Analysis of the e-Business Program in the School of Business Curriculum

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sarkar, Shyamalendu; Reddy, Surender

    2007-01-01

    The article analyzes various present and future aspects of e-business as it is or should be incorporated in the school of business curriculum. The study uses both primary and secondary data. The results indicate that e-business courses are currently taught across the traditional disciplines of business schools. The courses are primarily taught as…

  1. The Student-Centered Active Learning Environment for Undergraduate Programs (SCALE-UP) Project

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Beichner, Robert J.

    2011-04-01

    How do you keep a classroom of 100 undergraduates actively learning? Can students practice communication and teamwork skills in a large class? How do you boost the performance of underrepresented groups? The Student-Centered Active Learning Environment for Undergraduate Programs (SCALE-UP) Project has addressed these concerns. Because of their inclusion in a leading introductory physics textbook, project materials are used by more than 1/3 of all science, math, and engineering majors nationwide. The room design and pedagogy have been adopted at more than 100 leading institutions across the country. Physics, chemistry, math, astronomy, biology, engineering, earth sciences, and even literature classes are currently being taught this way. Educational research indicates that students should collaborate on interesting tasks and be deeply involved with the material they are studying. We promote active learning in a redesigned classroom for 100 students or more. (Of course, smaller classes can also benefit.) Class time is spent primarily on "tangibles" and "ponderables"--hands-on activities, simulations, and interesting questions. Nine students sit in three teams at round tables. Instructors circulate and engage in Socratic dialogues. The setting looks like a banquet hall, with lively interactions nearly all the time. Hundreds of hours of classroom video and audio recordings, transcripts of numerous interviews and focus groups, data from conceptual learning assessments (using widely-recognized instruments in a pretest/posttest protocol), and collected portfolios of student work are part of our rigorous assessment effort. Our findings (based on data from over 16,000 students collected over five years as well as replications at adopting sites) can be summarized as the following: 1) Female failure rate is 1/5 of previous levels, even though more is demanded of students. 2) Minority failure rate is 1/4 that seen in traditionally taught courses. 3) At-risk students are more successful in later engineering courses. 4) Top students gain the most, although students at all levels benefit. 5) Conceptual learning and problem solving are significantly improved, with same content coverage. In this talk I will discuss the need for reform, the SCALE-UP classroom environment, and examine the findings of studies of learning.

  2. Recruitment and Retention of Indians in Science and Engineering (RISE)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Karnawat, Sunil

    1997-01-01

    Fifteen students from Turtle Mountain Community College were selected to participate in activities of the RISE project last summer. Eight students successfully completed project activities and received stipends for their participation. These eight students are (1) Jamie Gable, (2) John Morin, (3) Patrick Belgarde, (4) Jason Laducer, (5) Alex Johnson, (6) Eric Houle, (7) Gary Renault, and (8) Kenny DeCoteau. In the fall of 1998, Jamie Gable and Gary Renault went to North Dakota State University to pursue their undergraduate degrees in mechanical engineering, and John Morin and Alex Johnson joined the University of North Dakota's electrical engineering and industrial technology programs, respectively. Remaining four students will continue to participate in the RISE activities this year and transfer to the universities next year. Seven students who failed to complete the RISE project activities during the current award period are encouraged to participate again this fall. The RISE students were enrolled in a special course called "Introduction to Engineering Materials." The project director, Dr. Kamawat, taught the course on Saturdays and Sundays. Theoretical and mathematical background on engineering materials and careers in various engineering professions were discussed in this course. The students attended guest lectures given by engineers and professors and visited local industries. In addition, the students went to North Dakota State University (NDSU) at Fargo, ND, and the University of Minnesota (UMN) at Minneapolis, MN, to tour their engineering departments. At NDSU, they conducted laboratory tests on various engineering materials, such as concrete, steel, wood, plastics, and carbon composites. The students investigated the mechanical behavior of these materials under various loading conditions, collected data, interpreted data, identified possible errors, determined the mechanical properties, and wrote reports on their findings. The students created posters describing their results on the behavior of engineering material. The posters were displayed in the TMCC's student lounge.

  3. Teaching Astronomy at the Moscow University at the Beginning of the XIX Century (1811-1826).

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gribko, L. P.

    2016-04-01

    Teaching astronomy at the Imperial Moscow University in 1811-1826 is reviewed. Lectures in astronomy (as a dedicated course or a part of other courses) were ontinually taught at the Moscow University. During 12 scholar years from 1811-1812 to 1823-1824, except for 1812-1813 during the Patriotic War with France) astronomy was taught in four scholar years by Pankevich (1 year), Chumakov (2 years), Popov (1 year); during five years Chumakov taught optics. Since the 1824-1825 scholar year astronomy was taught on a regular basis by Perevoshchikov. At the same time the chair of the observing astronomer remained vacant for 15 years because of the War of 1812 and of the untimely death of the young, promising magister Alexander Bugrov.

  4. Educating next-generation civil engineers about smart structures technology

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Yunfeng

    2005-05-01

    The implementation of smart structures technology in the design, construction and maintenance of civil and mechanical systems have been shown beneficial to the performance enhancement, operating efficiency and reliability of structural systems. However, most of today's engineering students are unaware of the remarkable properties of smart sensors and many applications of smart structures technology. It is thus desirable to prepare the future engineers of the society for the cutting-edge technologies in smart structures, for which they may see broad application in their generation. Pioneering work in incorporating smart structures technologies into civil engineering curriculum has been done by the writer at Lehigh University and is described in this paper. In particular, a graduate-level course entitled "Smart Structural Systems" has been taught in the Spring Semester of Year 2004 at Lehigh University. To better convey the course material to students, a smart structures test-bed, which is used not only to showcase various technological aspects of a smart structural system but also offer students an opportunity to gain hands-on experience by doing experiments has been under development at Lehigh University. The hands-on experience that could be developed with the smart structures test-bed is believed being essential for students to have a good understanding and mastering of the smart structures technologies.

  5. A Taxonomy of Introductory Physics Concepts.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mokaya, Fridah; Savkar, Amit; Valente, Diego

    We have designed and implemented a hierarchical taxonomic classification of physics concepts for our introductory physics for engineers course sequence taught at the University of Connecticut. This classification can be used to provide a mechanism to measure student progress in learning at the level of individual concepts or clusters of concepts, and also as part of a tool to measure effectiveness of teaching pedagogy. We examine our pre- and post-test FCI results broken down by topics using Hestenes et al.'s taxonomy classification for the FCI, and compare these results with those found using our own taxonomy classification. In addition, we expand this taxonomic classification to measure performance in our other course exams, investigating possible correlations in results achieved across different assessments at the individual topic level. UCONN CLAS(College of Liberal Arts and Science).

  6. Educational ultrasound nondestructive testing laboratory.

    PubMed

    Genis, Vladimir; Zagorski, Michael

    2008-09-01

    The ultrasound nondestructive evaluation (NDE) of materials course was developed for applied engineering technology students at Drexel University's Goodwin College of Professional Studies. This three-credit, hands-on laboratory course consists of two parts: the first part with an emphasis on the foundations of NDE, and the second part during which ultrasound NDE techniques are utilized in the evaluation of parts and materials. NDE applications are presented and applied through real-life problems, including calibration and use of the latest ultrasonic testing instrumentation. The students learn engineering and physical principles of measurements of sound velocity in different materials, attenuation coefficients, material thickness, and location and dimensions of discontinuities in various materials, such as holes, cracks, and flaws. The work in the laboratory enhances the fundamentals taught during classroom sessions. This course will ultimately result in improvements in the educational process ["The greater expectations," national panel report, http://www.greaterexpectations.org (last viewed February, 2008); R. M. Felder and R. Brent "The intellectual development of Science and Engineering Students. Part 2: Teaching to promote growth," J. Eng. Educ. 93, 279-291 (2004)] since industry is becoming increasingly reliant on the effective application of NDE technology and the demand on NDE specialists is increasing. NDE curriculum was designed to fulfill levels I and II NDE in theory and training requirements, according to American Society for Nondestructive Testing, OH, Recommended Practice No. SNT-TC-1A (2006).

  7. Experiencing Research Firsthand: The "unClassroom" Experiential Learning Approach to Teaching Research Methods in an LIS Master's Program

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mandel, Lauren H.

    2017-01-01

    Research methods education in LIS master's degree programs is facing several difficult questions: should a methods course be required, what content should be taught in that course, and what is the most effective mechanism for teaching that content. There is little consensus about what should be taught or how, but the American Library Association,…

  8. Research and Teaching: Does the Classroom Matter? How the Physical Space Affects Learning in Introductory Undergraduate Science Courses

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Young, Kaisa E.; Young, Chadwick H.; Beyer, Adam

    2017-01-01

    We compare student learning and perception data from astronomy, physics, and geology courses taught in a traditional classroom with individual desks to the same classes taught in a large auditorium. In a large student sample (1,593 students), there is no clear difference between rooms in measures of failure rates or average final grades. However,…

  9. Creating and Maintaining Team-Taught Interdisciplinary General Education.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Seabury, Marcia Bundy; Barrett, Karen A.

    2000-01-01

    Describes the University of Hartford's All-University Curriculum, which includes 25 interdisciplinary courses, most team taught. Addresses institutional buy-in, resources, team formation, conflict resolution, institutional policies, and ongoing development. (SK)

  10. Linear Programming across the Curriculum

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yoder, S. Elizabeth; Kurz, M. Elizabeth

    2015-01-01

    Linear programming (LP) is taught in different departments across college campuses with engineering and management curricula. Modeling an LP problem is taught in every linear programming class. As faculty teaching in Engineering and Management departments, the depth to which teachers should expect students to master this particular type of…

  11. Introduction to computers: Reference guide

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Ligon, F.V.

    1995-04-01

    The ``Introduction to Computers`` program establishes formal partnerships with local school districts and community-based organizations, introduces computer literacy to precollege students and their parents, and encourages students to pursue Scientific, Mathematical, Engineering, and Technical careers (SET). Hands-on assignments are given in each class, reinforcing the lesson taught. In addition, the program is designed to broaden the knowledge base of teachers in scientific/technical concepts, and Brookhaven National Laboratory continues to act as a liaison, offering educational outreach to diverse community organizations and groups. This manual contains the teacher`s lesson plans and the student documentation to this introduction to computer course.

  12. A Survey of Introductory Statistics Courses at University Faculties of Pharmaceutical Sciences in Japan.

    PubMed

    Matsumura, Mina; Nakayama, Takuto; Sozu, Takashi

    2016-01-01

    A survey of introductory statistics courses at Japanese medical schools was published as a report in 2014. To obtain a complete understanding of the way in which statistics is taught at the university level in Japan, it is important to extend this survey to related fields, including pharmacy, dentistry, and nursing. The current study investigates the introductory statistics courses offered by faculties of pharmaceutical sciences (six-year programs) at Japanese universities, comparing the features of these courses with those studied in the survey of medical schools. We collected relevant data from the online syllabi of statistics courses published on the websites of 71 universities. The survey items included basic course information (for example, the course names, the targeted student grades, the number of credits, and course classification), textbooks, handouts, the doctoral subject and employment status of each lecturer, and course contents. The period surveyed was July-September 2015. We found that these 71 universities offered a total of 128 statistics courses. There were 67 course names, the most common of which was "biostatistics (iryou toukeigaku)." About half of the courses were designed for first- or second-year students. Students earned fewer than two credits. There were 62 different types of textbooks. The lecturers held doctoral degrees in 18 different subjects, the most common being a doctorate in pharmacy or science. Some course content differed, reflecting the lecturers' academic specialties. The content of introductory statistics courses taught in pharmaceutical science programs also differed slightly from the equivalent content taught in medical schools.

  13. Team-Taught versus Individually Taught Undergraduate Education: A Qualitative Study of Student Experiences and Preferences

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Money, Arthur; Coughlan, Jane

    2016-01-01

    Team teaching is becoming more common in undergraduate programmes of study although the relative merits to the more traditional individually taught courses have not been determined for best practice. For this study, 15 final-year undergraduate computer science students were interviewed to gain insight into their learning experiences. A thematic…

  14. Assessment of Army Contracting Command’s Contract Management Processes (TACOM and RDECOM)

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2011-04-01

    Management Processes (TACOM and RDECOM)” was prepared for and funded by the Acquisition Program, Graduate School of Business & Public Policy, Naval...system and the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle rocket program. Rendon has taught contract management courses for the UCLA Government Contracts...program; he was also a senior faculty member for the Keller Graduate School of Management, where he taught MBA courses in project management and

  15. Developing creativity and problem-solving skills of engineering students: a comparison of web- and pen-and-paper-based approaches

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Valentine, Andrew; Belski, Iouri; Hamilton, Margaret

    2017-11-01

    Problem-solving is a key engineering skill, yet is an area in which engineering graduates underperform. This paper investigates the potential of using web-based tools to teach students problem-solving techniques without the need to make use of class time. An idea generation experiment involving 90 students was designed. Students were surveyed about their study habits and reported they use electronic-based materials more than paper-based materials while studying, suggesting students may engage with web-based tools. Students then generated solutions to a problem task using either a paper-based template or an equivalent web interface. Students who used the web-based approach performed as well as students who used the paper-based approach, suggesting the technique can be successfully adopted and taught online. Web-based tools may therefore be adopted as supplementary material in a range of engineering courses as a way to increase students' options for enhancing problem-solving skills.

  16. Infusing Geoethics One Geoscience Course at a Time

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cronin, V. S.

    2016-12-01

    Positive change is sometimes difficult to accomplish within a university. While it might be easy to get faculty members and administrators to agree that facilitating the development of students as ethical geoscientists is a desirable goal in the abstract, formally proposing concrete plans to achieve that goal might generate negative responses and even roadblocks. For example, it might be a challenge to pass a course in geoethics through a college curriculum committee, because ethics is a topic usually taught by the philosophy faculty. Although there are recognized subfields in engineering, medical, business, and legal ethics that are commonly taught by faculty members in those respective departments, geoethics is not yet recognized in this way. A more productive approach might be to begin with change that can be accomplished simply, within existing courses. Faculty members are usually granted broad discretionary authority to decide how material is to be presented in geoscience courses, including required core courses. My suggestion is to structure a course that presents all of the material normally expected under that course title, but in such a way that the ethical dimensions are intentionally and consistently highlighted. As with any change in the way we present course material, there is a startup cost to be borne by the teacher. One cost is the time needed to deepen our understanding of applied professional and scientific ethics; however, this is more of a personal and professional benefit than a cost in the long run. Infusing a course with an awareness of ethical issues also takes prior thought and planning to be successful. But, of course, that is no different from any other improvement in science education. Impressions from a semester's effort to include geoethics in a required core course in structural geology to about 25 students will be shared. The main course topic is not particularly relevant, because there are a number of ethical questions that students can be introduced to in any geoscience course. I assert that geoethics can be infused in any geoscience course, and that all participants (including the teacher) will learn from the experience. It will take commitment to help develop the next generation of geoscientists who are not merely technically competent, but also understand the ethical context of their work.

  17. Applying ``intelligent`` materials for materials education: The Labless Lab{trademark}

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Andrade, J.D.; Scheer, R.

    1994-12-31

    A very large number of science and engineering courses taught in colleges and universities today do not involve laboratories. Although good instructors incorporate class demonstrations, hands on homework, and various teaching aids, including computer simulations, the fact is that students in such courses often accept key concepts and experimental results without discovering them for themselves. The only partial solution to this problem has been increasing use of class demonstrations and computer simulations. The authors feel strongly that many complex concepts can be observed and assimilated through experimentation with properly designed materials. They propose the development of materials and specimens designedmore » specifically for education purposes. Intelligent and communicative materials are ideal for this purpose. Specimens which respond in an observable fashion to new environments and situations provided by the students/experimenter provide a far more effective materials science and engineering experience than readouts and data generated by complex and expensive machines, particularly in an introductory course. Modern materials can be designed to literally communicate with the observer. The authors embarked on a project to develop a series of Labless Labs{trademark} utilizing various degrees and levels of intelligence in materials. It is expected that such Labless Labs{trademark} would be complementary to textbooks and computer simulations and to be used to provide a reality for students in courses and other learning situations where access to a laboratory is non-existent or limited.« less

  18. Gender and Diversity Topics Taught in Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education Programs

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Winston, Ebony Joy; Piercy, Fred P.

    2010-01-01

    This article explores how the topics of gender and diversity are being taught and defined in accredited marriage and family therapy programs through syllabi content analysis and interviews with selected faculty. We examined findings by program (master's and doctoral) and type of training (those that taught specific gender and culture courses and…

  19. Moral theories may have some role in teaching applied ethics

    PubMed Central

    Benatar, D

    2007-01-01

    In a recent paper, Rob Lawlor argues that moral theories should not be taught in courses on applied ethics. The author contends that Dr Lawlor's arguments overlook at least two important roles that some attention to ethical theories may play in practical ethics courses. The conclusion is not that moral theory must be taught, but rather that there is more to be said for it than Dr Lawlor's arguments reveal. PMID:17971473

  20. MSaTERs: Mathematics, Science, and Technology Educators and Researchers of The Ohio State University. Proceedings of the Annual Spring Conference (2nd, May 16, 1998, Columbus, OH).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Reed, Michelle K., Ed.; Costner, Kelly M., Ed.

    The Mathematics, Science, and Technology Educators and Researchers of The Ohio State University (MSaTERS-OSU) is a newly formed student organization. Papers from the conference include: (1) "Was the Geometry Course, The Nature of Proof, Taught by Harold Pascoe Fawcett the Best Course Ever Taught in Secondary School?" (Frederick Flener); (2) "A…

  1. Electric Utility Transmission and Distribution Line Engineering Program

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Peter McKenny

    2010-08-31

    Economic development in the United States depends on a reliable and affordable power supply. The nation will need well educated engineers to design a modern, safe, secure, and reliable power grid for our future needs. An anticipated shortage of qualified engineers has caused considerable concern in many professional circles, and various steps are being taken nationwide to alleviate the potential shortage and ensure the North American power system's reliability, and our world-wide economic competitiveness. To help provide a well-educated and trained workforce which can sustain and modernize the nation's power grid, Gonzaga University's School of Engineering and Applied Science hasmore » established a five-course (15-credit hour) Certificate Program in Transmission and Distribution (T&D) Engineering. The program has been specifically designed to provide working utility engineering professionals with on-line access to advanced engineering courses which cover modern design practice with an industry-focused theoretical foundation. A total of twelve courses have been developed to-date and students may select any five in their area of interest for the T&D Certificate. As each course is developed and taught by a team of experienced engineers (from public and private utilities, consultants, and industry suppliers), students are provided a unique opportunity to interact directly with different industry experts over the eight weeks of each course. Course material incorporates advanced aspects of civil, electrical, and mechanical engineering disciplines that apply to power system design and are appropriate for graduate engineers. As such, target students for the certificate program include: (1) recent graduates with a Bachelor of Science Degree in an engineering field (civil, mechanical, electrical, etc.); (2) senior engineers moving from other fields to the utility industry (i.e. paper industry to utility engineering or project management positions); and (3) regular working professionals wishing to update their skills or increase their knowledge of utility engineering design practices and procedures. By providing graduate educational opportunities for the above groups, the T&D Program will help serve a strong industry need for training the next generation of engineers in the cost-effective design, construction, operation, and maintenance of modern electrical transmission and distribution systems. In addition to developing the on-line engineering courses described above, the T&D Program also focused significant efforts towards enhancing the training opportunities available to power system operators in the northwest. These efforts have included working with outside vendors to provide NERC-approved training courses in Gonzaga University's (GU) system operator training facility, support for an accurate system model which can be used in regional blackstart exercises, and the identification of a retired system operator who could provide actual regional training courses. The GU system operator training facility is also being used to recruit young workers, veterans, and various under-represented groups to the utility industry. Over the past three years students from Columbia Gorge Community College, Spokane Falls Community College, Walla Walla Community College, Central Washington University, Eastern Washington University, Gonzaga University, and various local high schools have attended short (one-day) system operator training courses free of charge. These collaboration efforts has been extremely well received by both students and industry, and meet T&D Program objectives of strengthening the power industry workforce while bridging the knowledge base across power worker categories, and recruiting new workers to replace a predominantly retirement age workforce. In the past three years the T&D Program has provided over 170 utility engineers with access to advanced engineering courses, been involved in training more than 300 power system operators, and provided well over 500 college and high school students with an experience in running a power system simulator and an exposure to various utility-related professions and craft trades.« less

  2. Development of instruction in hospital electrical safety for medical education.

    PubMed

    Yoo, J H; Broderick, W A

    1978-01-01

    Although hospital electrical safety is receiving increased attention in the literature of engineers, it is not, at present, reflected in the curricula of medical schools. A possible reason for this omission is that biomedical and/or clinical engineers knowledgeable in electrical safety are not usually trained to teach. One remedy for this problem is to combine the knowledge of engineers with that of instructional developers to design a systematic curriculum for a course in hospital electrical safety. This paper describes such an effort at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA). A biomedical engineer and an instructional developer designed an instructional module in hospital electrical safety; the engineer taught the module, and both evaluated the results. The process and outcome of their collaboration are described. This model was effectively applied in the classroom as a four-hour segment in hospital electrical safety for first-year medical students at UTHSCSA. It is hoped that an additional benefit of this system will be that it offers an opportunity for continuing improvement in this kind of instruction at other medical schools and hospitals.

  3. Sixteen years of collaborative learning through active sense-making in physics (CLASP) at UC Davis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Potter, Wendell; Webb, David; Paul, Cassandra; West, Emily; Bowen, Mark; Weiss, Brenda; Coleman, Lawrence; De Leone, Charles

    2014-02-01

    This paper describes our large reformed introductory physics course at UC Davis, which bioscience students have been taking since 1996. The central feature of this course is a focus on sense-making by the students during the 5 h per week discussion/labs in which the students take part in activities emphasizing peer-peer discussions, argumentation, and presentations of ideas. The course differs in many fundamental ways from traditionally taught introductory physics courses. After discussing the unique features of CLASP and its implementation at UC Davis, various student outcome measures are presented that show increased performance by students who took the CLASP course compared to students who took a traditionally taught introductory physics course. Measures we use include upper-division GPAs, MCAT scores, FCI gains, and MPEX-II scores.

  4. An Innovative, Multidisciplinary Educational Program in Interactive Information Storage and Retrieval. M.S. Thesis Final Report, 1 Jul. 1985 - 31 Dec. 1987

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Dominick, Wayne D. (Editor); Gallagher, Mary C.

    1985-01-01

    There exists a large number of large-scale bibliographic Information Storage and Retrieval Systems containing large amounts of valuable data of interest in a wide variety of research applications. These systems are not used to capacity because the end users, i.e., the researchers, have not been trained in the techniques of accessing such systems. This thesis describes the development of a transportable, university-level course in methods of querying on-line interactive Information Storage and Retrieval systems as a solution to this problem. This course was designed to instruct upper division science and engineering students to enable these end users to directly access such systems. The course is designed to be taught by instructors who are not specialists in either computer science or research skills. It is independent of any particular IS and R system or computer hardware. The project is sponsored by NASA and conducted by the University of Southwestern Louisiana and Southern University.

  5. Engineering teacher training models and experiences

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    González-Tirados, R. M.

    2009-04-01

    Institutions and Organisations that take training seriously and devote time, effort and resources, etc, to their own teams are more likely to succeed, since both initial teacher training and continuous improvement, studies, hours of group discussion, works on innovation and educational research, talks and permanent meetings, etc, will all serve to enhance teaching and its quality. Teachers will be able to introduce new components from previously taught classes into their university teaching which will contribute to improving their work and developing a suitable academic environment to include shared objectives, teachers and students. Moreover, this training will serve to enhance pedagogic innovation, new teaching-learning methodologies and contribute to getting teaching staff involved in respect of the guidelines set out by the EHEA. Bearing in mind that training and motivation can be key factors in any teacher's "performance", their productivity and the quality of their teaching, Teacher Training for a specific post inside the University Organisation is standard practice of so-called Human Resources management and an integral part of a teacher's work; it is a way of professionalising the teaching of the different branches of Engineering. At Madrid Polytechnic University, in the Institute of Educational Sciences (ICE), since it was founded in 1972, we have been working hard with university teaching staff. But it was not until 1992 after carrying out various studies on training needs that we planned and programmed different training actions, offering a wide range of possibilities. Thus, we designed and taught an "Initial Teacher Training Course", as it was first called in 1992, a programme basically aimed to train young Engineering teachers just setting out on their teaching career. In 2006, the name was changed to "Advanced University Teacher Training Course". Subsequently, with the appearance of the Bologna Declaration and the creation of the European Higher Education Area, we renewed the programme, content and methodology, teaching the course under the name of "Initial Teacher Training Course within the framework of the European Higher Education Area". Continuous Training means learning throughout one's life as an Engineering teacher. They are actions designed to update and improve teaching staff, and are systematically offered on the current issues of: Teaching Strategies, training for research, training for personal development, classroom innovations, etc. They are activities aimed at conceptual change, changing the way of teaching and bringing teaching staff up-to-date. At the same time, the Institution is at the disposal of all teaching staff as a meeting point to discuss issues in common, attend conferences, department meetings, etc. In this Congress we present a justification of both training models and their design together with some results obtained on: training needs, participation, how it is developing and to what extent students are profiting from it.

  6. Laboratory Activity: Specific Heat by Change in Internal Energy of Silly Putty

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Koser, John

    2011-12-01

    Students in introductory physics courses often don't study thermodynamics or thermodynamic events. If any thermal physics is taught in introductory courses (e.g., Physics 101 for Liberal Arts Majors), it usually involves the concepts of specific heat and various temperature scales. Seldom are the first and second laws of thermodynamics taught in detail. In this article, we look at a means to obtain real-time data that will lead to clarifying the first law.

  7. FORTRAN programming - A self-taught course

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Blecher, S.; Butler, R. V.; Horton, M.; Norrod, V.

    1971-01-01

    Comprehensive programming course begins with numerical systems and basic concepts, proceeds systematically through FORTRAN language elements, and concludes with discussion of programming techniques. Course is suitable either for individual study or for group study on informal basis.

  8. What's a Nice Biology Teacher Like You Doing Teaching Humanities?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Biermann, Carol A.

    1990-01-01

    Described is the College Success Program designed to enhance retention of at-risk individuals. The goals, bioethics course offerings at various colleges, course outline for a bioethics course taught in the humanities, and evaluation of the course are discussed. (CW)

  9. Evaluation and Revision of an Introduction to Experiential Rotations Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dy, Eliza A.; Nisly, Sarah A.

    2014-01-01

    The objectives of this study were to evaluate the perceived student value of topics taught in Butler University's Introduction to Experiential Rotations (RX500) course, implement course revisions to address any perceived weaknesses, and to reassess the course following implementation of those course revisions. Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience…

  10. Reasons and resources for being explicit about the practices of science

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Egger, A. E.

    2015-12-01

    The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) promote a fundamental shift in the way science is taught. The new focus is on three-dimensional learning, which brings science and engineering practices together with disciplinary core ideas and cross-cutting concepts. A key component is performance expectations rather than bullet lists of content that students should know. One of the stated goals is that "all students should have sufficient knowledge of science and engineering to engage in public discussions on related issues." While the NGSS were developed for K-12, college instructors benefit from familiarity with them in two critical ways: first, they provide a research-based and clearly articulated approach to three-dimensional learning that applies across the grade spectrum, and second, future K-12 teachers are sitting in their college-level science courses, and awareness of the skills those future teachers need can help direct course design. More specifically, while most college-level science courses make use of the science and engineering practices described in the NGSS, few offer explicit instruction in them or how they intertwine with disciplinary core ideas and cross-cutting concepts. Yet this explicit instruction is critical to building scientific literacy in future teachers—and all students. Many textbooks and laboratory courses limit a discussion of the process of science to one chapter or exercise, and expect students to be able to apply those concepts. In contrast, new resources from Visionlearning (http://www.visionlearning.com), InTeGrate (http://serc.carleton.edu/integrate), and other projects hosted at the Science Education Resource Center (http://serc.carleton.edu) were developed with explicit and pervasive integration of the nature and practices of science in mind. These freely available, classroom-tested and reviewed resources support instructors in introductory/general education courses as well as teacher preparation and more advanced courses.

  11. Rocks and Minerals as a Viable Course in the Undergraduate Curriculum.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Powell, William E.

    1981-01-01

    Provides an overview of a one-semester course in rocks and minerals for non-geology majors taught at Pittsburg State University. Includes information involving the methodology and content of the course, equipment needed, textbook selection, and general impressions of the course. (DS)

  12. Concepts first: A course with improved educational outcomes and parity for underrepresented minority groups

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Webb, D. J.

    2017-08-01

    Two active learning physics courses were taught and compared. The "concepts first" course was organized to teach only concepts in the first part of the class, the ultimate goal being to increase students' problem-solving abilities much later in the class. The other course was taught in the same quarter by the same instructor using the same curricular materials, but covered material in the standard (chapter-by-chapter) order. After accounting for incoming student characteristics, students from the concepts-first course scored significantly better in two outcome measures: their grade on the final exam and the grade received in their subsequent physics course. Moreover, in the concepts-first class course, students from groups underrepresented in physics had final exam scores and class grades that were indistinguishable from other students. Finally, students who took at least one concepts-first course in introductory physics were found to have significantly higher rates of graduation with a STEM major than students from this cohort who did not.

  13. The CREATE Strategy for Intensive Analysis of Primary Literature Can Be Used Effectively by Newly Trained Faculty to Produce Multiple Gains in Diverse Students

    PubMed Central

    Stevens, Leslie M.

    2014-01-01

    The CREATE (Consider Read, Elucidate the hypotheses, Analyze and interpret the data, and Think of the next Experiment) strategy aims to demystify scientific research and scientists while building critical thinking, reading/analytical skills, and improved science attitudes through intensive analysis of primary literature. CREATE was developed and piloted at the City College of New York (CCNY), a 4-yr, minority-serving institution, with both upper-level biology majors and first-year students interested in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. To test the extent to which CREATE strategies are broadly applicable to students at private, public, research-intensive, and/or primarily undergraduate colleges/universities, we trained a cohort of faculty from the New York/New Jersey/Pennsylvania area in CREATE pedagogies, then followed a subset, the CREATE implementers (CIs), as they taught all or part of an existing course on their home campuses using CREATE approaches. Evaluation of the workshops, the CIs, and their students was carried out both by the principal investigators and by an outside evaluator working independently. Our data indicate that: intensive workshops change aspects of faculty attitudes about teaching/learning; workshop-trained faculty can effectively design and teach CREATE courses; and students taught by such faculty on multiple campuses make significant cognitive and affective gains that parallel the changes documented previously at CCNY. PMID:26086655

  14. Banned Books: A Study of Censorship.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rossuck, Jennifer

    1997-01-01

    Describes how a course on censorship taught at an all-girls high school in Tacoma, Washington, drew on current event controversies to initiate discussion. Outlines the course's four units and uses Ray Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451" to frame course questions. (TB)

  15. A First-Year Course That Teaches Research Skills

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Czarneski, Debra

    2013-01-01

    In the Fall semester of 2009, I taught a first-year course that focused on skills required to successfully complete undergraduate research. This paper will discuss the Simpson College first-year course requirements, my course goals, the graph theory topics covered, student feedback, and instructor reflection.

  16. Honors Anthropology and the Four Rs.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Farrer, Claire R.

    1990-01-01

    Describes an honors introductory cultural anthropology course taught at California State University, Chico. Discusses the course design, how course information is made relevant and reinforced, and how students have partial responsibility for the course design. Discusses the use of science fiction books to make material relevant to students. (JS)

  17. A Conceptual Framework for Interdisciplinary Curriculum Design: A Case Study in Neuroscience

    PubMed Central

    Modo, Michel; Kinchin, Ian

    2011-01-01

    Teaching of interdisciplinary fields of study poses a challenge to course organizers. Often interdisciplinary courses are taught by different departments, and hence, at best provide a multidisciplinary overview. Scientific progress in neuroscience, for instance, is thought to depend heavily on interdisciplinary investigations. If students are only taught to think in particular disciplines without integrating these into a coherent framework to study the nervous system, it is unlikely that they will truly develop interdisciplinary thinking. Yet, it is this interdisciplinary thinking that is at the heart of a holistic understanding of the brain. It is, therefore, important to develop a conceptual framework in which students can be taught interdisciplinary, rather than multidisciplinary, thinking. It is also important to recognize that not all teaching needs to be interdisciplinary, but that the type of curriculum design is dependent on the aims of the course, as well as on the background of the students. A rational curriculum design that aligns learning and teaching objectives is, therefore, advocated. PMID:23626496

  18. Gender and diversity topics taught in Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education programs.

    PubMed

    Winston, Ebony Joy; Piercy, Fred P

    2010-10-01

    This article explores how the topics of gender and diversity are being taught and defined in accredited marriage and family therapy programs through syllabi content analysis and interviews with selected faculty. We examined findings by program (master's and doctoral) and type of training (those that taught specific gender and culture courses and those that attempted to infuse gender and culture throughout the curriculum). We examined 39 syllabi from 21 master's and 18 doctoral training programs. In addition, we conducted 20 interviews with faculty members. (Eighteen were White/Caucasian, one was African American and one was Asian Indian.) Some variation in topic areas was found between master's and doctoral programs and between those programs that offered specific course content and those that offered infused course content. However, qualitative interview data reflected many similarities. Particularly apparent was the level of commitment, transparency, and experiential learning methods professors used, regardless of program level or type. © 2010 American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy.

  19. Introducing bio- and micro-technology into undergraduate thermal-fluids courses: investigating pipe pressure loss via atomic force microscopy.

    PubMed

    Müller, Marcus; Traum, Matthew J

    2012-01-01

    To introduce bio- and micro-technologies into general undergraduate thermal-fluids classes, a hands-on interdisciplinary in-class demonstration is described that juxtaposes classical pressure loss pipe flow experiments against a modern micro-characterization technique, AFM profilometry. Both approaches measure surface roughness and can segue into classroom discussions related to material selection and design of bio-medical devices to handle biological fluids such as blood. Appealing to the range of engineering students populating a general thermal-fluids course, a variety of pipe/hose/tube materials representing a spectrum of disciplines can be tested using both techniques. This in-class demonstration relies on technical content already available in standard thermal-fluids textbooks, provides experimental juxtaposition between classical and micro-technology-enabled approaches to the same experiment, and can be taught by personnel with no specialized micro- or bio-technology expertise.

  20. Students' explanations in complex learning of disciplinary programming

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vieira, Camilo

    Computational Science and Engineering (CSE) has been denominated as the third pillar of science and as a set of important skills to solve the problems of a global society. Along with the theoretical and the experimental approaches, computation offers a third alternative to solve complex problems that require processing large amounts of data, or representing complex phenomena that are not easy to experiment with. Despite the relevance of CSE, current professionals and scientists are not well prepared to take advantage of this set of tools and methods. Computation is usually taught in an isolated way from engineering disciplines, and therefore, engineers do not know how to exploit CSE affordances. This dissertation intends to introduce computational tools and methods contextualized within the Materials Science and Engineering curriculum. Considering that learning how to program is a complex task, the dissertation explores effective pedagogical practices that can support student disciplinary and computational learning. Two case studies will be evaluated to identify the characteristics of effective worked examples in the context of CSE. Specifically, this dissertation explores students explanations of these worked examples in two engineering courses with different levels of transparency: a programming course in materials science and engineering glass box and a thermodynamics course involving computational representations black box. Results from this study suggest that students benefit in different ways from writing in-code comments. These benefits include but are not limited to: connecting xv individual lines of code to the overall problem, getting familiar with the syntax, learning effective algorithm design strategies, and connecting computation with their discipline. Students in the glass box context generate higher quality explanations than students in the black box context. These explanations are related to students prior experiences. Specifically, students with low ability to do programming engage in a more thorough explanation process than students with high ability. This dissertation concludes proposing an adaptation to the instructional principles of worked-examples for the context of CSE education.

  1. An Examination of the Introductory MIS Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wang, Shouhong

    2007-01-01

    The introductory management information systems (MIS) course is a core course for all business majors at almost every business school. It is common for this course to have multiple sections taught by a mixed group of instructors each semester. Hence, consistent pedagogy and assessment are needed for multiple sections of this course. This paper…

  2. Student Perceptions of Dual-Listed Courses

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Balassiano, Katia; Rosentrater, Kurt A.; Marcketti, Sara B.

    2014-01-01

    Academic departments regularly offer dual-listed courses in which one course has two course numbers, yet are taught in the same place, at the same time, by a single instructor, and in one department to undergraduate and graduate students. While universities discourage their use by subjecting such courses to more rigorous approval processes,…

  3. Morse Code, Scrabble, and the Alphabet

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Richardson, Mary; Gabrosek, John; Reischman, Diann; Curtiss, Phyliss

    2004-01-01

    In this paper we describe an interactive activity that illustrates simple linear regression. Students collect data and analyze it using simple linear regression techniques taught in an introductory applied statistics course. The activity is extended to illustrate checks for regression assumptions and regression diagnostics taught in an…

  4. Evolving Impressions: Undergraduate Perceptions of Graduate Teaching Assistants and Faculty Members over a Semester

    PubMed Central

    Kendall, K. Denise; Schussler, Elisabeth E.

    2013-01-01

    Undergraduate experiences in lower-division science courses are important factors in student retention in science majors. These courses often include a lecture taught by faculty, supplemented by smaller sections, such as discussions and laboratories, taught by graduate teaching assistants (GTAs). Given that portions of these courses are taught by different instructor types, this study explored student ratings of instruction by GTAs and faculty members to see whether perceptions differed by instructor type, whether they changed over a semester, and whether certain instructor traits were associated with student perceptions of their instructors’ teaching effectiveness or how much students learned from their instructors. Students rated their faculty instructors and GTAs for 13 instructor descriptors at the beginning and near the end of the semester in eight biology classes. Analyses of these data identified differences between instructor types; moreover, student perception changed over the semester. Specifically, GTA ratings increased in perception of positive instructional descriptors, while faculty ratings declined for positive instructional descriptors. The relationship of these perception changes with student experience and retention should be further explored, but the findings also suggest the need to differentiate professional development by the different instructor types teaching lower-division science courses to optimize teaching effectiveness and student learning in these important gateway courses. PMID:23463232

  5. Lessons Learned in Engineering

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Blair, J. C.; Ryan, R. S.; Schutzenhofer, L. A.

    2011-01-01

    This Contractor Report (CR) is a compilation of Lessons Learned in approximately 55 years of engineering experience by each James C. Blair, Robert S. Ryan, and Luke A. Schutzenhofer. The lessons are the basis of a course on Lessons Learned that has been taught at Marshall Space Flight Center. The lessons are drawn from NASA space projects and are characterized in terms of generic lessons learned from the project experience, which are further distilled into overarching principles that can be applied to future projects. Included are discussions of the overarching principles followed by a listing of the lessons associated with that principle. The lesson with sub-lessons are stated along with a listing of the project problems the lesson is drawn from, then each problem is illustrated and discussed, with conclusions drawn in terms of Lessons Learned. The purpose of this CR is to provide principles learned from past aerospace experience to help achieve greater success in future programs, and identify application of these principles to space systems design. The problems experienced provide insight into the engineering process and are examples of the subtleties one experiences performing engineering design, manufacturing, and operations.

  6. Designing a Mathematics Course for Chemistry and Geology Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Witten, Gareth Q.

    2005-01-01

    Many mathematics departments usually teach a variety of courses for students from different science departments and even from different faculties. These "service" courses are usually taught in the same way as the courses for mathematics major students. However, in science, because of the need to better analyse and interpret experimental…

  7. Room Air Conditioners; Appliance Repair--Advanced: 9027.04.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dade County Public Schools, Miami, FL.

    This Quinmester course includes installations, electrical and mechanical servicing, reverse cycle air conditioning, malfunctions, troubleshooting and repair, discharge, pump down, and recharging the system. The course may be taught as a two or three Quinmester credit course. In each instance the course consists of six instructional blocks:…

  8. Teaching Database Management System Use in a Library School Curriculum.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cooper, Michael D.

    1985-01-01

    Description of database management systems course being taught to students at School of Library and Information Studies, University of California, Berkeley, notes course structure, assignments, and course evaluation. Approaches to teaching concepts of three types of database systems are discussed and systems used by students in the course are…

  9. Undergraduates Achieve Learning Gains in Plant Genetics through Peer Teaching of Secondary Students

    PubMed Central

    Chrispeels, H. E.; Klosterman, M. L.; Martin, J. B.; Lundy, S. R.; Watkins, J. M.; Gibson, C. L.

    2014-01-01

    This study tests the hypothesis that undergraduates who peer teach genetics will have greater understanding of genetic and molecular biology concepts as a result of their teaching experiences. Undergraduates enrolled in a non–majors biology course participated in a service-learning program in which they led middle school (MS) or high school (HS) students through a case study curriculum to discover the cause of a green tomato variant. The curriculum explored plant reproduction and genetic principles, highlighting variation in heirloom tomato fruits to reinforce the concept of the genetic basis of phenotypic variation. HS students were taught additional activities related to mole­cular biology techniques not included in the MS curriculum. We measured undergraduates’ learning outcomes using pre/postteaching content assessments and the course final exam. Undergraduates showed significant gains in understanding of topics related to the curriculum they taught, compared with other course content, on both types of assessments. Undergraduates who taught HS students scored higher on questions specific to the HS curriculum compared with undergraduates who taught MS students, despite identical lecture content, on both types of assessments. These results indicate the positive effect of service-learning peer-teaching experiences on undergraduates’ content knowledge, even for non–science major students. PMID:25452487

  10. Concepts and Contexts in Engineering and Technology Education: An International and Interdisciplinary Delphi Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rossouw, Ammeret; Hacker, Michael; de Vries, Marc J.

    2011-01-01

    Inspired by a similar study by Osborne et al. we have conducted a Delphi study among experts to identify key concepts to be taught in engineering and technology education and relevant and meaningful contexts through which these concepts can be taught and learnt. By submitting the outcomes of the Delphi study to a panel of experts in a two-day…

  11. Information Theory, Inference and Learning Algorithms

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mackay, David J. C.

    2003-10-01

    Information theory and inference, often taught separately, are here united in one entertaining textbook. These topics lie at the heart of many exciting areas of contemporary science and engineering - communication, signal processing, data mining, machine learning, pattern recognition, computational neuroscience, bioinformatics, and cryptography. This textbook introduces theory in tandem with applications. Information theory is taught alongside practical communication systems, such as arithmetic coding for data compression and sparse-graph codes for error-correction. A toolbox of inference techniques, including message-passing algorithms, Monte Carlo methods, and variational approximations, are developed alongside applications of these tools to clustering, convolutional codes, independent component analysis, and neural networks. The final part of the book describes the state of the art in error-correcting codes, including low-density parity-check codes, turbo codes, and digital fountain codes -- the twenty-first century standards for satellite communications, disk drives, and data broadcast. Richly illustrated, filled with worked examples and over 400 exercises, some with detailed solutions, David MacKay's groundbreaking book is ideal for self-learning and for undergraduate or graduate courses. Interludes on crosswords, evolution, and sex provide entertainment along the way. In sum, this is a textbook on information, communication, and coding for a new generation of students, and an unparalleled entry point into these subjects for professionals in areas as diverse as computational biology, financial engineering, and machine learning.

  12. Factors that Influence Community College Students' Interest in Science Coursework

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sasway, Hope

    There is a need for science education research that explores community college student, instructor, and course characteristics that influence student interest and motivation to study science. Increasing student enrollment and persistence in STEM is a national concern. Nearly half of all college graduates have passed through a community college at some point in their higher education. This study at a large, ethnically diverse, suburban community college showed that student interest tends to change over the course of a semester, and these changes are related to student, instructor, and course variables. The theoretical framework for this study was based upon Adult Learning Theory and research in motivation to learn science. Adult Learning Theory relies heavily on self-directed learning and concepts of andragogy, or the art and science of teaching adults. This explanatory sequential mixed-methods case study of student course interest utilized quantitative data from 639 pre-and post-surveys and a background and personal experience questionnaire. The four factors of the survey instrument (attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction) were related to motivation and interest by interviewing 12 students selected through maximum variation sampling in order to reach saturation. Qualitative data were collected and categorized by these factors with extrinsic and intrinsic themes emerging from personal and educational experiences. Analysis of covariance showed student characteristics that were significant included age and whether the student already held a post-secondary degree. Significant instructor characteristics included whether the instructor taught full- or part-time, taught high school, held a doctoral degree, and had pedagogical training. Significant course characteristics included whether the biology course was a major, elective, or service course; whether the course had a library assignment; and high attrition rate. The binary logistic regression model showed six significant variables that predicted increased student interest: older students, previous degree holders, students that took courses at night rather than during the daytime, students who were taught by instructors who taught high school, instructors who taught part-time, and students who had a non-STEM major. Methodological triangulation ensured that the research questions were adequately addressed, as qualitative data corroborated and provided insights for quantitative results. These findings imply that interventions such as implementation of professional development, specifically in andragogical training for instructors and support personnel, are necessary in order to properly address the needs of community college students. Policy makers need to ensure that proper academic and financial counseling systems are in place for students enrolled in these science courses. Students were affected by past experiences and required support from others in order to increase their interest and motivation to study science. This study will inform efforts to help community college students persist in the pipeline to join in the STEM workforce or transfer to four-year colleges.

  13. Retention of Information Taught in Introductory Psychology Courses across Different Accelerated Course Formats

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Deichert, Nathan T.; Maxwell, Shannon J.; Klotz, Joseph

    2016-01-01

    The current study is a quasi-experimental examination of the effects of traditional and accelerated course formats on learning retention. The study analyzed data on an end-of-course exam collected from 132 students enrolled in introductory psychology courses across 3 course formats: a traditional 16-week format, a 5-week accelerated format, and an…

  14. Inquiry Science for Liberal Arts Students: A Topical Course on Sound

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pine, Jerry; Hinckley, Joy; Mims, Sandra; Smith, Joel

    1997-04-01

    We have developed a topical general studies physics course for liberal arts students, and particularly for preservice elementary teachers. The course is taught entirely in a lab, and is based on a mix of student inquiries and ''sense-making'' in discussion. There are no lectures. A physics professor and a master elementary teacher co-lead. The students begin by conceptualizing the nature of sound by examining everyday phenomena, and then progress through a study of topics such as waves, interference, sysnthesis of complex sounds from pure tones, analysis of complex sounds into spectra, and independent projects. They use the computer program Soundedit Pro and the Macintosh interface as a powerful tool for analysis and synthesis. The student response has been extremely enthusiastic, though most have come to the course with very strong physics anxiety. The course has so far been trial-taught at five California campuses, and incorporatio into some of hte regular curricula seems promising.

  15. Criteria for Using Technology To Teach the Basic Course in Communication.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Eadie, William F.; Andersen, Peter A.; Armas-Matsumoto, Catherine M.; Block, Evan; Martin, Patricia Geist; Goehring, Charles; Good, Jeffrey; Hellweg, Susan A.; Knight, Laura L.; Lubic, Bryan; Spitzberg, Brian H.

    This paper describes the beginnings of a project to remake the oral communication general education course--part of the vision for the course is to use technology to help students learn course content. According to the paper, currently the basic course is taught mostly in traditional format (relatively small sections with set assignments), with…

  16. Library Instruction for First Year Students Using a CMS Meta-Course: Scalable and Customizable!

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Johnson, Megan

    2017-01-01

    This case study reports on the process for creating a self-paced non-credit information literacy (IL) course delivered via a university's course management system. The four online modules are designed to contextualize information literacy competencies within the curriculum taught in First Year Seminar (FYS) courses. The meta-course approach…

  17. Online vs. Face-to-Face Course Evaluations: Considerations for Administrators and Faculty

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Marzano, Michael P.; Allen, Robert

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine whether students evaluate courses differently, and perhaps more critically, when delivered online vs. face-to-face (F2F). Course evaluations are associated with the instructor that taught the course. Course evaluation continues to be a significant assessment vehicle of faculty performance used by many…

  18. Course Format Effects on Learning Outcomes in an Introductory Statistics Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sami, Fary

    2011-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine if course format significantly impacted student learning and course completion rates in an introductory statistics course taught at Harford Community College. In addition to the traditional lecture format, the College offers an online, and a hybrid (blend of traditional and online) version of this class.…

  19. Service Courses in Avian Health Taught to Students Pursuing Degrees in Colleges of Agriculture

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Colwell, W. M.

    1977-01-01

    Avian health courses for agriculture students cover common types of poultry diseases and techniques for disease prevention and emphasize isolation, sanitation, and immunization. The outline of such a course at North Carolina State University is presented. (LBH)

  20. Cooperative Learning in Reservoir Simulation Classes: Overcoming Disparate Entry Skills

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Awang, Mariyamni

    2006-10-01

    Reservoir simulation is one of the core courses in the petroleum engineering curriculum and it requires knowledge and skills in three major disciplines, namely programming, numerical methods and reservoir engineering. However, there were often gaps in the students' readiness to undertake the course, even after completing the necessary requirements. The disparate levels of competency of the good and poor students made it difficult to target a certain level. Cooperative learning in the form of projects and peer teaching was designed to address the major concern of disparate entry skills, and at the same time the method used should also succeed in keeping students interest in class, developing communication skills and improving self-learning. Slower and weaker students were expected to benefit from being taught by good students, who were better prepared, and good students would gain deeper comprehension of the subject matter. From evaluations, the approach was considered successful since the overall passing rate was greater than 95% compared to previous years of around 70-80%. It had also succeeded in improving the learning environment in class. Future simulation classes will continue to use the cooperative approach with minor adjustments.

  1. Public Relations Education and the Business Schools.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wright, Donald K.

    1982-01-01

    Reports on a study to examine what is being taught in U.S. business schools. Found that public relations is not being taught at most of the major schools, although many universities offer public policy courses which cover some elements important to public relations. For journal availability, see CS 705 902. (PD)

  2. Dramatically Improve How and Where Academic Content Is Taught

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hyslop, Alisha

    2007-01-01

    The fourth recommendation in ACTE's high school reform position statement is to dramatically improve how and where academic content is taught. Even as advanced academic course-taking and high school graduation requirements have increased, student achievement on national benchmarks has remained flat, and college remediation rates continue to…

  3. Can Empathy Be Taught?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Monroe, Kristen Renwick

    2006-01-01

    Prejudice and discrimination are ugly cousins, haunting humankind like the evil fairy who appears unbidden to curse the young princess. Is education the good fairy, bestowing tools to overcome this curse? A course the author taught in winter 2006 at the University of California, Irvine--one of the most ethnically diverse campuses in the United…

  4. Composite Scheduling

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Childers, Gary L.; Ireland, Rebecca Weeks

    2005-01-01

    In education, there is no one best way to do anything. There are compelling reasons why some courses should be taught in longer segments of time, which the block schedule provides. There are also compelling reasons why some classes should be taught in shorter segments. At Watauga High School in Boone, North Carolina, an alternative schedule that…

  5. Student Perception of Metacognitive Activities in Entry-Level Science Courses

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sandall, Leah; Mamo, Martha; Speth, Carol; Lee, Don; Kettler, Timothy

    2014-01-01

    A research study investigated student perception of the use of metacognitive activities in the classroom. The courses were large enrollment (n greater than 100) introductory Plant and Soil Sciences courses taught in the fall semester. The courses implemented activities such as concept sketches or conceptual modeling to help students develop their…

  6. Networking Course Syllabus in Accredited Library and Information Science Programs: A Comparative Analysis Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Abouserie, Hossam Eldin Mohamed Refaat

    2009-01-01

    The study investigated networking courses offered in accredited Library and Information Science schools in the United States in 2009. The study analyzed and compared network syllabi according to Course Syllabus Evaluation Rubric to obtain in-depth understanding of basic features and characteristics of networking courses taught. The study embraced…

  7. 38 CFR 21.4266 - Approval of courses at a branch campus or extension.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... organization; and (iii) Offers courses in education programs leading to a degree, certificate, or other... institution is offering the course may be temporary will not serve to change jurisdictional authority. (3) The... which the course is being taught will not serve to change jurisdictional authority. (Authority: 38 U.S.C...

  8. Incorporation of Modified Basic and Advanced Life Support in the Pharmacy Curriculum

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Masoud, A. N.; And Others

    1978-01-01

    Offered as an independent, elective, one-credit course available to second-year pharmacy students, a life support course has been taught at the University of Nebraska Medical Center by instructors certified by the American Heart Association. Course structure and materials, student response, and course evaluation are discussed. (LBH)

  9. Current Status of Undergraduate, Nonprofessional Pharmacology Courses Taught in Colleges of Pharmacy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gerald, Michael C.

    1976-01-01

    Of the 57 colleges of pharmacy surveyed, 33 are currently offering a total of 44 elective, undergraduate, nonprofessional pharmacology courses, and seven contemplate initiating such courses by 1977. The courses generally cover three areas: social and legal aspects of drug usage and nonprescription consumerism; pharmacology of the drugs of abuse;…

  10. 38 CFR 21.4266 - Approval of courses at a branch campus or extension.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... organization; and (iii) Offers courses in education programs leading to a degree, certificate, or other... institution is offering the course may be temporary will not serve to change jurisdictional authority. (3) The... which the course is being taught will not serve to change jurisdictional authority. (Authority: 38 U.S.C...

  11. Representing Targets of Measurement within Evidence-Centered Design

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ewing, Maureen; Packman, Sheryl; Hamen, Cynthia; Thurber, Allison Clark

    2010-01-01

    In the last few years, the Advanced Placement (AP) Program[R] has used evidence-centered assessment design (ECD) to articulate the knowledge, skills, and abilities to be taught in the course and measured on the summative exam for four science courses, three history courses, and six world language courses; its application to calculus and English…

  12. Synchronous Office Hours in an Asynchronous Course: Making the Connection

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gibbons-Kunka, Beatrice

    2017-01-01

    The notion of synchronous office hours in an asynchronous course seems counterintuitive. After all, one of the tenets of asynchronous education is to not require students to be online and participating at any time during the course. Having taught higher education online asynchronous courses for twenty years, the researcher experimented with online…

  13. Quality Assurance in Large Scale Online Course Production

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Holsombach-Ebner, Cinda

    2013-01-01

    The course design and development process (often referred to here as the "production process") at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU-Worldwide) aims to produce turnkey style courses to be taught by a highly-qualified pool of over 800 instructors. Given the high number of online courses and tremendous number of live sections…

  14. Fostering a positive attitude towards science through college courses

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Flohic, Helene

    2015-01-01

    For non-science majors, a general education course in college is often the last science course they will ever take. General education courses are often regarded by students as a right of passage in which they have no interest. Thus strict coursework might aggravate students against the matter taught, and decrease their general interest in the subject. To test whether general education courses killed the students' interest in science, we administered a science attitude inventory at the beginning and at the end of an introductory astronomy course. We compared the gain/loss in science attitude with that experienced by students of a writing course as a baseline. Finally, we evaluated the gain/loss in science attitude for students enrolled in a general education course on science and society, where no formal science knowledge was taught, but where the students discussed the different aspects of the relation between science and society.This study (once tested on a larger scale) could serve as a guideline for educational policies aiming to foster a positive attitude in the population of college graduates.

  15. Understanding Scientific Ideas: An Honors Course.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Capps, Joan; Schueler, Paul

    At Raritan Valley Community College (RVCC) in New Jersey, an honors philosophy course was developed which taught mathematics and science concepts independent of computational skill. The course required that students complete a weekly writing assignment designed as a continuous refinement of logical reasoning development. This refinement was…

  16. Develop and teach graduate course on rail terminal design and operations.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2017-06-02

    This project planned and developed the course material for CEE 598 RTD, and taught it as a fullsemester course open to graduate students at UIUC in Fall 2014. Students enrolled in the class participated in lecture-discussion sessions, twice a week fo...

  17. Oleanna Math Program Materials.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Coole, Walter A.

    This document is a collection of course outlines, syllabi, and test materials designed for several high school level and lower division mathematics courses taught in an auto-tutorial learning laboratory at Skagit Valley College (Washington). The courses included are: Pre-Algebra, Basic Algebra, Plan Geometry, Intermediate Algebra, Probability and…

  18. Finding the Right Fit: Assessing the Impact of Traditional v. Large Lecture/Small Lab Course Formats on a General Education Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wildermuth, Susan M.; French, Tammy; Fredrick, Edward

    2013-01-01

    This study explores alternative approaches for teaching general education courses burdened with serving extremely large enrollments. It compares the effectiveness of a self-contained course in which each course section is taught by one instructor to a large lecture/small lab format in which all course enrollees attend one large lecture section and…

  19. An evaluation of pharmacology curricula in Australian science and health-related degree programs.

    PubMed

    Lloyd, Hilary; Hinton, Tina; Bullock, Shane; Babey, Anna-Marie; Davis, Elizabeth; Fernandes, Lynette; Hart, Joanne; Musgrave, Ian; Ziogas, James

    2013-11-19

    Pharmacology is a biomedical discipline taught in basic science and professional degree programs. In order to provide information that would facilitate pharmacology curricula to be refined and developed, and approaches to teaching to be updated, a national survey was undertaken in Australia that investigated pharmacology course content, teaching and summative assessment methods. Twenty-two institutions participated in a purpose-built online questionnaire, which enabled an evaluation of 147 courses taught in 10 different degrees. To enable comparison, degrees were grouped into four major degree programs, namely science, pharmacy, medicine and nursing. The pharmacology content was then classified into 16 lecture themes, with 2-21 lecture topics identified per theme. The resultant data were analysed for similarities and differences in pharmacology curricula across the degree programs. While all lecture themes were taught across degree programs, curriculum content differed with respect to the breadth and hours of coverage. Overall, lecture themes were taught most broadly in medicine and with greatest coverage in pharmacy. Reflecting a more traditional approach, lectures were a dominant teaching method (at least 90% of courses). Sixty-three percent of science courses provided practical classes but such sessions occurred much less frequently in other degree programs, while tutorials were much more common in pharmacy degree programs (70%). Notably, problem-based learning was common across medical programs. Considerable diversity was found in the types of summative assessment tasks employed. In science courses the most common form of in-semester assessment was practical reports, whereas in other programs pen-and-paper quizzes predominated. End-of-semester assessment contributed 50-80% to overall assessment across degree programs. The similarity in lecture themes taught across the four different degree programs shows that common knowledge- and competency-based learning outcomes can be defined for pharmacology. The authors contend that it is the differences in breadth and coverage of material for each lecture theme, and the differing teaching modes and assessment that characterise particular degree programs. Adoption of pharmacology knowledge-based learning outcomes that could be tailored to suit individual degree programs would better facilitate the sharing of expertise and teaching practice than the current model where pharmacology curricula are degree-specific.

  20. Teaching the Inquiry Process through Experimental Mathematics

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pudwell, Lara

    2017-01-01

    In this paper, we discuss the Experimental Mathematics course taught at Valparaiso University since 2009. We focus on aspects of the course that facilitate students' abilities to ask and explore their own research questions.

  1. Environmental impact assessment in higher education institutions in East Africa: the case of Rwanda.

    PubMed

    Kabera, Telesphore

    2017-03-01

    Due to the pressure on limited resources produced by a growing population and due to a decade of war, Rwanda is facing a major problem in environmental protection. Because of such problems, it seems only reasonable that environment-related courses should play an important role in the curricula of institutions of higher learning. The main aim of this research is to present a comprehensive picture of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) integration in graduate and undergraduate programs in Rwandese higher education institutions and to make recommendations for its improvement. During this study, two surveys were conducted: the first survey targeted Environmental Impact Assessment lecturers and the second survey was for Environmental Impact Assessment practitioners (including EIA certified experts and competent authorities). The study found that Environmental Impact Assessment is not well established in these institutions and it is not taught in some programs; civil engineering, for example, has no Environmental Impact Assessment courses. Recommendations to improve EIA education are proposed, such as requiring that a common core course in Environmental Impact Assessment be made available in Rwandese higher learning institutions.

  2. Assessing Online Faculty: More than Student Surveys and Design Rubrics

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Piña, Anthony A.; Bohn, Larry

    2014-01-01

    As online education continues to grow, so do the number of online courses being taught by those who did not develop the courses. However, the most popular rubrics for evaluating the quality of online courses tend to focus upon the course's design, not upon the actions of the instructor teaching the course. In this study, 140 distance education…

  3. Implementation and outcomes of inquiry-based learning in mathematics content courses for pre-service teachers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Laursen, Sandra L.; Hassi, Marja-Liisa; Hough, Sarah

    2016-02-01

    This mixed-methods study describes classroom characteristics and student outcomes from university mathematics courses that are based in mathematics departments, targeted to future pre-tertiary teachers, and taught with inquiry-based learning (IBL) approaches. The study focused on three two-term sequences taught at two research universities, separately targeting elementary and secondary pre-service teachers. Classroom observation established that the courses were taught with student-centred methods that were comparable to those used in IBL courses for students in mathematics-intensive fields at the same institutions. To measure pre-service teachers' gains in mathematical knowledge for teaching, we administered the Learning Mathematics for Teaching (LMT) instrument developed by Hill, Ball and Schilling for in-service teacher professional development. Results from the LMT show that pre-service teachers made significant score gains from beginning to end of their course, while data from interviews and from surveys of learning gains show that pre-service teachers viewed their gains as relevant to their future teaching work. Measured changes on pre-/post-surveys of attitudes and beliefs were generally supportive of learning mathematics but modest in magnitude. The study is distinctive in applying the LMT to document pre-service teachers' growth in mathematical knowledge for teaching. The study also suggests IBL is an approach well suited to mathematics departments seeking to strengthen their pre-service teacher preparation offerings in ways consistent with research-based recommendations.

  4. Teaching cell and molecular biology for gender equity.

    PubMed

    Sible, Jill C; Wilhelm, Dayna E; Lederman, Muriel

    2006-01-01

    Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields, including cell biology, are characterized by the "leaky pipeline" syndrome in which, over time, women leave the discipline. The pipeline itself and the pond into which it empties may not be neutral. Explicating invisible norms, attitudes, and practices by integrating social studies of science into science education may be the necessary first step in helping female students persist in STEM disciplines. In 2003 and 2004, a sophomore Cell and Molecular Biology course at Virginia Tech (Blacksburg, VA) was taught integrating social studies of science with standard material. The course was successfully implemented, teaching students factual content while increasing awareness of the cultures of science and their self-confidence in engaging with the subject. Course evaluation data indicated that females in particular perceived greater gains in logical thinking and problem-solving abilities than females in a traditional cell biology course. Consistent with K-12 studies, males in this class were likely to view scientists as male only, whereas females viewed scientists as male and female. This pilot project demonstrates that social studies can be integrated successfully in a cell biology course. Longitudinal studies of this cohort of students will indicate whether this approach contributes to the retention of women in the field.

  5. The Prison Project: A Proposed Model for a Clinical Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Macey, Nora Lafley; And Others

    1977-01-01

    During the 1973-74 school year 10 law students taught a course in criminal law and prisoners' rights to interested inmates at the Indiana Women's Prison. Experiences of the Prison Project are described and its feasibility as a clinical course with credit is suggested. (LBH)

  6. An Honors Interdisciplinary Community-Based Research Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dunbar, David; Terlecki, Melissa; Watterson, Nancy; Ratmansky, Lisa

    2013-01-01

    This article describes how two faculty members at Cabrini College--one from biology and the other from psychology--incorporated interdisciplinary community-based research in an honors course on environmental watershed issues. The course, Environmental Psychology, was team-taught in partnership with a local watershed organization, the Valley Creek…

  7. Integrating First-Year Technology and Finite Mathematics Courses

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shafii-Mousavi, Morteza; Kochanowski, Paul

    2006-01-01

    This paper describes an interdisciplinary project-based mathematics course linked to a computer technology course. The linkage encourages an appreciation of mathematics and technology as students see an immediate use for these skills in completing actual real-world projects. Linking mathematics and technology integrates subjects taught in…

  8. Design of a Dynamic Undergraduate Green Chemistry Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kennedy, Sarah A.

    2016-01-01

    The green chemistry course taught at Westminster College (PA) incorporates nontraditional teaching techniques and texts to educate future chemists about the importance of using green chemistry principles. The course is designed to introduce green chemistry concepts and demonstrate their inherent necessity by discussing historical missteps by the…

  9. Teaching Discrete Mathematics Entirely from Primary Historical Sources

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Barnett, Janet Heine; Bezhanishvili, Guram; Lodder, Jerry; Pengelley, David

    2016-01-01

    We describe teaching an introductory discrete mathematics course entirely from student projects based on primary historical sources. We present case studies of four projects that cover the content of a one-semester course, and mention various other courses that we have taught with primary source projects.

  10. Web-Based Instruction: Business Courses.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Park-Kim, Kwi

    This paper describes the design, implementation, and application of interactive World Wide Web-based learning, based on several business courses taught at Bronx Community College/The City University of New York. The first section summarizes ways the Web was used, including managing the dissemination of course materials, instructor/student…

  11. Teaching Improvisation and the Pedagogical History of the Jimmy Giuffre 3

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Johnston, Peter

    2013-01-01

    Improvisation pedagogy has presented a challenge to music educators since jazz courses began being offered in North American universities in the 1950s, a development which has raised important pedagogical questions ranging from 'Can improvisation be taught?' to "Should it be taught?" Following on the increase in academic…

  12. Sage on the Stage: Is Lecturing Really All that Bad?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schwerdt, Guido; Wuppermann, Amelie C.

    2011-01-01

    In recent years, a consensus has emerged among researchers that teacher quality matters enormously for student performance. Students taught by more-effective teachers learn substantially more over the course of the year than students taught by less-effective teachers. Yet little is known about what makes for a more-effective teacher. Most research…

  13. Teaching Univariate Measures of Location-Using Loss Functions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Paolino, Jon-Paul

    2018-01-01

    This article presents a new method for introductory teaching of the sample mean, median and mode(s) from a univariate dataset. These basic statistical concepts are taught at various levels of education from elementary school curriculums to courses at the tertiary level. These descriptive measures of location can be taught as optimized solutions to…

  14. The Questions We Care about: Paradigms and Progression in Entrepreneurship Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Blenker, Per; Korsgaard, Steffen; Neergaard, Helle; Thrane, Claus

    2011-01-01

    One of the most frequently discussed topics in the entrepreneurship education literature is current practice in entrepreneurship education with regard to what is taught and how it is taught. The literature on entrepreneurship education is replete with statistics and reviews of entrepreneurship courses and programmes. In this paper, the authors…

  15. Professional Development Supports for the Blended, Co-Taught Classroom

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lewis, Somer; Garrett Dikkers, Amy

    2016-01-01

    This qualitative study used survey research to examine a blended co-taught model of instruction designed for students enrolled in an Occupational Course of Study via the North Carolina Virtual Public School. While blended learning has successfully served the needs of students with disabilities, face-to-face and virtual teachers identify the need…

  16. Original Recipes for Matrix Multiplication

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hallman-Thrasher, Allyson; Litchfield, Erin T.; Dael, Kevin E.

    2016-01-01

    Matrices occupy an awkward spot in a typical algebra 2 textbook: sandwiched between solving linear systems and solving quadratics. Even teachers who do not base their course timeline and pacing on the class textbook may find a disconnect between how matrices are taught (procedurally) and how other topics are taught (conceptually or with real-world…

  17. Digitally Mastered? Technology and Transition in the Experience of Taught Postgraduate Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Masterman, Elizabeth; Shuyska, Jane Alexen

    2012-01-01

    Taught Master's students have been largely overlooked in research into learners' engagement with digital technologies. This article reports work to redress this imbalance, in which an extended email correspondence was conducted with 23 Master's students. Specifically, it investigates (1) the extent to which these students start their courses both…

  18. CALL and Less Commonly Taught Languages--Still a Way to Go

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ward, Monica

    2016-01-01

    Many Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) innovations mainly apply to the Most Commonly Taught Languages (MCTLs), especially English. Recent manifestations of CALL for MCTLs such as corpora, Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) and Massively Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are found less frequently in the world of Less Commonly Taught…

  19. Systems approach to managing educational quality in the engineering classroom

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Grygoryev, Kostyantyn

    Today's competitive environment in post-secondary education requires universities to demonstrate the quality of their programs in order to attract financing, and student and academic talent. Despite significant efforts devoted to improving the quality of higher education, systematic, continuous performance measurement and management still have not reached the level where educational outputs and outcomes are actually produced---the classroom. An engineering classroom is a complex environment in which educational inputs are transformed by educational processes into educational outputs and outcomes. By treating a classroom as a system, one can apply tools such as Structural Equation Modeling, Statistical Process Control, and System Dynamics in order to discover cause-and-effect relationships among the classroom variables, control the classroom processes, and evaluate the effect of changes to the course organization, content, and delivery, on educational processes and outcomes. Quality improvement is best achieved through the continuous, systematic application of efforts and resources. Improving classroom processes and outcomes is an iterative process that starts with identifying opportunities for improvement, designing the action plan, implementing the changes, and evaluating their effects. Once the desired objectives are achieved, the quality improvement cycle may start again. The goal of this research was to improve the educational processes and outcomes in an undergraduate engineering management course taught at the University of Alberta. The author was involved with the course, first, as a teaching assistant, and, then, as a primary instructor. The data collected from the course over four years were used to create, first, a static and, then, a dynamic model of a classroom system. By using model output and qualitative feedback from students, changes to the course organization and content were introduced. These changes led to a lower perceived course workload and increased the students' satisfaction with the instructor, but the students' overall satisfaction with the course did not change significantly, and their attitude toward the course subject actually became more negative. This research brought performance measurement to the level of a classroom, created a dynamic model of the classroom system based on the cause-and-effect relationships discovered by using statistical analysis, and used a systematic, continuous improvement approach to modify the course in order to improve selected educational processes and outcomes.

  20. Teaching "The Nuclear Predicament."

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Carman, Philip; Kneeshaw, Stephen

    1987-01-01

    Contends that courses on nuclear war must help students examine the political, social, religious, philosophical, economic, and moral assumptions which characterized the dilemma of nuclear armament/disarmament. Describes the upper level undergraduate course taught by the authors. (JDH)

  1. The Cost and Efficiency of Self-Paced Education: An Experiment with Keller PSI in Mechanics

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Blair, Philip

    1977-01-01

    Reports cost and academic achievement differences between a traditional course and a Personalized System of Instruction (PSI) fluid mechanics course taught at San Jose State University. The PSI course cost 7.3 percent more than the lecture course; grades were 48 percent higher on a 4 point maximum scale. (SL)

  2. Managing Diversity: A Cooperative Course in Foreign Languages and Business.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sampsell, Martha; Thompson, Earl

    This very brief paper is a description of a business course, "Business 350 Managing Diversity," at Elmhurst College in Illinois. The course is taught in an intensive 6-day, 42-hour format. The underlying philosophy of the course is that one becomes more open to the diversity of others by better understanding the diversity within oneself.…

  3. Four Courses within a Discipline: UGA Unified Core

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Powell, Gwynn M.; Johnson, Corey W.; James, Joy; Dunlap, Rudy

    2013-01-01

    This article introduces the reader to the Unified Core Curriculum model developed and implemented at the University of Georgia (UGA). Four courses are taught as one course to the juniors coming into the Recreation and Leisure Studies major. An overview of the blended course and sample assignments are provided, as well as a discussion of challenges…

  4. Designing and Implementing ESP Courses in French Higher Education: A Case Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Birch-Bécaas, Susan; Hoskins, Laüra

    2017-01-01

    This chapter reports on the design, implementation and evaluation of an English for Specific Purposes (ESP) course for dental students at the University of Bordeaux. We give an overview of the "English for Dental Studies" courses taught from second year through to fifth year before focussing on the fifth year course in which the…

  5. An Examination of the Outcomes of a Distance-Delivered Science Course.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schoenfeld-Tacher, Regina; McConnell, Sherry

    A comparative study was conducted to examine the effects of distance delivery on student performance in a science course. Academic outcomes and interactions were compared among students (n=44) enrolled in two sections of an upper level histology course taught over the course of a single semester by the same instructor. Eleven students took the…

  6. Preparing Teachers of Statistics: A Graduate Course for Future Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Garfield, Joan; Everson, Michelle

    2009-01-01

    This paper describes a unique graduate-level course that prepares teachers of introductory statistics at the college and high school levels. The course was developed as part of a graduate degree program in statistics education. Although originally taught in a face-to-face setting, the class has been converted to an online course to be accessible…

  7. ERIC Review: The Scope and Transferability of Occupational Courses in the Two-Year College.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cohen, Arthur M.; Ignash, Jan M.

    1993-01-01

    Describes study that sought to find the ratio of liberal arts to nonliberal arts courses taught in the nation's community colleges; the extent to which the curriculum is devoted to nonliberal arts; the number of transferable nonliberal arts courses; and the variability of transfer of these courses. Considers the transferability of nonliberal arts…

  8. Lecture Videos in Online Courses: A Follow-Up

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Evans, Heather K.; Cordova, Victoria

    2015-01-01

    In a recent study regarding online lecture videos, Evans (2014) shows that lecture videos are not superior to still slides. Using two Introduction to American Government courses, taught in a 4-week summer session, she shows that students in a non-video course had higher satisfaction with the course and instructor and performed better on exams than…

  9. The Design and Implementation of a Career Orientation Course for Undergraduate Majors

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Freeman, Edward

    2012-01-01

    Over the past several years I have taught a career orientation course at St. John Fisher College. This course was designed to increase student awareness of potential careers following their undergraduate studies in our Biology program. Additionally, the course has also been used as a model for similar experiences in our Psychology, Chemistry,…

  10. Extra Credit Micro-Incentives and Response Rates for Online Course Evaluations: Two Quasi-Experiments

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sundstrom, Eric D.; Hardin, Erin E.; Shaffer, Matthew J.

    2016-01-01

    To extend prior findings on the motivational value of tiny, nonfinancial incentives, we conducted two quasi-experiments on the relationship of extra credit micro-incentives (ECMIs, worth =1% of course grade) and response rates for online course evaluations. Study 1 involved two advanced undergraduate psychology courses taught by the same…

  11. Music and the mind: a new interdisciplinary course on the science of musical experience.

    PubMed

    Prichard, J Roxanne; Cornett-Murtada, Vanessa

    2011-01-01

    In this paper the instructors describe a new team-taught transdisciplinary seminar, "Music and Mind: The Science of Musical Experience." The instructors, with backgrounds in music and neuroscience, valued the interdisciplinary approach as a way to capture student interest and to reflect the inherent interconnectivity of neuroscience. The course covered foundational background information about the science of hearing and musical perception and about the phenomenology of musical creation and experience. This two-credit honors course, which attracted students from eleven majors, integrated experiential learning (active listening, journaling, conducting mini-experiments) with rigorous reflection and discussion of academic research. The course culminated in student-led discussions and presentations of final projects around hot topics in the science of music, such as the 'Mozart Effect,' music and religious experience, etc. Although this course was a two-credit seminar, it could easily be expanded to a four-credit lecture or laboratory course. Student evaluations reveal that the course was successful in meeting the learning objectives, that students were intrinsically motivated to learn more about the discipline, and that the team-taught, experiential learning approach was a success.

  12. Design, development, and evaluation of an interactive simulator for engineering ethics education (SEEE).

    PubMed

    Chung, Christopher A; Alfred, Michael

    2009-06-01

    Societal pressures, accreditation organizations, and licensing agencies are emphasizing the importance of ethics in the engineering curriculum. Traditionally, this subject has been taught using dogma, heuristics, and case study approaches. Most recently a number of organizations have sought to increase the utility of these approaches by utilizing the Internet. Resources from these organizations include on-line courses and tests, videos, and DVDs. While these individual approaches provide a foundation on which to base engineering ethics, they may be limited in developing a student's ability to identify, analyze, and respond to engineering ethics situations outside of the classroom environment. More effective approaches utilize a combination of these types of approaches. This paper describes the design and development of an internet based interactive Simulator for Engineering Ethics Education. The simulator places students in first person perspective scenarios involving different types of ethical situations. Students must gather data, assess the situation, and make decisions. This requires students to develop their own ability to identify and respond to ethical engineering situations. A limited comparison between the internet based interactive simulator and conventional internet web based instruction indicates a statistically significant improvement of 32% in instructional effectiveness. The simulator is currently being used at the University of Houston to help fulfill ABET requirements.

  13. Bridging the Gap: Embedding Communication Courses in the Science Undergraduate Curriculum

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jandciu, Eric; Stewart, Jaclyn J.; Stoodley, Robin; Birol, Gülnur; Han, Andrea; Fox, Joanne A.

    2015-01-01

    The authors describe a model for embedding science communication into the science curriculum without displacing science content. They describe the rationale, development, design, and implementation of two courses taught by science faculty addressing these criteria. They also outline the evaluation plan for these courses, which emphasize broad…

  14. Green Chemistry and Sustainability: An Undergraduate Course for Science and Nonscience Majors

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gross, Erin M.

    2013-01-01

    An undergraduate lecture course in Green Chemistry and Sustainability has been developed and taught to a "multidisciplinary" group of science and nonscience majors. The course introduced students to the topics of green chemistry and sustainability and also immersed them in usage of the scientific literature. Through literature…

  15. Building Industries Occupations: Syllabus.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    New York State Education Dept., Albany. Bureau of Secondary Curriculum Development.

    The Building Industries Occupations course is a two-year program of approximately 160 three-period teaching days per year. The required course content is designed to be effectively taught in 80 percent of the total course time, thus allowing 20 percent of the time for instruction adapted to such local conditions as employment prospects, student…

  16. Teaching an Introductory Statistics Course with CyberStats, an Electronic Textbook

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Symanzik, Jurgen; Vukasinovic, Natascha

    2006-01-01

    In the Fall 2001 semester, we taught a "Web-enhanced" version of the undergraduate course "Statistical Methods" ("STAT 2000") at Utah State University. The course used the electronic textbook CyberStats in addition to "face-to-face" teaching. This paper gives insight in our experiences in teaching this…

  17. Law, Justice, and Legal History: The Textbook Problem.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Behlar, Patricia A.

    1991-01-01

    Discusses the increasing availability of law, justice, and legal history as a first-year college course. Explains that the course is an interdisciplinary one, mostly taught by political scientists, sociologists, historians, and lawyers. Reviews available college and law school textbooks that could be used in the course. (SG)

  18. The Humanities and Foreign Languages: Analogous or Anomalous?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dease, Barbara C.

    1982-01-01

    Optional interdisciplinary courses taught by foreign language teachers to college sophomores are described. The courses are English Word Power, Classical Mythology, Afro-French Literature in Translation, and two courses in law in literature. The emphasis was on integrating a humanities concept with a foreign language-foreign culture orientation.…

  19. How We Teach Introductory Bible Courses: A Comparative and Historical Sampling

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cornell, Collin; LeMon, Joel M.

    2016-01-01

    This study identifies the dominant modes of biblical interpretation being taught in introductory Bible courses through a qualitative analysis of course syllabi from three institutional contexts: evangelical Christian colleges, private colleges, and public universities. Despite a proliferation of methods and scholarly approaches to the Bible, this…

  20. How to Use Case Analysis as an Entire Semester Course in Aviation

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1996-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to discuss the use of the case analysis method as an entire semester course in aviation. The author taught a sixteen week course entitled Case Analysis in Aviation at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO). This paper ...

  1. A Course of Coordinated Sciences: The Structure of Matter

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mannino, S.; And Others

    1976-01-01

    Describes a three-year coordinated sciences course taught to Italian high school students by physics and biology teachers and biology, physics, and psychology faculty from the University of Palermo. The course examines the structure of matter and energy from physical, biological, chemical, economical, and historical viewpoints. (MLH)

  2. Brokering Disciplinary Writing: TAs and the Teaching of Writing across the Disciplines

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Winzenried, Misty Anne

    2016-01-01

    Graduate teaching assistants (TAs) and the general education yet discipline-specific courses they often teach occupy a complex peripheral position in the university. This qualitative comparative case study investigated disciplinary TAs' identities and pedagogical strategies as they taught writing courses linked with disciplinary lecture courses at…

  3. Service Learning Projects in Online Courses: Delivery Strategies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hervani, Aref Agahei; Helms, Marilyn M.; Rutti, Raina M.; LaBonte, Joanne; Sarkarat, Sy

    2015-01-01

    As more college courses are taught online, maintaining course deliverables and learning to mirror face-to-face offerings is important to faculty, students, and accrediting agencies. Offering experiential and service learning is an increasingly important way to connect students to their local communities. This article presents a case study…

  4. Online Course Effectiveness: A Model for Innovative Research in Counselor Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cicco, Gina

    2013-01-01

    This article will discuss the need for experimental research to document the effectiveness of online counseling skills courses. There are relatively few published studies that have investigated faculty and student performance outcomes when counseling skills and techniques courses are taught through a completely online modality. Various studies…

  5. Developing a Biostatistical Collaboration Course in a Health Science Research Methodology Program

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Thabane, Lehana; Walter, Stephen D.; Hanna, Steven; Goldsmith, Charles H.; Pullenayegum, Eleanor

    2008-01-01

    Effective statistical collaboration in a multidisciplinary health research environment requires skills not taught in the usual statistics courses. Graduates often learn such collaborative skills through trial and error. In this paper, we discuss the development of a biostatistical collaboration course aimed at graduate students in a Health…

  6. Mathematics. Arkansas Public School Course Content Guide.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Arkansas State Dept. of Education, Little Rock.

    The standards for accreditation of public schools, adopted by the Arkansas State Board of Education, required the development of these course content guides. The standards also required that essential skills be identified for each course taught in the public schools of Arkansas. Committees of classroom teachers, curriculum specialists, principals,…

  7. Two Undergraduate Process Modeling Courses Taught Using Inductive Learning Methods

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Soroush, Masoud; Weinberger, Charles B.

    2010-01-01

    This manuscript presents a successful application of inductive learning in process modeling. It describes two process modeling courses that use inductive learning methods such as inquiry learning and problem-based learning, among others. The courses include a novel collection of multi-disciplinary complementary process modeling examples. They were…

  8. Mathematics in Literature and Cinema: An Interdisciplinary Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chabrán, H. Rafael; Kozek, Mark

    2016-01-01

    We describe our team-taught, interdisciplinary course "Numb3rs in Lett3rs & Fi1ms: Mathematics in Literature and Cinema," which explores mathematics in the context of modern literature and cinema. Our goal with this course is to advance collaborations between mathematics and the written/theatre-based creative arts.

  9. Interactive Learning System "VisMis" for Scientific Visualization Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zhu, Xiaoming; Sun, Bo; Luo, Yanlin

    2018-01-01

    Now visualization courses have been taught at universities around the world. Keeping students motivated and actively engaged in this course can be a challenging task. In this paper we introduce our developed interactive learning system called VisMis (Visualization and Multi-modal Interaction System) for postgraduate scientific visualization course…

  10. A Self-Paced Introductory Programming Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gill, T. Grandon; Holton, Carolyn F.

    2006-01-01

    In this paper, a required introductory programming course being taught to MIS undergraduates using the C++ programming language is described. Two factors make the objectives of the course--which are to provide students with an exposure to the logical organization of the computer in addition to teaching them basic programming logic--particularly…

  11. Lehigh Design Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Grassi, Vincent G.; Luyben, William L.; Silebi, Cesar A.

    2011-01-01

    This paper discusses a two-semester senior design course that combines traditional steady-state economic process design with dynamic plantwide control. This unique course has been taught at Lehigh for more than a decade and has garnered rave reviews from students, industry, and ABET. Each student design group has its own industrial consultant who…

  12. Asynchronous Discourse in a Web-Assisted Mathematics Education Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Li, Zhongxiao

    2009-01-01

    Fall term of 2006, a web-assisted undergraduate mathematics course was taught at the University of Idaho: Math 235 Mathematics for Elementary Teachers I. The course goals were: To foster a deep understanding of critical mathematical content; and to promote the development of mathematical communication and collaboration concepts, skills, and…

  13. Teaching Criticism via TV Evangelists.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Handford, Charlene J.

    This paper describes a graduate course at Louisiana State University in Shreveport, entitled "The Electronic Church, with an Emphasis on Its Evangelists." The paper addresses some of the ways in which criticism is taught via the television evangelists. Following a mini-course in speech analysis, the course focuses on the various aspects…

  14. Introducing Islamic Civilization: Course Syllabus.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Smith, Reuben W., Ed.

    The syllabus reflects a course in Islamic civilization taught at the University of Chicago and includes the recommendations of participants at a conference on the problems of presenting such a course. The "civilization approach" offers a panoramic view of various related fields, affords a perspective on the problems of analyzing changes over time,…

  15. The Impact of Collaboration, Empowerment, and Choice: An Empirical Examination of the Collaborative Course Development Method

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Aiken, K. Damon; Heinze, Timothy C.; Meuter, Matthew L.; Chapman, Kenneth J.

    2017-01-01

    This research empirically tests collaborative course development (CCD)-a pedagogy presented in the 2016 "Marketing Education Review Special Issue on Teaching Innovations". A team of researchers taught experimental courses using CCD methods (employing various techniques including syllabus building, "flex-tures," free-choice…

  16. Enhancing Motivation in Online Courses with Mobile Communication Tool Support: A Comparative Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chaiprasurt, Chantorn; Esichaikul, Vatcharaporn

    2013-01-01

    Mobile technologies have helped establish new channels of communication among learners and instructors, potentially providing greater access to course information, and promoting easier access to course activities and learner motivation in online learning environments. The paper compares motivation between groups of learners being taught through an…

  17. Blogging in the Communication Technology Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Platt, Carrie Anne

    2011-01-01

    This article describes an assignment that was developed for an undergraduate course on communication technologies taught at a public university in the Upper Midwest. The course focuses on the impact of new media technologies on traditional media industries and contemporary culture, and is taken by students majoring in journalism, public relations,…

  18. Integrated Humanities: A Participatory Course for a Multi-Cultural Environment.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Thomas, Timothy R.

    A course description and syllabus are provided for "Integrated Humanities," a general education course taught at Northern New Mexico Community College to provide students with a solid, reliable knowledge base and framework upon which to build future educational experiences. Following introductory material, a syllabus for students is…

  19. The Impact of Presentation Graphics on Students' Experience in the Classroom

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Apperson, Jennifer M.; Laws, Eric L.; Scepansky, James A.

    2006-01-01

    To investigate the benefits and perceived effectiveness of instructional technology, students enrolled in several courses were compared on student evaluations of instruction, grades and an attitudinal questionnaire. The instructors of the courses taught the same course across two successive semesters, using traditional "chalk-and-talk" methods the…

  20. Teaching Business Simulation Games: Comparing Achievements Frontal Teaching vs. eLearning

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bregman, David; Keinan, Gila; Korman, Arik; Raanan, Yossi

    This paper addresses the issue of comparing results achieved by students taught the same course but in two drastically different - a regular, frontal method and an eLearning method. The subject taught required intensive communications among the students, thus making the eLearning students, a priori, less likely to do well in it. The research, comparing the achievements of students in a business simulation game over three semesters, shows that the use of eLearning method did not result in any differences in performance, grades or cooperation, thus strengthening the case for using eLearning in this type of course.

  1. A Comparison of Final Grades in Courses When Faculty Concurrently Taught the Same Course to Campus-Based and Distance Education Students: Winter Term 1997.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    MacFarland, Thomas W.

    This study examined differences in final course grades for campus-based and distance education students at Nova Southeastern University (Florida). Data on over 26,000 course grades for winter term 1997 were obtained from university records. It was found that students enrolled in courses offered through distance education received a significantly…

  2. How to Mutually Advance General Education and Major-Based Education: A Grounded Theory Study on the Course Level

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fang, Hualiang

    2018-01-01

    The author employs grounded theory to investigate the teaching process of an interdisciplinary general education course at A University as a case. The author finds that under the condition of rather concrete relations between the subject of a major-based course and that of an elected general education course, if the major course is taught with a…

  3. Engineering Encounters: Engineering Adaptations

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gatling, Anne; Vaughn, Meredith Houle

    2015-01-01

    Engineering is not a subject that has historically been taught in elementary schools, but with the emphasis on engineering in the "Next Generation Science Standards," curricula are being developed to explicitly teach engineering content and design. However, many of the scientific investigations already conducted with students have…

  4. Experiences Teaching a Software Aided Mathematics Course for a General University Audience.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McGivney, Raymond J., Jr.

    1990-01-01

    Described is a nonmajor mathematics course taught using computers and lab experiments. Included are the challenge, solution, description of the first class, problems, successes, the syllabus, student comments, and the conclusion. (KR)

  5. Field Ecology Studies in the Rocky Mountains.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Robertson, Philip A.

    1978-01-01

    Describes a six-week field plant ecology course in Montana which is offered by the Botany Department at Southern Illinois University. The goals of the course, how it is taught, and student evaluation are also presented. (HM)

  6. Apples vs. Oranges: Comparison of Student Performance in a MOOC vs. a Brick-and-Mortar Class

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dubson, Michael

    In the fall of 2013, my colleagues and I taught the calculus-based introductory physics course to 800 tuition-paying students at the University of Colorado at Boulder. At the same time we taught a free massive open online version of the same course (MOOC), through Coursera.com. The initial enrollment in the MOOC was 10,000 students, of whom 255 completed the course. Students in both courses received identical lectures with identical embedded clicker questions, identical homework assignments, and identical timed exams. We present data on participation rates and exam performance for the two groups. We find that the MOOC is like a drug targeted at a very specific population. When it works, it works well, but it works for very few students. This MOOC worked well for older, well-educated students, who already had a good understanding of Newtonian mechanics.

  7. Improving Discussion in Astronomy Courses Taught Online

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Troischt, Parker

    2017-06-01

    Astronomy courses that are either hybrid in nature or offered in a completely online format are becoming more common at colleges and universities. In particular, faculty members at small colleges are being encouraged to develop courses that can be taught online in order to give students increased flexibility in scheduling classes and reach a separate population of learners. For instructors accustomed to teaching students in person using plenty of interaction, making the switch to teaching even one online course a year can be challenging. However, some topics are developing so rapidly (exoplanets) that it is difficult to imagine having students rely on a standard textbook at all, and the use of online resources become essential. Here, we describe methods used to promote discussion, evaluate its content and effectively incorporate the use of recently released articles in order to keep students engaged. We present efforts to produce a lively classroom atmosphere centered on recent advances and several debated topics. Lastly, we report on successes, challenges and plans for improving online courses in the future.

  8. Former Students' Feedback on a Liberal Arts Undergraduate Course in Entrepreneurship

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Egge, Karl A.

    2006-01-01

    We present initial and preliminary results from a questionnaire survey in early 2005 of former students who took the only entrepreneurship class taught once/year at Macalester College. The objective was to elicit their opinions of what should be taught, the importance of alternative classroom pedagogies, and judgments on how to evaluate student…

  9. Teaching Project-Based Assessment in 12 Days in a Developing Country

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hargis, Jace

    2007-01-01

    Through a partnership between the University of North Florida (UNF) and the University of Belize (UB), faculty members from UNF taught a graduate course on Assessment and Measurement at UB to train in-service teachers and principals in the area of educational leadership. Two classes totalling 71 graduate students were taught during a three-week…

  10. Teaching International Business across Multiple Modes of Delivery: How to Maintain Equivalence in Learning Outcomes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Drew, Antony

    2014-01-01

    The drivers of globalization are changing how, where, and when international business (IB) is being taught, and increasing student diversity. Concomitantly, education is becoming an important contributor to GDP in developed economies. Today, the same course may be taught at home to domestic and in-bound international students, in host countries,…

  11. The Degrees of Freedom Concept--Extending the Domain

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Biernacki, J. J.

    2016-01-01

    The degrees of freedom (DOF) concept is a powerful tool that has been taught since at least the '70s in undergraduate curriculum, typically introduced in the context of a first course on material and energy balances. The concept, however, has not been widely applied beyond the material balance domain and in general is not taught as a unified…

  12. Active versus Passive Teaching Styles: An Empirical Study of Student Learning Outcomes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Michel, Norbert; Cater, John James, III; Varela, Otmar

    2009-01-01

    This study compares the impact of an active teaching approach and a traditional (or passive) teaching style on student cognitive outcomes. Across two sections of an introductory business course, one class was taught in an active or nontraditional manner, with a variety of active learning exercises. The second class was taught in a passive or…

  13. Changing the Public's Attitude Toward Braille: A Grassroots Approach

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wells-Jensen, Sheri; Wells-Jensen, Jason; Belknap, Gabrielle

    2005-01-01

    This study addressed the effect of casual exposure to braille on the attitudes toward blindness and the use of braille of three groups of sighted university students: students in two sections of a general linguistics course for language arts teachers, one taught by a blind instructor (Group 1) and the other taught by a sighted instructor (Group…

  14. You and the Ocean.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ocean Education Project, Washington, DC.

    This multidisciplinary unit of study introduces the law of the sea to students in grades one through six. The unit, which takes three weeks to complete can be taught in science and social studies courses. Concepts taught include the following: there are many things in the sea that are of value to humankind; people need products from the sea;…

  15. Assessing the Effectiveness of Student Oriented Learning Outlines (SOLOs) in an Equine Classroom

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jogan, Kathleen S.

    2014-01-01

    This study determined if the use of the student oriented learning outline (SOLO) in a University of Arkansas equine production classroom had a positive influence in three areas: mastery of material taught, retention of material taught and voluntary positive student behaviors related to the use of course material. Thirty-one students who were…

  16. A Comparison of Learning Outcomes in Skills-Based Courses: Online versus Face-to-Face Formats

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Callister, Ronda Roberts; Love, Mary Sue

    2016-01-01

    In comparing the learning outcomes of online versus face-to-face courses, skills-based forms of instruction have received little attention. This study asks the question "Can skills-based courses taught online achieve the same outcomes as face-to-face courses in which the instructor and students interacting in real time may have higher levels…

  17. Adding Instruction about Technology Infusion to the Secondary Social Studies Course with Web-Based Modules.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ehman, Lee H.

    Modules to teach the appropriate integration of technology into social studies teaching were pilot-taught in a secondary social studies methods course. The seven modules emphasized the World Wide Web as a resource for teachers and students. Pre- and post-course surveys were conducted with the 24 students in the course. Both qualitative and…

  18. Teaching Science in Art: Technical Examination of 17th-Century Dutch Painting as Interdisciplinary Coursework for Science Majors and Nonmajors

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Uffelman, Erich S.

    2007-01-01

    Two linked courses examining conservation science and art history of 17th-century Dutch painting are described. The two courses have been taught on campus and, most recently, as study-abroad courses in collaboration with the Center for European Studies, Universiteit Maastricht, The Netherlands. The highly interdisciplinary courses are intense, yet…

  19. Comparing the Rigor of Compressed Format Courses to Their Regular Semester Counterparts

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lutes, Lyndell; Davies, Randall

    2013-01-01

    This study compared workloads of undergraduate courses taught in 16-week and 8-week sessions. A statistically significant difference in workload was found between the two. Based on survey data from approximately 29,000 students, on average students spent about 17 minutes more per credit per week on 16-week courses than on similar 8-week courses.…

  20. Games in an Introductory Soil Science Course: A Novel Approach for Increasing Student Involvement with Course Material

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sulzman, Elizabeth W.

    2004-01-01

    An optional 1-credit recitation course was developed to supplement a traditionally taught 4-credit lecture-plus-laboratory course in soil science at Oregon State University. Popular, competitive games that would be familiar to students were revised to be "soils-based" and were employed in the recitation class. These games were seen as a…

  1. Pedagogy and Content in Sexuality Education Courses in US Colleges and Universities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Oswalt, Sara B.; Wagner, Laurie M.; Eastman-Mueller, Heather P.; Nevers, Joleen M.

    2015-01-01

    Most research on sexuality courses in US higher education was conducted in the 1980s and 1990s. Less is known about what is being taught in undergraduate sexuality courses today; this study sought to fill that gap. Reviewing content based on 161 courses (provided by 150 different instructors) from all regions of the USA, this study examined…

  2. "Curso de Vulcanología General": Web-education efforts on volcanic hazards for the Latin American region from Mexico.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Delgado, Hugo

    2016-04-01

    Education of volcanic hazards is a never-ending task in countries where volcanoes erupt very frequently as they do in the Latin American region (LAR). Eleven countries in the LAR have active volcanoes within their territories and some volcanoes are located in between countries so the volcanic hazards associated to the eruption of those volcanoes affect more than one country. Besides, countries without volcanoes within their territory (i. e. Belize, Honduras or Brazil) can be impacted as well. Personnel working at several volcano observatories in the LAR need training in Volcanology and, more importantly, in Volcanic Hazards. Unfortunately, Volcanology is a discipline that is not taught at universities of some countries. Even worse, Earth Sciences are not even taught at high education centers in some countries of the LAR. Thus, there is an important need for the acquisition of volcanological knowledge by the personnel working at volcano observatories but there are no possibilities for them to study at their countries or they are impended for travel abroad for training. The international course: "Curso de Vulcanología General" taught from Mexico City at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) has been successfully implemented and has been active over the last five years. Nearly 700 students have participated in this course although only ~150 have been awarded the certificate UNAM grants to the students who have concluded the course successfully. This course has been sponsored by UNAM, ALVO (Latin American Volcanological Association) and IAVCEI (International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior). More than 50 lecturers from LAR, Europe and US have been involved in these courses. Here, Reflections on the course, the opportunities sparkled, the educational tools, benefits, statistics and virtues of the course are presented.

  3. Lessons Learned in Engineering. Supplement

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Blair, James C.; Ryan, Robert S.; Schultzenhofer, Luke A.

    2011-01-01

    This Contractor Report (CR) is a compilation of Lessons Learned in approximately 55 years of engineering experience by each James C. Blair, Robert S. Ryan, and Luke A. Schutzenhofer. The lessons are the basis of a course on Lessons Learned that has been taught at Marshall Space Flight Center. The lessons are drawn from NASA space projects and are characterized in terms of generic lessons learned from the project experience, which are further distilled into overarching principles that can be applied to future projects. Included are discussions of the overarching principles followed by a listing of the lessons associated with that principle. The lesson with sub-lessons are stated along with a listing of the project problems the lesson is drawn from, then each problem is illustrated and discussed, with conclusions drawn in terms of Lessons Learned. The purpose of this CR is to provide principles learned from past aerospace experience to help achieve greater success in future programs, and identify application of these principles to space systems design. The problems experienced provide insight into the engineering process and are examples of the subtleties one experiences performing engineering design, manufacturing, and operations. The supplemental CD contains accompanying PowerPoint presentations.

  4. Evaluation of students' perception of their learning environment and approaches to learning

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Valyrakis, Manousos; Cheng, Ming

    2015-04-01

    This work presents the results of two case studies designed to assess the various approaches undergraduate and postgraduate students undertake for their education. The first study describes the results and evaluation of an undergraduate course in Water Engineering which aims to develop the fundamental background knowledge of students on introductory practical applications relevant to the practice of water and hydraulic engineering. The study assesses the effectiveness of the course design and learning environment from the perception of students using a questionnaire addressing several aspects that may affect student learning, performance and satisfaction, such as students' motivation, factors to effective learning, and methods of communication and assessment. The second study investigates the effectiveness of supervisory arrangements based on the perceptions of engineering undergraduate and postgraduate students. Effective supervision requires leadership skills that are not taught in the University, yet there is rarely a chance to get feedback, evaluate this process and reflect. Even though the results are very encouraging there are significant lessons to learn in improving ones practice and develop an effective learning environment to student support and guidance. The findings from these studies suggest that students with high level of intrinsic motivation are deep learners and are also top performers in a student-centered learning environment. A supportive teaching environment with a plethora of resources and feedback made available over different platforms that address students need for direct communication and feedback has the potential to improve student satisfaction and their learning experience. Finally, incorporating a multitude of assessment methods is also important in promoting deep learning. These results have deep implications about student learning and can be used to further improve course design and delivery in the future.

  5. Graduate Syllabi.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Journal of Teaching in the Addictions, 2002

    2002-01-01

    "Methods and Techniques" includes 15 graduate, 2 undergraduate, and 1 community college working syllabi for courses taught at schools throughout the country. Graduate syllabi include courses on addictions diagnosis, treatment, and counseling; drug problem identification; and behavior and treatment issues; Undergraduate syllabi include: Alcohol and…

  6. Internationalizing the Business Communication Curriculum.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sturges, David L.

    1992-01-01

    Proposes a course in business communication that includes international or global perspectives in its philosophy, content, and assignments. Includes a syllabus, a scheme describing how the course is taught, a communication audit plan, a capstone project, and a sample reading list. (SR)

  7. A Comparative Study of Students' Learning Experiences in Intensive and Semester-Length Courses and of the Attributes of High-Quality Intensive and Semester Course Learning Experiences.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Scott, Patricia A.

    This study compared students' learning experiences in a set of courses in British literature and a set of courses in marketing, in which each set included a course taught in an intensive format and a semester-long format with the same instructor and content. Data collection included participant observation, videotaped class sessions,…

  8. Combining Content and Elements of Communication into an Upper-Level Biochemistry Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Whittington, Carli P.; Pellock, Samuel J.; Cunningham, Rebecca L.; Cox, James R.

    2014-01-01

    This report describes how a science communication module was incorporated into an advanced biochemistry course. Elements of communication were taught synergistically with biochemistry content in this course in an effort to expose students to a variety of effective oral communication strategies. Students were trained to use these established…

  9. Stand Up and Write: Completing the Freshman Communications Course.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Goldstein, Richard M.; Nelson, Charles W.

    Members of the English and speech faculty at Michigan Technological University combined and coordinated their ideas to find a way to introduce the basics of oral communication into the composition course. The course itself is structured according to the quarter system, in which basic composition is taught in the first term, research methods and…

  10. Development of a Course Sequence for an Interdisciplinary Curriculum

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ali, Muhammad

    2012-01-01

    Interdisciplinary curriculum development is challenging in the sense that materials from more than one discipline have to be integrated in a seamless manner. A faculty member has to develop expertise in multiple disciplines in order to teach an interdisciplinary course, or the course has to be team-taught. Both approaches are difficult to…

  11. Structuring the AP Art History Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Herscher, Walter R.

    2013-01-01

    While AP (Advanced Placement) Art History may be taught within the art department in many schools, social studies teachers are equally capable of teaching the course well. They have the historical background to discuss the reasons for changes in art styles. A teacher's preparation is similar to teaching a course stressing political history,…

  12. A Combinatorics Course with One Goal: Authentic Mathematical Inquiry

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Storm, Christopher

    2017-01-01

    This article shares an example of a course in Combinatorics, taught at Adelphi University in Fall 2012, designed with a primary goal of engaging students in pursuing mathematics as mathematicians do. The course went beyond usual applications of inquiry-based learning in that students were also charged with the responsibility of posing the…

  13. A General Chemistry Laboratory Course Designed for Student Discussion

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Obenland, Carrie A.; Kincaid, Kristi; Hutchinson, John S.

    2014-01-01

    We report a study of the general chemistry laboratory course at one university over four years. We found that when taught as a traditional laboratory course, lab experiences do not encourage students to deepen their understanding of chemical concepts. Although the lab instructor emphasized that the lab experiences were designed to enhance…

  14. Update Status: The State of Social Media Marketing Curriculum

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Muñoz, Caroline Lego; Wood, Natalie T.

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this research is to examine how the topic of social media has been integrated and executed within academic institutions and marketing courses. An exploratory survey of marketing educators that taught social media in their course(s) was undertaken. The survey addressed how social media was embedded within an institute's curriculum,…

  15. Teaching a Comprehensive Orofacial Pain Course in the Dental Curriculum.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gonty, Arthur A.

    1990-01-01

    Two surveys about the teaching of orofacial pain in the dental curriculum are reported, and the comprehensive course taught at the University of Kentucky is described. The first survey was of 89 Kentucky course alumni. The second was of 57 dental schools concerning the status of their orofacial pain curricula. (MSE)

  16. Establishing Common Course Objectives for Undergraduate Exercise Physiology

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Simonson, Shawn R.

    2015-01-01

    Undergraduate exercise physiology is a ubiquitous course in undergraduate kinesiology/exercise science programs with a broad scope and depth of topics. It is valuable to explore what is taught within this course. The purpose of the present study was to facilitate an understanding of what instructors teach in undergraduate exercise physiology, how…

  17. Scientific Computing for Chemists: An Undergraduate Course in Simulations, Data Processing, and Visualization

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Weiss, Charles J.

    2017-01-01

    The Scientific Computing for Chemists course taught at Wabash College teaches chemistry students to use the Python programming language, Jupyter notebooks, and a number of common Python scientific libraries to process, analyze, and visualize data. Assuming no prior programming experience, the course introduces students to basic programming and…

  18. The Development and Assessment of an Online Microscopic Anatomy Laboratory Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Barbeau, Michele L.; Johnson, Marjorie; Gibson, Candace; Rogers, Kem A.

    2013-01-01

    Increasing enrollment in post-secondary institutions across North America, along with an increase in popularity of and demand for distance education is pressuring institutions to offer a greater number and variety of courses online. A fully online laboratory course in microscopic anatomy (histology) which can be taught simultaneously with a…

  19. United Campuses to Prevent Nuclear War: Nuclear War Course Summaries.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Journal of College Science Teaching, 1983

    1983-01-01

    Briefly describes 46 courses on nuclear war available from United Campuses to Prevent Nuclear War (UCAM). These courses are currently being or have been taught at colleges/universities, addressing effects of nuclear war, arms race history, new weapons, and past arms control efforts. Syllabi (with assignments/reading lists) are available from UCAM.…

  20. Establishing the Content Validity of a Basic Computer Literacy Course.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Clements, James; Carifio, James

    1995-01-01

    Content analysis of 13 textbooks and 2 Department of Education documents was conducted to ascertain common word processing, database, and spreadsheet software skills in order to determine which specific skills should be taught in a high school computer literacy course. Aspects of a basic computer course, created from this analysis, are described.…

  1. The Learning and Teaching Experiences in an Online Problem-Based Learning Course.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sage, Sara M.

    This paper describes and examines the experiences of eight learners and two teachers in an online distance education graduate course taught using an asynchronous program and a problem-based learning (PBL) pedagogy. The course, "Integrating the Internet across the Curriculum," was offered by Indiana University Bloomington as a 6-week…

  2. The Sociology Research Experience Capstone Course at Three Institutions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McKinney, Kathleen; Busher, Melissa

    2011-01-01

    This study describes the objectives, structures, and outcomes of a one-semester, required sociology research capstone course as taught at three institutions. Pre- and postquestionnaires from students, syllabi from instructors, and a random sample of final research papers were analyzed. Results indicate that the main foci of the course are to…

  3. A French Culture Course for Non-Language Majors.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Savoie, Norman R.

    The traditional upper-level course in French civilization at Utah State University was abandoned in favor of a course entitled "France Today," taught once a year to a consistent enrollment of students majoring in a wide variety of disciplines. The content varies somewhat each year, but the class typically begins with several class…

  4. A Course Offering in Jewish Law

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dorff, Elliott N.; Rosett, Arthur L.

    1976-01-01

    Describes a course taught at the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law. Content was divided into four segments: an introduction to the literature and a brief history of its development, court procedures, marriage and family law, and commercial law. Origins of the course and problems, especially that of comparing two legal systems…

  5. Teaching Communication to Indian Educators.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Julien, Daniel J.; Monsma, John W.

    A course on communication in the classroom was designed as part of a program to bring education courses, taught by regular university faculty, to Indian reservations, making it possible for an Indian student to continue working while taking courses and to complete his degree in five years. This paper describes the objectives and philosophy of the…

  6. Critical Media Literacy as Engaged Pedagogy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hammer, Rhonda

    2011-01-01

    Given the escalating role of media and new media in our everyday lives, there is an urgent need for courses in Critical Media Literacy, at all levels of schooling. The empowering nature of these kinds of courses is demonstrated through a discussion of a Critical Media Literacy course taught at UCLA. (Contains 1 note.)

  7. Developing and Implementing an Interdisciplinary Origins Course at a State University

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Miller, Keith; Totten, Iris

    2009-01-01

    A truly interdisciplinary course was successfully developed and taught that presented an overview of the historical sciences with an emphasis on the nature of scientific inquiry and its relationship to other ways of knowing. The course included contributions from faculty in physics, biology, geology, philosophy, and English. (Contains 2 figures.)

  8. 40 CFR 745.225 - Accreditation of training programs: target housing and child occupied facilities.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... purposes of this section, courses taught in different languages and electronic learning courses are... training manager who has: (i) At least 2 years of experience, education, or training in teaching workers or... for each course who has: (i) Demonstrated experience, education, or training in teaching workers or...

  9. 40 CFR 745.225 - Accreditation of training programs: target housing and child occupied facilities.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... purposes of this section, courses taught in different languages and electronic learning courses are... training manager who has: (i) At least 2 years of experience, education, or training in teaching workers or... for each course who has: (i) Demonstrated experience, education, or training in teaching workers or...

  10. 40 CFR 745.225 - Accreditation of training programs: target housing and child occupied facilities.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... purposes of this section, courses taught in different languages and electronic learning courses are... training manager who has: (i) At least 2 years of experience, education, or training in teaching workers or... for each course who has: (i) Demonstrated experience, education, or training in teaching workers or...

  11. Contextualizing the Intermediate Financial Accounting Courses in the Global Financial Crisis

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bloom, Robert; Webinger, Mariah

    2011-01-01

    This paper represents an attempt to incorporate concepts and issues stemming from the global financial crisis (GFC) into the typical Intermediate Accounting, two-course sequence as taught in North American colleges and universities. The teaching approach which the authors advocate embeds the GFC throughout these courses. The main expected outcome…

  12. A Simulation for Teaching the Basic and Clinical Science of Fluid Therapy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rawson, Richard E.; Dispensa, Marilyn E.; Goldstein, Richard E.; Nicholson, Kimberley W.; Vidal, Noni Korf

    2009-01-01

    The course "Management of Fluid and Electrolyte Disorders" is an applied physiology course taught using lectures and paper-based cases. The course approaches fluid therapy from both basic science and clinical perspectives. While paper cases provide a basis for application of basic science concepts, they lack key components of genuine clinical…

  13. Accounting for Sustainability: An Active Learning Assignment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gusc, Joanna; van Veen-Dirks, Paula

    2017-01-01

    Purpose: Sustainability is one of the newer topics in the accounting courses taught in university teaching programs. The active learning assignment as described in this paper was developed for use in an accounting course in an undergraduate program. The aim was to enhance teaching about sustainability within such a course. The purpose of this…

  14. Improving Student Attitudes about Learning Science and Student Scientific Reasoning Skills

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Duncan, Douglas K.; Arthurs, Leilani

    2012-01-01

    Student attitudes about learning science and student ideas about the nature of science were compared at the end of two astronomy courses taught in Fall 2007, a course with a traditional astronomy curriculum and a transformed course, whose traditional astronomy curriculum was supplemented by an embedded curriculum that explicitly addressed the…

  15. Using Sport Education in a University Physical Activity Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Blocker, Danielle; Wahl-Alexander, Zachary

    2018-01-01

    At a majority of colleges and universities around the country, basic activity courses are taught predicated on teaching students basic skills and instilling healthy habits. The purpose of this article is to outline and describe a physical conditioning course that utilized the sport education (SE) model and emphasized outside engagement to instill…

  16. Design of a Food Chemistry-Themed Course for Nonscience Majors

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bell, Patrice

    2014-01-01

    The physical science curriculum design at Georgia Gwinnett College requires a theme-based course (lecture and group work, and laboratory) for nonscience majors. Increased student engagement is anticipated when science topics are taught in the context of a topic of which students can select during course registration. This paper presents the course…

  17. Team-Based Learning: The Importance of Attendance

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jakobsen, Krisztina V.; McIlreavy, Megan; Marrs, Sarah

    2014-01-01

    Using a quasi-experimental design, the authors examined student performance (i.e., exam scores) in a traditional, lecture-based course (n = 43) and a team-based learning (TBL) course (n = 47). Students from James Madison University, USA--who were unaware that the two sections of the course were taught using different methods--self-selected into…

  18. A survey of resuscitation training in Canadian undergraduate medical programs.

    PubMed

    Goldstein, D H; Beckwith, R K

    1991-07-01

    To establish a national profile of undergraduate training in resuscitation at Canadian medical schools, to compare the resuscitation training programs of the schools and to determine the cost of teaching seven resuscitation courses. Mail survey in 1989 and follow-up telephone interviews in 1991 to update and verify the information. The undergraduate deans of the 16 Canadian medical schools. The mail survey asked five questions: (a) Is completion of a standard first aid or cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) course a requirement for admission to medical school? (b) Are these courses and those in basic and advanced cardiac, trauma and neurologic life support for children and adults provided to undergraduate students? (c) During which undergraduate year are these courses offered? (d) Is their successful completion required for graduation? and (e) Who funds the training courses? The medical schools placed emphasis on the seven courses differently. More than half the schools required the completion of courses before admission or taught some courses but did not require the completion of the courses for graduation. On average, fewer than three of the seven courses were taught, and the completion of fewer than two was required for graduation. About half of the courses were funded by the universities. The annual projected maximum cost of teaching the seven courses was $1790 per medical student. The seven resuscitation courses have not been fully implemented at the undergraduate level in Canadian medical schools.

  19. A Radionavigation Systems Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lozano-Guerrero, Antonio José; Valenzuela-Valdés, Juan Francisco

    2015-01-01

    This paper presents a new course, Radionavigation Systems, whose laboratory and theoretical components complement each other to enhance student learning. Radionavigation skills and knowledge are taught by means of various instructional methods, and the laboratory successfully merges hands-on learning using specific instrumentation and software…

  20. Electronic Learning in Yugoslavia.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Barker, Philip G.

    1990-01-01

    Describes a course taught at the University of Zagreb (Yugoslavia) on electronic learning methods based upon computer-assisted learning techniques. The course content is outlined, including lectures, workshops, videotapes, demonstration software, and courseware authoring; a multimedia teaching laboratory is described; and an evaluation of course…

  1. Introducing Contemporary Anthropology: A Team-Taught Course for Large Classes.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Plotnicov, Leonard

    1985-01-01

    Describes a method of teaching large sections of college introductory anthropology by members of the anthropology faculty giving their best lectures. Presents details of how such a course was initiated, operated, and evaluated at the University of Pittsburgh. (KH)

  2. Integrating Dispute Resolution into Standard First-Year Courses: The Missouri Plan.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Riskin, Leonard L.; Westbrook, James E.

    1989-01-01

    The University of Missouri-Columbia Law School has implemented a first-year course in dispute resolution integrating topics in torts, property, civil procedure, contracts, and criminal law and taught by teachers in all of those areas. (MSE)

  3. Engineering ethics, individuals, and organizations.

    PubMed

    Davis, Michael

    2006-04-01

    This article evaluates a family of criticism of how engineering ethics is now generally taught. The short version of the criticism might be put this way: Teachers of engineering ethics devote too much time to individual decisions and not enough time to social context. There are at least six version of this criticism, each corresponding to a specific subject omitted. Teachers of engineering ethics do not (it is said) teach enough about: 1) the culture of organizations; 2) the organization of organizations; 3) the legal environment of organizations; 4) the role of professions in organizations; 5) the role of organizations in professions; or 6) the political environment of organizations. My conclusion is that, while all six are worthy subjects, there is neither much reason to believe that any of them are now absent from courses in engineering ethics nor an obvious way to decide whether they (individually or in combination) are (or are not) now being given their due. What we have here is a dispute about how much is enough. Such disputes are not to be settled without agreement concerning how we are to tell we have enough of this or that. Right now we seem to lack that agreement and not to have much reason to expect it any time soon.

  4. Learning effectiveness: A comparative study to measure effectiveness of webcasting in success of students in an introductory computer science class

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ghyam, Massoud

    This study investigates if providing delayed webcast of college lectures would improve the retention of students enrolled in an introductory computer science class over a span of six semesters. The population for this study was undergraduate engineering students enrolled in the same course at a major research university in a western state in six different semesters. The same instructor taught all sections of the course, the same textbook and software were used, and the number of lab/teaching assistants were also exactly the same. Assignments and exams were changed but were kept at the same level of difficulty. Some students were enrolled in the courses where webcasting was not utilized as a tool, while others took the same course where delayed webcasting was used. The research question that guided the study was: Will use of the delayed webcast and the availability of the course lectures on line improve students' grades and therefore the success ratio in the Introduction to Computer Science and Programming course? For the purposes of this study successful completion is defined as the number of students who did not drop the course, and who passed the course with a grade of C- or better. Grade improvement of students who completed the course was also examined. Result of the study showed providing delayed webcast of the lectures did not improve retention, but neither did it harm the student's learning. Future study is recommended to include coding for gender and student's field of study.

  5. An Integrative Approach to STEM Concepts in an Introductory Neuroscience Course: Gains in Interdisciplinary Awareness

    PubMed Central

    Basu, Alo C.; Mondoux, Michelle A.; Whitt, Jessica L.; Isaacs, André K.; Narita, Tomohiko

    2017-01-01

    Neuroscience is an integrative discipline for which students must achieve broad-based proficiency in many of the sciences. We are motivated by the premise that student pursuit of proficiency in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) can be supported by awareness of the application of knowledge and tools from the various disciplines for solving complex problems. We refer to this awareness as “interdisciplinary awareness.” Faculty from biology, chemistry, mathematics/computer science, physics, and psychology departments contributed to a novel integrative introductory neuroscience course with no pre-requisites. STEM concepts were taught in “flipped” class modules throughout the semester: Students viewed brief videos and completed accompanying homework assignments independently. In subsequent class meetings, students applied the STEM concepts to understand nervous system structure and function through engaged learning activities. The integrative introduction to neuroscience course was compared to two other courses to test the hypothesis that it would lead to greater gains in interdisciplinary awareness than courses that overlap in content but were not designed for this specific goal. Data on interdisciplinary awareness were collected using previously published tools at the beginning and end of each course, enabling within-subject analyses. Students in the integrative course significantly increased their identification of scientific terms as relevant to neuroscience in a term-discipline relevance survey and increased their use of terms related to levels of analysis (e.g., molecular, cellular, systems) in response to an open-ended prompt. These gains were seen over time within the integrative introduction to neuroscience course as well as relative to the other two courses. PMID:29371849

  6. The role of veterinary medical librarians in teaching information literacy.

    PubMed

    Dinkelman, Andrea L; Viera, Ann R; Bickett-Weddle, Danelle A

    2011-01-01

    This qualitative study seeks to determine the nature of the instruction librarians provide to veterinary medical students at all 28 United States veterinary colleges. A secondary goal of the study was to determine in what ways and to what extent librarians participated in other instructional activities at their colleges. Over half of the librarians formally taught in one or more courses, predominantly in the first two years of the veterinary curriculum. One presentation per course was most common. Over half of the librarians interviewed stated that evidence-based veterinary medicine was taught at their colleges, and about half of these librarians collaborated with veterinary faculty in this instruction. Many librarians participated in orientation for first-year veterinary students. The librarians also taught instructional sessions for residents, interns, faculty, graduate students, and practicing veterinarians. This study found that librarians teach information literacy skills both formally and informally, but, in general, instruction by librarians was not well integrated into the curriculum. This study advances several recommendations to help veterinary students develop information literacy skills. These include: encourage veterinary faculty and administrators to collaborate more closely with librarians, incorporate a broader array of information literacy skills into assignments, and add a literature evaluation course to the curriculum.

  7. Using a Virtual Tissue Culture System to Assist Students in Understanding Life at the Cellular Level

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McLauglin, Jacqueline S.; Seaquist, Stephen B.

    2008-01-01

    In every biology course ever taught in the nation's classrooms, and in every biology book ever published, students are taught about the "cell." The cell is as fundamental to biology as the atom is to chemistry. Truly, everything an organism does occurs fundamentally at the cellular level. Beyond memorizing the cellular definition, students are not…

  8. A Contemporary Analysis of the Content of Mathematics for Liberal Education at the College Level

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sporn, Howard Bruce

    2010-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to determine whether educators believe mathematics should be taught to liberal arts students, what topics are taught in liberal arts mathematics courses, and what the motivation is for teaching such topics. The study consists of two parts, a review of the opinions of educators regarding liberal arts mathematics, and a…

  9. Facilitating Student Learning through Contextualization. CCRC Brief. Number 53

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Perin, Dolores

    2011-01-01

    Skills in reading, writing, and mathematics are key to academic learning but are conventionally taught separately from the discipline areas to which they must be applied. For example, students may be taught writing skills in the morning in an English course and then be expected to apply them to writing an essay in a history class in the afternoon.…

  10. Designing and Teaching an Introduction to Federal Indian Law

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Morris, Wynema

    2015-01-01

    Recently, the question has arisen as to whether or not federal Indian law should be taught at tribal colleges and universities (TCUs). To answer this three questions must be asked: (1) Why should such a subject be taught and who would teach it; (2) Which department should be responsible for Indian law courses; and (3) Should they be offered…

  11. The Teaching of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in U.S. Medical Schools: A Survey of Course Directors.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brokaw, James J.; Tunnicliff, Godfrey; Raess, Beat U.; Saxon, Dale W.

    2002-01-01

    Surveyed medical schools to gauge the current state of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) instruction by gathering details about the specific topics being taught and the objectives behind the instruction. Found that a wide variety of topics are being taught under the umbrella of CAM; for the most part, the instruction appears to be…

  12. Integrating Total Physical Response Strategy in a Level I Spanish Class.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wolfe, David E.; Jones, Gwendolyn

    1982-01-01

    Reports on an experiment in which one group of high school students was taught using Total Physical Response (TPR) for 20 minutes a day and a control group was taught by the usual manner. Results showed students in the TPR group scored better on standard unit tests and expressed greater satisfaction with their teacher and course. (EKN)

  13. The Role of Feedback in Cross-Cultural Learning: A Case Study of Chinese Taught Postgraduate Students in a UK University

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tian, Mei; Lowe, John

    2013-01-01

    Insufficient attention has been given to the role of cultural differences in feedback communication with the UK's increasingly internationalised student body. This issue is particularly significant for international students taking short -- one-year -- postgraduate taught courses and we illustrate this in a study of Chinese students at a UK…

  14. Who's Teaching What in High School Physics?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    White, Susan; Tyler, John

    2015-01-01

    During the 2012-13 school year, approximately 27,000 teachers taught at least one physics course in a U.S. high school. About one-third of those teachers have earned a degree in physics or physics education; the vast majority of the others have earned degrees in a variety of other science fields. About 53,000 physics classes were taught, ranging…

  15. Problem-Centered Design and Personal Teaching Style: An Exploratory Study of Youguang Tu's Course on Philosophy of Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lei, Hongde

    2016-01-01

    Youguang Tu is a contemporary Chinese philosopher of education. His course on philosophy of education had a significant impact on his students. This exploratory study examines how Tu designed and taught this course. Ultimately, there are two reasons why Tu's course had such a significant influence on his students. The first is that Tu used…

  16. Reassessment of Business Courses in Foreign Languages: The European Union vis-a-vis Its Individual Members.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    von Schmidt, Wolff

    The need for advanced (fourth-year) college business courses taught in foreign languages by foreign language teachers, and the design of such courses, are discussed. It is proposed that such courses be offered more often, generally in French, German, and Spanish and preferably over two semesters or three quarters, with a minimum of 3 contact hours…

  17. Teaching Engineering Habits of Mind in Technology Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Loveland, Thomas; Dunn, Derrek

    2014-01-01

    With a new emphasis on the inclusion of engineering content and practices in technology education, attention has focused on what engineering content should be taught and assessed in technology education. The National Academy of Engineering (2010) proposed three general principles for K-12 engineering education in "Standards for K-12…

  18. Restructuring of the jurisprudence course taught at the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College

    PubMed Central

    Gleberzon, Brian J.

    2010-01-01

    Introduction: The process by which the jurisprudence course was restructured at the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College is chronicled. Method: A Delphi process used to restructure the course is described, and the results of a student satisfaction survey are presented. Results: When asked “I think this material was clinically relevant,” over 81% of the 76 students who respondents strongly agreed or agreed with this statement; 100% of students agreed or strongly agreed that scope of practice; marketing, advertising and internal office promotion; record keeping; fee schedules; malpractice issues and; professional malpractice issues and negligence was clinically relevant. When asked “I think this material was taught well,” a minimum of 89% of students agreed or strongly agreed with this statement. Discussion: This is the first article published that described the process by which a jurisprudence course was developed and assessed by student survey. Summary: Based on a survey of student perceptions, restructuring of the jurisprudence course was successful in providing students with clinically relevant information in an appropriate manner. This course may serve as an important first step in development a ‘model curriculum’ for chiropractic practice and the law courses in terms of content, format and assessment strategies. PMID:20195427

  19. Ripped from the Headlines: Using Current Events and Deliberative Democracy to Improve Student Performance in and Perceptions of Nonmajors Biology Courses†

    PubMed Central

    Tinsley, Heather N.

    2016-01-01

    Despite the importance of scientific literacy, many foundational science courses are plagued by low student engagement and performance. In an attempt to improve student outcomes, an introductory biology course for nonscience majors was redesigned to present the course content within the framework of current events and deliberative democratic exercises. During each instructional unit of the redesigned course, students were presented with a highly publicized policy question rooted in biological principles and currently facing lawmakers. Working in diverse groups, students sought out the information that was needed to reach an educated, rationalized decision. This approach models civic engagement and demonstrates the real-life importance of science to nonscience majors. The outcomes from two semesters in which the redesign were taught were compared with sections of the course taught using traditional pedagogies. When compared with other versions of the same course, presenting the course content within a deliberative democratic framework proved to be superior for increasing students’ knowledge gains and improving students’ perceptions of biology and its relevance to their everyday lives. These findings establish deliberative democracy as an effective pedagogical strategy for nonmajors biology. PMID:28101264

  20. Music and the Mind: A New Interdisciplinary Course on the Science of Musical Experience

    PubMed Central

    Prichard, J. Roxanne; Cornett-Murtada, Vanessa

    2011-01-01

    In this paper the instructors describe a new team-taught transdisciplinary seminar, “Music and Mind: The Science of Musical Experience.” The instructors, with backgrounds in music and neuroscience, valued the interdisciplinary approach as a way to capture student interest and to reflect the inherent interconnectivity of neuroscience. The course covered foundational background information about the science of hearing and musical perception and about the phenomenology of musical creation and experience. This two-credit honors course, which attracted students from eleven majors, integrated experiential learning (active listening, journaling, conducting mini-experiments) with rigorous reflection and discussion of academic research. The course culminated in student-led discussions and presentations of final projects around hot topics in the science of music, such as the ‘Mozart Effect,’ music and religious experience, etc. Although this course was a two-credit seminar, it could easily be expanded to a four-credit lecture or laboratory course. Student evaluations reveal that the course was successful in meeting the learning objectives, that students were intrinsically motivated to learn more about the discipline, and that the team-taught, experiential learning approach was a success. PMID:23494097

  1. A team approach to an undergraduate interprofessional communication course.

    PubMed

    Doucet, Shelley; Buchanan, Judy; Cole, Tricia; McCoy, Carolyn

    2013-05-01

    Interprofessional communication is a team-taught upper-level undergraduate course for Nursing and Health Sciences students. In addition to teaching fundamental communication skills, this course weaves interprofessional competencies into weekly learning activities and assignments. The utilization of the principles and practices of team-based learning in the classroom enhances the attainment and practice of communication and interprofessional collaboration skills. Lessons learned from conducting informal course evaluations and delivering the course multiple times are presented.

  2. A Partnership between English Language Learners and a Team of Rocket Scientists: EPO for the NASA SDO Extreme Ultraviolet Variability Experiment (EVE)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Buhr, S. M.; McCaffrey, M. S.; Eparvier, F.; Murillo, M.

    2008-05-01

    Recent immigrant high school students were successfully engaged in learning about Sun-Earth connections through a partnership with the NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory Extreme Ultraviolet Variability Experiment (EVE) project. The students were enrolled in a pilot course as part of the Math, Engineering and Science Achievement (MESA) program. The English Language Learner (ELL) students doubled their achievement on a pre- and post- assessment on the content of the course. Students learned scientific content and vocabulary in English with support in Spanish, attended field trips, hosted scientist speakers, built antenna and deployed space weather monitors as part of the Stanford SOLAR project, and gave final presentations in English, showcasing their new computer skills. Teachers who taught the students in other courses noted gains in the students' willingness to use English in class and noted gains in math skills. The course has been broken into modules for use in shorter after-school environments, or for use by EVE scientists who are outside of the Boulder area. Video footage of "The Making of a Satellite", and "All About EVE" is completed for use in the kits. Other EVE EPO includes upcoming professional development for teachers and content workshops for journalists.

  3. Teaching the Psychology of Engagement with Beauty: State and Trait

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Diessner, Rhett; Kirk, Cameron; Guenthner, Crystn; Pohling, Rico; Mobasher, Saman

    2017-01-01

    An undergraduate senior-level course, the psychology of beauty, taught within the positive psychology approach, was designed with the aim to increase state and trait levels of engagement with beauty among its students. The course was a service-learning course in which students were paired by the Area Agency on Aging with elders in the greater…

  4. Patterns of Instructional Discourse that Promote the Perception of Mastery Goals in a Social Constructivist Mathematics Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Morrone, Anastasia Steffen; Harkness, Shelly S.; D'Ambrosio, Beatriz; Caulfield, Richard

    2004-01-01

    Elementary education students enrolled in an experimental mathematics course participated in this study. The course is taught using a social constructivist approach and is designed to improve students' mathematical problem-solving ability and deepen their understanding of mathematics. The research question for the present study is as follows: In…

  5. Preparing Industrial Education Teachers as Reading Specialists.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cranney, A. Garr; McKell, William E.

    Three years ago Brigham Young University in Provo, UT began offering a required two-credit pass-fail course to prepare industrial education teachers to teach reading in their field. The course is team taught by a reading teacher and an industrial education faculty member who had done his/her dissertation in reading. Addressed in the course are the…

  6. Comparison of High School Dual-Enrollment and Traditional First-Term General/Organic/Biochemistry College Chemistry Class Outcomes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zuidema, Daniel R.; Eames, Kevin J.

    2014-01-01

    Student performance in a high school dual-enrollment chemistry course was compared with student performance in the corresponding traditional college course. The two courses were taught by the same instructor and evaluated using the same American Chemical Society (ACS) standardized examination. Interestingly, the high school dual-enrollment…

  7. Digital Learning in Higher Education: A Training Course for Teaching Online--Universidade Aberta, Portugal

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Moreira, José António; José António, Susana; Goulão, Maria de Fátima; Barros, Daniela

    2017-01-01

    This paper uses qualitative evidence to describe, explore and discuss the progress of the online teaching training course taught at the Universidade Aberta to Portuguese and foreign professors of higher education institutions. As this is an entirely online course, its pedagogical design results from the combination of the basics of open distance…

  8. Experimental projects in graduate theoretical physics courses

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Rosner, J.L.

    1996-10-01

    Some beginning graduate courses in physics at the University of Chicago have been taught with final projects in addition to or in place of written final examinations. Although these courses and many of the projects are theoretical, experimental projects have been encouraged, with some success. A few examples are discussed. {copyright} {ital 1996 American Association of Physics Teachers.}

  9. Investigating Art Objects through Collaborative Student Research Projects in an Undergraduate Chemistry and Art Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wells, Gary; Haaf, Michael

    2013-01-01

    Inspired in part by Chemistry Collaborations, Workshops, and Community of Scholars workshops, the Chemistry and Art course offered at Ithaca College is team-taught by a chemist and an art historian, underscoring the complementary nature of the two disciplines. The course, populated primarily by nonscience majors, highlights the importance of using…

  10. Moving through MOOCs: Understanding the Progression of Users in Massive Open Online Courses

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Perna, Laura W.; Ruby, Alan; Boruch, Robert F.; Wang, Nicole; Scull, Janie; Ahmad, Seher; Evans, Chad

    2014-01-01

    This paper reports on the progress of users through 16 Coursera courses taught by University of Pennsylvania faculty for the first time between June 2012 and July 2013. Using descriptive analyses, this study advances knowledge by considering two definitions of massive open online course (MOOC) users (registrants and starters), comparing two…

  11. Diploma of Higher Studies in Oceanography. Red Sea & Gulf of Aden Programme (PERSGA).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Arab Organization for Education and Science, Cairo (Egypt).

    This document presents four courses for the diploma of higher studies in oceanography conducted by the Department of Oceanography, Faculty of Science, University of Alexandria, Egypt. These courses are organized by the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO). Each course is designed to be taught in one academic year…

  12. Revisions of Physical Geology Laboratory Courses to Increase the Level of Inquiry: Implications for Teaching and Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Grissom, April N.; Czajka, C. Douglas; McConnell, David A.

    2015-01-01

    The introductory physical geology laboratory courses taught at North Carolina State University aims to promote scientific thinking and learning through the use of scientific inquiry-based activities. A rubric describing five possible levels of inquiry was applied to characterize the laboratory activities in the course. Two rock and mineral…

  13. Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty: Developing a Course on Disney and Fairytale Movies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bonds-Raacke, Jennifer M.

    2008-01-01

    I developed and taught a course titled The Psychology of Disney and Fairytale Movies. This course examined the psychological effects of mass communication on behavior and thought, specifically the stereotyping of women and men and the concept of true love as portrayed in Disney and Fairytale movies. This paper describes the (a) development of the…

  14. Building a Community of Inquiry and Analytical Skills in an Online History Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stover, Sheri; Pollock, Sean

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this case study was to assess a history instructor's attempt to redesign an introductory history survey course. Traditionally, it has been taught in a face-to-face environment within the university's core curriculum program. It was redesigned as a synchronous online course that provided students with opportunities to work…

  15. German Politics "auf Deutsch": Teaching Comparative Politics in a Language across the Curriculum Format.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hallerberg, Mark; Cothran, Bettina

    1999-01-01

    Explores how language and political science professors can co-teach a course using the Language Across the Curriculum format to increase student understanding of a country's language and politics. Describes a Georgia Tech course taught in German on post-war German politics. Addresses the elements of a successful course and student and course…

  16. Will They Use What You Taught Them? Course-Embedded Assessment of Accounting Students' Information Technology Self-Efficacy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Moore, John W.; Mitchem, Cheryl E.

    2004-01-01

    This paper provides a model of course-embedded assessment for use in an undergraduate Accounting Information Systems course, and reports the results obtained from implementation. The profession's educational objectives are mapped to specific computer skills and assignments, to provide direct evidence of learning outcomes. Indirect evidence of…

  17. Utilizing JUSUR in an Information Systems Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zouhair, Jalila

    2010-01-01

    The aims of this paper are to report the perceptions of both faculty and students when JUSUR, a web based Learning Management System, is used to supplement the teaching inside and outside the classroom during one academic subject; and to compare the experience of the instructor who had previously taught the same course using a course website to…

  18. Enhancing Student Interest in the Psychology of Aging: An Interview with Susan Krauss Whitbourne.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fingerman, Karen L.

    2000-01-01

    Presents an interview with Susan Krauss Whitbourne in which she discusses issues such as the challenge in teaching a course on the psychology of aging; types of assignments and active learning she uses in her course; resources she recommends; and how her research influences the adult development courses she has taught. (CMK)

  19. Training of Vocational Education Teachers in Research Methodology and Research Report Writing.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Beaumariage, G. N., Jr.

    A 45-hour three-unit course in research design, data collection techniques, and research report writing was prepared and taught to vocational/technology instructors. The course emphasized the relationship of design and data to the final reports in terms of techniques used. As a result of teaching the course, a second syllabus was developed…

  20. Defining Assessment Literacy: Is it Different for Language Testers and Non-Language Testers?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jeong, Heejeong

    2013-01-01

    Language assessment courses (LACs) are taught by professionals who have majored in the area of language testing (language testers or LTs), but also by others who come from different language-related majors (non-language testers, non-LTs). Different language assessment courses may be developed, depending on who teaches the course and the…

  1. Exercise, Nutrition and You: An Off-Campus Course for Grades 2?12

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Snyder, Ann C.; Mauzy-Melitz, Debra K.

    2005-01-01

    Since interest in science classes has declined recently and obesity, especially in youth, continues to increase, an exercise physiology-based course was taught in public parks to promote active-learning science and healthy living. The course emphasized and integrated exercise, nutrition, and health during a 3-h session. Following an introduction,…

  2. Evaluation of an ESP Course of Qur'anic Sciences and Tradition

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Salehi, Hadi; Davari, Ameneh; Yunus, Melor Md

    2015-01-01

    Evaluation is defined as matching process that matches the needs to available solutions. The present study is an attempt to evaluate English for specific purposes (ESP) course book on "the ESP Course of Qur'anic Sciences and Tradition" taught at some universities in Iran. To achieve this goal, a researcher-made questionnaire and an…

  3. Students' Choice of Language and Initial Motivation for Studying Japanese at the University of Jyväskylä Language Centre

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Takala, Pauliina

    2015-01-01

    Elective language courses, particularly those starting from the beginner level, constitute their own special group within the communication and language course offerings of universities. The elementary courses of less commonly taught languages (LCTL), such as Japanese, provide students with the opportunity to acquire, among other benefits, a…

  4. Graduate Introductory Educational Research Courses: A Look at What Is Required.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Todd, Robert F.; Reece, Carol Carter

    A diversity of practices exists with regard to the actual content taught in graduate-level courses in introduction to educational research. In a recent Delphi study, a national panel of 21 experts in educational research generated a list of 114 skills and knowledge areas they considered worthy objectives in an introductory course. What remained…

  5. Transactional Distance and Student Ratings in Online College Courses

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Benton, Stephen L.; Li, Dan; Gross, Amy; Pallett, William H.; Webster, Russell J.

    2013-01-01

    Student ratings were compared in courses offered either exclusively online ("n"?=?13,416) or face-to-face ("n" = 5,272). Data from 105 institutions were accessed from archived files of the IDEA Student Ratings of Instruction system. If a course was taught online, the instructor was less likely to lecture and more likely to use…

  6. An Investigation of Marketing Educators' Approach to Teaching International Marketing in the Introductory Marketing Course.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zimmer, Robert J.; And Others

    1996-01-01

    A survey of 122 college teachers of marketing courses investigated the extent and methods of their inclusion of international marketing into the course curriculum. Findings suggest that, among those teaching international marketing, how they acquired their international knowledge had a significant effect on how they taught international marketing.…

  7. An Integrated Approach to Management Communication at the T. A. Pai Management Institute

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gupta, Jaba Mukherjee

    2005-01-01

    Stand-alone communication courses are still the dominant model in both Indian and US schools. Communication courses are taught separately and not integrated into the main course curriculum in a formal manner by communication faculty working alongside with the rest of the faculty. Although this may over-generalize, it suggests the background…

  8. Overcoming Disciplinary and Institutional Barriers: An Interdisciplinary Course in Economic and Sociological Perspectives on Health Issues

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wade, Bruce H.; Stone, Jack H.

    2010-01-01

    The authors describe an interdisciplinary course team-taught by an economist and a sociologist. Historically mindful of the less than amicable relationship between these disciplines, these colleagues developed a course that attempted to illuminate the different perspectives of economics and sociology in relation to selected health themes. Such a…

  9. THE FLAG: A Web Resource of Innovative Assessment Tools for Faculty in College Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and Technology

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zeilik, M.; Mathieu, R. D.; National InstituteScience Education; College Level-One Team

    2000-12-01

    Even the most dedicated college faculty often discover that their students fail to learn what was taught in their courses and that much of what students do learn is quickly forgotten after the final exam. To help college faculty improve student learning in college Science, Mathematics, Engineering and Technology (SMET), the College Level - One Team of the National Institute for Science Education has created the "FLAG" a Field-tested Learning Assessment Guide for SMET faculty. Developed with funding from the National Science Foundation, the FLAG presents in guidebook format a diverse and robust collection of field-tested classroom assessment techniques (CATs), with supporting information on how to apply them in the classroom. Faculty can download the tools and techniques from the website, which also provides a goals clarifier, an assessment primer, a searchable database, and links to additional resources. The CATs and tools have been reviewed by an expert editorial board and the NISE team. These assessment strategies can help faculty improve the learning environments in their SMET courses especially the crucial introductory courses that most strongly shape students' college learning experiences. In addition, the FLAG includes the web-based Student Assessment of Learning Gains. The SALG offers a convenient way to evaluate the impact of your courses on students. It is based on findings that students' estimates of what they gained are more reliable and informative than their observations of what they liked about the course or teacher. It offers accurate feedback on how well the different aspects of teaching helped the students to learn. Students complete the SALG online after a generic template has been modified to fit the learning objectives and activities of your course. The results are presented to the teacher as summary statistics automatically. The FLAG can be found at the NISE "Innovations in SMET Education" website at www.wcer.wisc.edu/nise/cl1

  10. Lessons that Linger: A 40-Year Follow-Along Note About a Boy with Autism Taught to Communicate by Gestures when Aged Six.

    PubMed

    Webster, C D; Fruchter, D; Dean, J; Konstantareas, M M; Sloman, L

    2016-07-01

    We draw on an article published in 1973 in this journal. We described how we taught "Geoff," a 6-year old boy with autism, an elementary form of sign language during the course of 24 one-hour sessions held over a 12-week period (Webster et al. in J Autism Child Schizophr 3:337-346, 1973; Fruchter in Autism: new directions in research and education, pp 184-186, 1980). Here, we describe how it is that Geoff has maintained the vestiges of what we taught him (and indeed what he taught us) over the long span. This basic communication strategy has endured well and continues to contribute to his enjoyment of life.

  11. Co-Teaching an Interdisciplinary Literacy Methods Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ball, Douglas E.

    2009-01-01

    Two professors of reading redesigned, merged, and co-taught their respective methods courses (one elementary, one special education) to foster "literacy for all" through interdisciplinary content and collaboration. The characteristic needs of students with learning disabilities and the instructional strategies that promote their literacy…

  12. Interdisciplinary Nutrition Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Baumslag, Naomi; And Others

    1976-01-01

    Describes and evaluates a successful one-quarter 26-curriculum hour course in clinical nutrition, which focuses on practical aspects of diet prescriptions, dietary customs, attitudes, and behavior modifications. Required for sophomore medical students and dietetic interns, the course in taught by faculty from several disciplines and includes…

  13. Proctored and Unproctored Test Performance

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brallier, Sara; Palm, Linda

    2015-01-01

    This study examined test performance as a function of test format (proctored versus unproctored) and course type (traditional versus distance). The participants were 246 undergraduate students who completed introductory sociology courses during four semesters at a southeastern university. During each semester, the same instructor taught a…

  14. A Calculus-Level Introductory Physics Course with an Astronomy Theme

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Amato, Joseph

    2011-05-01

    Physics from Planet Earth (PPE) is a one-semester, calculus-based introductory course in classical mechanics intended for first year students of physics, chemistry, astronomy and engineering. Most of the core topics in mechanics are included, but many of the examples and applications are drawn from astronomy, space science, and astrophysics. The laws of physics are assigned the task of exploring the heavens - the same task addressed by Newton over 300 years ago at the birth of classical mechanics. How do we know the distance to the Moon, Sun, or other galaxies? How do we know the masses of the Earth, Sun, and other planets and stars, and why do we believe in "missing” mass? As a physics course, PPE concentrates on how we know rather than what we know. Examples and applications include those of historical importance (the Earth-Moon distance, the Earth-Sun distance, Ptolemaic vs. Copernican models, weighing the Earth) as well as those of contemporary interest (Hubble's Law, rocket propulsion, spacecraft gravity boosts, the Roche limit, search for extrasolar planets, orbital mechanics, pulsars, galactic rotation curves). The course has been taught successfully at Colgate for over a decade, using materials that have been developed and refined during the past 15 years. Developers of PPE are eager to enrich the course by identifying other topics in contemporary astronomy that can be adapted for the first year physics audience.

  15. A Partnership between English Language Learners and a Team of Rocket Scientists: EPO for the NASA SDO Extreme-Ultraviolet Variability Experiment (EVE)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Buhr, S. M.; Eparvier, F.; McCaffrey, M.; Murillo, M.

    2007-12-01

    Recent immigrant high school students were successfully engaged in learning about Sun-Earth connections through a partnership with the NASA SDO Extreme-Ultraviolet Variability Experiment (EVE) project. The students were enrolled in a pilot course as part of the Math, Engineering and Science Achievement MESA) program. For many of the students, this was the only science option available to them due to language limitations. The English Language Learner (ELL) students doubled their achievement on a pre- and post-assessment on the content of the course. Students learned scientific content and vocabulary in English with support in Spanish, attended field trips, hosted scientist speakers, built and deployed space weather monitors as part of the Stanford SOLAR project, and gave final presentations in English, showcasing their new computer skills. Teachers who taught the students in other courses noted gains in the students' willingness to use English in class and noted gains in math skills. The MESA-EVE course won recognition as a Colorado MESA Program of Excellence and is being offered again in 2007-08. The course has been broken into modules for use in shorter after-school environments, or for use by EVE scientists who are outside of the Boulder area. Other EVE EPO includes professional development for teachers and content workshops for journalists.

  16. The Earth System Course at the University of Oklahoma: Science and Pedagogy Aimed at Pre-service Teachers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Postawko, S.; Soreghan, M.; Marek, E.

    2005-12-01

    Traditionally, education majors at the University of Oklahoma took either Introduction to Physical Geology or Introduction to Meteorology to fulfill their physical sciences requirement. Science education majors were required to take both courses. These courses are large-enrollment lecture type courses, with required lab sections taught by graduate teaching assistants. Beginning in 1997, faculty from the Colleges of Education and Geosciences at the University of Oklahoma began working together to provide effective earth science education for pre-service teachers. The first step in this collaboration was the development of a new course on The Earth System that focuses on Earth as a whole rather than on the more narrow focus of either the geology or meteorology courses. The new course, which was taught for the first time in the Spring of 2001, covers a number of major themes related to Earth Science, including the Carbon Cycle, Earth Materials, Plate Tectonics, Atmosphere and Oceans. The particular concepts within each theme were chosen based on two criteria: 1) alignment with content advocated by national (NSES) and state (Priority Academic Student Skills-PASS) standards; and 2) they are amenable to a learning cycle pedagogical approach. Besides an interdisciplinary approach to the content, the new course features pedagogical innovations. In lieu of independent laboratory and lecture times, we scheduled two class periods of longer duration, so that active learning, involving hands-on activities and experiments were possible throughout each class period. The activities modeled the learning-cycle approach with an exploration, concept invention, and an expansion phase (Marek and Cavallo, 1997). Therefore, the pre-service teachers experienced the learning cycle in practice prior to learning the theory in their upper division "methods" course. In the first 3 years that the course was taught, students were given surveys early in the semester and at the end of the semester. The surveys aimed to both assess the students' learning and retention (compared to students in the more traditional Introductory Geology course, who were given similar surveys), and solicit the students' opinions of the inquiry-based learning approach compared to more traditional lecture/lab classroom teaching methods.

  17. Analysis of Engineering Content within Technology Education Programs

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fantz, Todd D.; Katsioloudis, Petros J.

    2011-01-01

    In order to effectively teach engineering, technology teachers need to be taught engineering content, concepts, and related pedagogy. Some researchers posit that technology education programs may not have enough content to prepare technology teachers to teach engineering design. Certain technology teacher education programs have responded by…

  18. Similarity and Difference in Fee-Paying and No-Fee Learner Expectations, Interaction and Reaction to Learning in a Massive Open Online Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cross, Simon; Whitelock, Denise

    2017-01-01

    The new pedagogical opportunities that massive open online course (MOOC) learning environments offer for the teaching of fee-paying students on university-accredited courses are of growing interest to educators. This paper presents a case study from a postgraduate-taught course at the Open University, UK, where a MOOC performed the dual role of a…

  19. The Use of Ethical Frameworks by Students Following a New Science Course for 16-18 Year-Olds

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Reiss, Michael

    2008-01-01

    There has been a move in recent years towards the greater inclusion of social and ethical issues within science courses. This paper examines a new context-based course for 16-18 year-olds (Salters-Nuffield Advanced Biology) who are studying biology in England and Wales. The course is taught through contexts and has an emphasis on social issues and…

  20. A Tale of Two Sections: An Experiment to Compare the Effectiveness of a Hybrid versus a Traditional Lecture Format in Introductory Microbiology

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Adams, Alison E. M.; Randall, Shelby; Traustadóttir, Tinna

    2015-01-01

    Two sections of an introductory microbiology course were taught by one instructor. One was taught through a hybrid format and the other through a traditional format. Students were randomly assigned to the two sections. Both sections were provided with identical lecture materials, in-class worksheets, in-class assessments, and extra credit…

  1. Comparison of Effectiveness of Collaborative Learning Methods and Traditional Methods in Physics Classes at Northern Maine Technical College.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Overlock, Terrence H., Sr.

    To determine the effect of collaborative learning methods on the success rate of physics students at Northern Maine Technical College (NMTC), a study was undertaken to compare the mean final exam scores of a students in a physics course taught by traditional lecture/lab methods to those in a group taught by collaborative techniques. The…

  2. Creating Tasks in a Less-Commonly Taught Language for an Open Educational Resource: Why the CEFR Is Important for Irish

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ó Ciardúbháin, Colm; Nic Giolla Mhichíl, Mairéad

    2014-01-01

    If teachers of Less-Commonly Taught Languages (LCTLs), such as Irish, are to make use of Open Educational Resources (OERs) and many other CALL tools, then there must be an appropriate adaptation of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) in that LCTL. The need to be "Bologna-compliant" has seen language courses and syllabuses…

  3. EMT--A Student Handbook. Revised.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Iowa Univ., Iowa City. Coll. of Education.

    This handbook is designed for use by students preparing for employment in the occupation of emergency medical technician-ambulance (EMT-A) in Iowa. Listed in the introduction are general course prerequisites, the 60 competencies taught in the course, pertinent federal and state requirements, and Iowa certification testing/retesting…

  4. Overview of Curricular Approaches

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hartz, Cameo V.; Parker, Jill

    2012-01-01

    Institutions of higher education address the transition from after-college life in a variety of curricular approaches. Articulation agreements provide greater transferability of courses from one college to another, thereby easing the transition for students. Career courses, which are typically taught by career center staff, are a common offering…

  5. Curriculum Development for Life Management.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Morse, Betty R.; And Others

    Developed by several colleges in California, this guide contains a curriculum for a course in Life Management (usually taught in the home economics area). The introductory sections of the guide contain the following information: recommendations from the pilot test teachers, rationale, course description, goals, justification for including the…

  6. A Field Course Teaching Research Concepts in Environmental Geochemistry.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brown, Foster; De Lacerda, Luiz Drude

    1986-01-01

    Describes a graduate field course taught in Brazil that uses a system concept and the geochemical cycle as unifying paradigms to study various environments. Emphasizes the acquisition of techniques of integrated observation, using operational definitions, measurement scales, and a priori hypotheses. (Author/TW)

  7. A Laboratory Course in Technological Chemistry.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wiseman, P.

    1986-01-01

    Describes a laboratory course taught at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (United Kingdom) which focuses on the preparation, properties, and applications of end-use products of the chemical industry. Outlines laboratory experiments on dyes, fibers, herbicides, performance testing, antioxidants, and surface active…

  8. Society, Environment, Science. Profiles of Promise 21.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hawke, Sharryl

    The brochure describes an eleventh and twelfth grade interdisciplinary course in environmental education taught at Lansdowne Senior High Baltimore, Maryland. The major objective of the course is to create realistic awareness of environmental conditions. Teaching techniques used include individual and group projects, which are determined by…

  9. An Introductory Exercise for Courses in Birding.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Applegate, James E.

    1982-01-01

    Introduces a teaching method called guided design which involves a series of problems and solutions with feedback that leads students in a logical sequence through material being taught. Presents 15 worksheets to demonstrate the use of this technique in an introductory ornithology course. (Author/DC)

  10. A Pretest for Introductory Crops Students.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Elkins, Donald M.

    1987-01-01

    Discusses the advantages of using a pretest in introductory agronomy courses. Provides a pretest that has been developed for use in an introductory crops course taught at Southern Illinois University. Includes 25 definitions, 17 true-false and multiple choice questions, and 6 short answer questions. (TW)

  11. Human Sexuality: A Student Taught Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Herold, Edward S.; And Others

    1973-01-01

    Four senior female students presented seminars in human sexuality to freshmen coeds. The seminar topics were (1) petting and intercourse, (2) masturbation, (3) venereal disease and problematic sexual behavior, and (4) abortion and sterilization. Improvement in knowledge was determined by pre- and post-course questionnaires. Student evaluations…

  12. "Daughter of Time": Outside Reading for a Research Writing Course.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sosville, Jerri

    1987-01-01

    Presents an alternative to the usual selections taught in research paper writing courses. Suggests that Josephine Tey's novel is more relevant and enjoyable, as well as better suited for research projects, than, for example, "1984" or "The Sound and the Fury." (HTH)

  13. Laboratory techniques in plant molecular biology taught with UniformMu insertion alleles of maize

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    An undergraduate course - Laboratory Techniques in Plant Molecular Biology - was organized around our research application of UniformMu insertion alleles to investigate mitochondrial functions in plant reproduction. The course objectives were to develop students’ laboratory, record keeping, bioinfor...

  14. Graduate Student Compiles Broadcast Courses Syllabi.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kalergis, Karen

    1980-01-01

    Summarizes the responses of 50 people to a questionnaire asking about the way broadcast journalism is being taught in high schools and the types of radio programs students are producing; describes syllabi for two broadcast courses that were compiled on the basis of the survey responses. (GT)

  15. Self-Managed Studying in College Courses.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Edwards, K. Anthony

    In an introductory psychology course, students were taught some principles of "adjustment" using self-management techniques and were required to conduct a self-management project. The four student projects reported herein were specifically designed to improve study skills through use of Premack's principle and stimulus control. Course…

  16. Current Status of Nursing Informatics Education in Korea.

    PubMed

    Jeon, Eunjoo; Kim, Jeongeun; Park, Hyeoun-Ae; Lee, Ji-Hyun; Kim, Jungha; Jin, Meiling; Ahn, Shinae; Jun, Jooyeon; Song, Healim; On, Jeongah; Jung, Hyesil; Hong, Yeong Joo; Yim, Suran

    2016-04-01

    This study presents the current status of nursing informatics education, the content covered in nursing informatics courses, the faculty efficacy, and the barriers to and additional supports for teaching nursing informatics in Korea. A set of questionnaires consisting of an 18-item questionnaire for nursing informatics education, a 6-item questionnaire for faculty efficacy, and 2 open-ended questions for barriers and additional supports were sent to 204 nursing schools via email and the postal service. Nursing schools offering nursing informatics were further asked to send their syllabuses. The subjects taught were analyzed using nursing informatics competency categories and other responses were tailed using descriptive statistics. A total of 72 schools (35.3%) responded to the survey, of which 38 reported that they offered nursing informatics courses in their undergraduate nursing programs. Nursing informatics courses at 11 schools were taught by a professor with a degree majoring in nursing informatics. Computer technology was the most frequently taught subject (27 schools), followed by information systems used for practice (25 schools). The faculty efficacy was 3.76 ± 0.86 (out of 5). The most frequently reported barrier to teaching nursing informatics (n = 9) was lack of awareness of the importance of nursing informatics. Training and educational opportunities was the most requested additional support. Nursing informatics education has increased during the last decade in Korea. However, the proportions of faculty with degrees in nursing informatics and number of schools offering nursing informatics courses have not increased much. Thus, a greater focus is needed on training faculty and developing the courses.

  17. Current Status of Nursing Informatics Education in Korea

    PubMed Central

    Jeon, Eunjoo; Kim, Jeongeun; Lee, Ji-Hyun; Kim, Jungha; Jin, Meiling; Ahn, Shinae; Jun, Jooyeon; Song, Healim; On, Jeongah; Jung, Hyesil; Hong, Yeong Joo; Yim, Suran

    2016-01-01

    Objectives This study presents the current status of nursing informatics education, the content covered in nursing informatics courses, the faculty efficacy, and the barriers to and additional supports for teaching nursing informatics in Korea. Methods A set of questionnaires consisting of an 18-item questionnaire for nursing informatics education, a 6-item questionnaire for faculty efficacy, and 2 open-ended questions for barriers and additional supports were sent to 204 nursing schools via email and the postal service. Nursing schools offering nursing informatics were further asked to send their syllabuses. The subjects taught were analyzed using nursing informatics competency categories and other responses were tailed using descriptive statistics. Results A total of 72 schools (35.3%) responded to the survey, of which 38 reported that they offered nursing informatics courses in their undergraduate nursing programs. Nursing informatics courses at 11 schools were taught by a professor with a degree majoring in nursing informatics. Computer technology was the most frequently taught subject (27 schools), followed by information systems used for practice (25 schools). The faculty efficacy was 3.76 ± 0.86 (out of 5). The most frequently reported barrier to teaching nursing informatics (n = 9) was lack of awareness of the importance of nursing informatics. Training and educational opportunities was the most requested additional support. Conclusions Nursing informatics education has increased during the last decade in Korea. However, the proportions of faculty with degrees in nursing informatics and number of schools offering nursing informatics courses have not increased much. Thus, a greater focus is needed on training faculty and developing the courses. PMID:27200224

  18. Corporate Strategy an Evolutionary Review

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fellman, Philip V.

    As Richard Rumelt indicates in his book, "Fundamental Issues in Strategy: A Research Agenda", corporate strategy is a relatively recent discipline. While pioneers in the field like B.H. Liddell Hart and Bruce Henderson (later to found the Boston Consulting Group and creator of the famous BCG Growth-Share Matrix) began their research during the Second World War, the modern field of business strategy as an academic discipline, taught in schools and colleges of business emerged rather later. Rumelt provides an interesting chronicle in the introduction to his volume by noting that historically corporate strategy, even when taught as a capstone course, was not really an organized discipline. Typically, depending on the school's location and resources, the course would either be taught by the senior most professor in the department or by an outside lecturer from industry. The agenda tended to be very much instructor specific and idiosyncratic rather than drawing in any systematized fashion upon the subject matter of an organized discipline.

  19. Correlation between active-learning coursework and student retention of core content during advanced pharmacy practice experiences.

    PubMed

    Lucas, Kristy H; Testman, Julie A; Hoyland, Marcella N; Kimble, Angel M; Euler, Mary L

    2013-10-14

    To implement an active-learning approach in a pharmacotherapy course sequence in the second year (P2) and third (P3) year of a doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) program and determine whether the pedagogical changes correlated with retention of core content in the fourth year (P4). Class sessions were transitioned from slides-based lectures to discussion-based active-learning pedagogy. A comprehensive examination was created and administered to assess student retention of therapeutic topics taught. Students demonstrated significantly improved overall scores on questions derived from the active-learning pedagogy used in Pharmacotherapy II and III compared to those derived from Pharmacotherapy I in which content was delivered by lecture. The use of active-learning strategies over lecture-based methods in pharmacotherapy courses resulted in higher retention of core content. Students' performance in areas taught using the discussion-based methodology was superior to that which was taught using lecture-based slide presentations.

  20. Correlation Between Active-Learning Coursework and Student Retention of Core Content During Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences

    PubMed Central

    Testman, Julie A.; Hoyland, Marcella N.; Kimble, Angel M.; Euler, Mary L.

    2013-01-01

    Objective. To implement an active-learning approach in a pharmacotherapy course sequence in the second year (P2) and third (P3) year of a doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) program and determine whether the pedagogical changes correlated with retention of core content in the fourth year (P4). Design. Class sessions were transitioned from slides-based lectures to discussion-based active-learning pedagogy. Assessment. A comprehensive examination was created and administered to assess student retention of therapeutic topics taught. Students demonstrated significantly improved overall scores on questions derived from the active-learning pedagogy used in Pharmacotherapy II and III compared to those derived from Pharmacotherapy I in which content was delivered by lecture. Conclusion. The use of active-learning strategies over lecture-based methods in pharmacotherapy courses resulted in higher retention of core content. Students’ performance in areas taught using the discussion-based methodology was superior to that which was taught using lecture-based slide presentations. PMID:24159212

  1. Learning Science Communication Skills Using Improvisation, Video Recordings, and Practice, Practice, Practice †

    PubMed Central

    Ponzio, Nicholas M.; Alder, Janet; Nucci, Mary; Dannenfelser, David; Hilton, Holly; Linardopoulos, Nikolaos; Lutz, Carol

    2018-01-01

    Doctoral students in science disciplines spend countless hours learning how to conduct cutting-edge research but very little time learning to communicate the nature and significance of their science to people outside their field. To narrow this disparity, we created an unusual course titled Communicating Science for doctoral science trainees at Rutgers University. Our goal was to help students develop an advanced ability to communicate their research clearly and accurately and to emphasize its value and significance to diverse audiences. Course design included classroom instruction supplemented with improvisation, video recordings, and ample opportunity for students to practice and receive immediate, constructive feedback in a supportive environment. A multidisciplinary faculty with expertise in science, education, communication, and theater arts taught this course. PhD students came from diverse scientific disciplines, ranging from biology and chemistry to civil engineering. Students also completed a capstone project in which they worked with a professional in the academic or private sector to explore a possible career aspiration. Assessment was in the form of feedback on students’ oral and poster presentations, and written abstracts about their research. Student evaluations and comments about course format and content were mostly positive and also provided input for ways to improve the course. We discovered that the diversity of scientific backgrounds among our students enhanced their ability to learn how to communicate their science to others outside their disciplines. We are leveraging the success of our initial course offering to reach other student and faculty groups at Rutgers. PMID:29904514

  2. The Benefits of Adding SETI to the University Curriculum and What We Have Learned from a SETI Course Recently Offered at UCLA

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lesyna, Larry; Margot, Jean-Luc; Greenberg, Adam; Shinde, Akshay; Alladi, Yashaswi; Prasad MN, Srinivas; Bowman, Oliver; Fisher, Callum; Gyalay, Szilard; McKibbin, William; Miles, Brittany E.; Nguyen, Donald; Power, Conor; Ramani, Namrata; Raviprasad, Rashmi; Santana, Jesse

    2017-01-01

    We advocate for the inclusion of a full-term course entirely devoted to SETI in the university curriculum. SETI usually warrants only a few lectures in a traditional astronomy or astrobiology course. SETI’s rich interdisciplinary character serves astronomy students by introducing them to scientific and technological concepts that will aid them in their dissertation research or later in their careers. SETI is also an exciting topic that draws students from other disciplines and teaches them astronomical concepts that they might otherwise never encounter in their university studies. We have composed syllabi that illustrate the breadth and depth that SETI courses provide for advanced undergraduate or graduate students. The syllabi can also be used as a guide for an effective SETI course taught at a descriptive level.After a pilot course in 2015, UCLA formally offered a course titled "EPSS C179/279 - Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence: Theory and Applications" in Spring 2016. The course was designed for advanced undergraduate students and graduate students in the science, technical, engineering, and mathematical fields. In 2016, 9 undergraduate students and 5 graduate students took the course. Students designed an observing sequence for the Arecibo and Green Bank telescopes, observed known planetary systems remotely, wrote a sophisticated and modular data processing pipeline, analyzed the data, and presented the results. In the process, they learned radio astronomy fundamentals, software development, signal processing, and statistics. The instructor believes that the students were eager to learn because of the engrossing nature of SETI. The students rated the course highly, in part because of the observing experience and the teamwork approach. The next offering will be in Spring 2017.See lxltech.com and seti.ucla.edu

  3. Incorporating a Literature-Based Learning Approach into a Lab Course to Increase Student Understanding

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Parent, Beth A.; Marbach-Ad, Gili; Swanson, Karen V.; Smith, Ann C.

    2010-01-01

    Scientific literature was used to give a research oriented context to our immunology lab course. Immunology lab, a senior level course (60 students/year) was formerly taught in a traditional mode, with exercises aimed at learning lab protocols. To engage students in understanding we connected the protocols to their use as reported in research…

  4. Cheap and Effective: The Impact of Student-Led Recitation Classes on Learning Outcomes in Introductory Economics

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stock, Wendy A.; Ward, Kevin; Folsom, Justin; Borrenpohl, Teresa; Mumford, Sophie; Pershin, Zach; Carriere, Danielle; Smart, Heather

    2013-01-01

    The authors examine the impacts of enrollment in a voluntary one-credit recitation class for ECON 101 students, focusing on course grades, course retention, and outcomes in later economics courses. The recitation classes were taught by undergraduate peer leaders with experience in upper-level microeconomics. Instead of being paid, the peer leaders…

  5. Teachers' Engagement with New Literacies: Support for Implementing Technology in the English/Language Arts Classroom

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zoch, Melody; Myers, Joy; Belcher, Jennifer

    2017-01-01

    This qualitative study examined in-service teachers who were enrolled in a graduate level course that focused on new literacies and the integration of technology with literacy. They also taught children enrolled in a summer writing camp as part of the course. The authors followed the teachers into their classrooms once the graduate course ended to…

  6. A Laboratory Course for Teaching Laboratory Techniques, Experimental Design, Statistical Analysis, and Peer Review Process to Undergraduate Science Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gliddon, C. M.; Rosengren, R. J.

    2012-01-01

    This article describes a 13-week laboratory course called Human Toxicology taught at the University of Otago, New Zealand. This course used a guided inquiry based laboratory coupled with formative assessment and collaborative learning to develop in undergraduate students the skills of problem solving/critical thinking, data interpretation and…

  7. Community Education in Montana. The Broadview Model.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lewis, Ray

    Four counties and five adjacent towns are served by the Broadview, Montana (population 100), community education program begun in 1978. A one mill tax levy and a 3-year Mott fund seed grant allowed for tuition courses in 1979-80; in 1981, a $5 per course fee will be charged. The majority of courses are taught in the school and are designed to…

  8. An Introduction to Computing: Content for a High School Course.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rogers, Jean B.

    A general outline of the topics that might be covered in a computers and computing course for high school students is provided. Topics are listed in the order in which they should be taught, and the relative amount of time to be spent on each topic is suggested. Seven units are included in the course outline: (1) general introduction, (2) using…

  9. A Multi-Institutional Study of Students' Perceptions and Experiences in the Research-Based Capstone Course in Sociology

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McKinney, Kathleen; Day, Melissa D.

    2012-01-01

    In this article, we describe student perceptions of, and experiences in, a one-semester, required sociology research capstone course. The data come from 106 students in eight sections of the course taught at three institutions. We used multiple methods for data collection: questionnaires, focus groups, and learning reflection essays. Our results…

  10. IM-Chem: The Use of Instant Messaging to Improve Student Performance and Personalize Large Lecture General Chemistry Courses

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Behmke, Derek A.; Atwood, Charles H.

    2012-01-01

    Previous research has linked poor student performance with the depersonalized feeling of large lecture courses. Various forms of enhanced communication have been tried that appear to enhance personalization in large courses. For general chemistry classes taught in a 365-seat lecture hall at the University of Georgia, we have attempted to enhance…

  11. Integrating Digital Technology in an Intensive, Fully Online College Course for Japanese Beginning Learners: A Standards-Based, Performance-Driven Approach

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sato, Eriko; Chen, Julian Cheng Chiang; Jourdain, Sarah

    2017-01-01

    The development of distance learning courses for less commonly taught languages (LCTLs) often meets with instructional challenges, especially for Asian LCTLs with their distinct non-Roman characters and structures. This study documents the implementation of a fully online, elementary Japanese course at Stony Brook University. The curriculum was…

  12. The Teaching Toolbox: Reconciling Theory, Practice, and Language in a Teacher Training Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vanderwoude, Amber

    2012-01-01

    Those who have had the opportunity to teach content-based courses to English language learners have likely experienced the satisfaction that arises from having clearly defined subject matter through which language can be taught, along with an added dimension of relevance that ties students not only to the language of the course, but to the topics…

  13. The Outcomes of Learning from the Social Science Foundation Course: Students' Understandings of Price Control, Power and Oligopoly.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Taylor, Elizabeth; And Others

    Students' understandings of the concepts of price control, oligopoly, and power before, during, and after taking a social science foundation course (D101) at Great Britain's Open University were investigated. Students were asked 10 questions on key concepts taught in the course. Three of the questions are addressed: (1) Why doesn't the…

  14. Science of Food and Cooking: A Non-Science Majors Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Miles, Deon T.; Bachman, Jennifer K.

    2009-01-01

    Recent emphasis on the science of food and cooking has been observed in our popular literature and media. As a result of this, a new non-science majors course, The Science of Food and Cooking, is being taught at our institution. We cover basic scientific concepts, which would normally be discussed in a typical introductory chemistry course, in the…

  15. Retrospective Integration of Research Conducted on a Multi-Section Educational Psychology Course over a Fifteen-Year Period

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Williams, Robert L.

    2017-01-01

    This article integrates a series of studies conducted over a 15-year period in a multi-section educational course taught by the same supervising professor and his GTAs . The purpose of each study was to determine whether particular interventions or student characteristics affected performance levels in the course. Over the extended period of…

  16. Do Mathematics and Reading Competencies Integrated into Career and Technical Education Courses Improve High School Student State Assessment Scores?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pierce, Kristin B.; Hernandez, Victor M.

    2015-01-01

    A quasi experimental study tested a contextual teaching and learning model for integrating reading and mathematics competencies through 13 introductory career and technical education (CTE) courses. The treatment group consisted of students in the 13 introductory courses taught by the CTE teachers who designed the units and the control group…

  17. Becoming Animated When Teaching Physics, Crafts and Drama Together: A Multidisciplinary Course for Student-Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kallunki, Veera; Karppinen, Seija; Komulainen, Kauko

    2017-01-01

    This article examines a physics course for pre-service primary teachers in which physics, crafts and drama were taught together by connecting the standpoints of crafts and drama. The study was carried out by three university educators from these disciplines during an advanced optional course for student-teachers at the University of Helsinki in…

  18. Undergraduates achieve learning gains in plant genetics through peer teaching of secondary students.

    PubMed

    Chrispeels, H E; Klosterman, M L; Martin, J B; Lundy, S R; Watkins, J M; Gibson, C L; Muday, G K

    2014-01-01

    This study tests the hypothesis that undergraduates who peer teach genetics will have greater understanding of genetic and molecular biology concepts as a result of their teaching experiences. Undergraduates enrolled in a non-majors biology course participated in a service-learning program in which they led middle school (MS) or high school (HS) students through a case study curriculum to discover the cause of a green tomato variant. The curriculum explored plant reproduction and genetic principles, highlighting variation in heirloom tomato fruits to reinforce the concept of the genetic basis of phenotypic variation. HS students were taught additional activities related to mole-cular biology techniques not included in the MS curriculum. We measured undergraduates' learning outcomes using pre/postteaching content assessments and the course final exam. Undergraduates showed significant gains in understanding of topics related to the curriculum they taught, compared with other course content, on both types of assessments. Undergraduates who taught HS students scored higher on questions specific to the HS curriculum compared with undergraduates who taught MS students, despite identical lecture content, on both types of assessments. These results indicate the positive effect of service-learning peer-teaching experiences on undergraduates' content knowledge, even for non-science major students. © 2014 H. E. Chrispeels et al. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2014 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

  19. The Advertising Marketplace and the Media Planning Course.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lloyd, Carla V.; Slater, Jan; Robbs, Brett

    2000-01-01

    Surveys media professionals as to how major marketplace changes are affecting the way media planning courses should be taught. Offers recommendations to teach students to: think conceptually, critically, and creatively; use numbers to determine and support their media decisions; contend with audience fragmentation and advertising clutter;…

  20. Computer Mediated Communication: Online Instruction and Interactivity.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lavooy, Maria J.; Newlin, Michael H.

    2003-01-01

    Explores the different forms and potential applications of computer mediated communication (CMC) for Web-based and Web-enhanced courses. Based on their experiences with three different Web courses (Research Methods in Psychology, Statistical Methods in Psychology, and Basic Learning Processes) taught repeatedly over the last five years, the…

  1. Computer Literacy and Non-IS Majors

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Thomas, Jennifer D. E.; Blackwood, Martina

    2010-01-01

    This paper presents an investigation of non-Information Systems (IS) major's perceptions and performance when enrolled in a required introductory Computer Information Systems course. Students of various academic backgrounds were taught Excel, Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), JavaScript and computer literacy in a 14-week introductory course, in…

  2. Students and Faculty--Administrators Together.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Frazier, Peter; Keller, Robert

    1992-01-01

    A course taught at Western Washington University's Fairhaven College brings together all 13 faculty and a third of the student population in an interdisciplinary effort to address the theme of conflict. The course is administered by a student and a faculty member and exemplifies the difficulties of collaborative administration. (MSE)

  3. Humanities at College of San Mateo.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    San Mateo Coll., CA.

    Descriptions are provided for the courses in the College of San Mateo's new Humanities program. As introductory material notes, these team-taught, interdisciplinary courses were designed to be taken independently in various combinations depending upon the student's major or interests. They carry three units of transferable credit and satisfy…

  4. Teaching Statistics Online Using "Excel"

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jerome, Lawrence

    2011-01-01

    As anyone who has taught or taken a statistics course knows, statistical calculations can be tedious and error-prone, with the details of a calculation sometimes distracting students from understanding the larger concepts. Traditional statistics courses typically use scientific calculators, which can relieve some of the tedium and errors but…

  5. Teaching More by Lecturing Less

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Knight, Jennifer K.; Wood, William B.

    2005-01-01

    We carried out an experiment to determine whether student learning gains in a large, traditionally taught, upper-division lecture course in developmental biology could be increased by partially changing to a more interactive classroom format. In two successive semesters, we presented the same course syllabus using different teaching styles: in…

  6. Student Effort, Consistency, and Online Performance

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Patron, Hilde; Lopez, Salvador

    2011-01-01

    This paper examines how student effort, consistency, motivation, and marginal learning, influence student grades in an online course. We use data from eleven Microeconomics courses taught online for a total of 212 students. Our findings show that consistency, or less time variation, is a statistically significant explanatory variable, whereas…

  7. Internationalizing a Business Communication Course. Draft.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Davis, Ken

    An instructor's effort to internationalize a business communication course taught him much about the relationships between cognitive egocentrism and cognitive ethnocentrism. Cognitive egocentrism is the chief obstacle to be overcome in learning to write, even within a culture, while cognitive ethnocentrism is the chief obstacle to be overcome in…

  8. Self-Paced Economics Instruction: A Large-Scale Disaggregated Evaluation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Soper, John C.; Thorton, Richard M.

    1976-01-01

    This paper reports on an evaluation of the Sterling Institute self-paced macroeconomics course at Northern Illinois University. Results show that a completely self-paced teaching format for macroeconomics is inferior to a well-directed, concept-oriented, graduate-student instructed, lecture-discussion taught course. (Author/RM)

  9. Color in the Classroom: How American Schools Taught Race, 1900-1954

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Burkholder, Zoe

    2011-01-01

    Between the turn of the twentieth century and the "Brown v. Board of Education" decision in 1954, the way that American schools taught about "race" changed dramatically. This transformation was engineered by the nation's most prominent anthropologists, including Franz Boas, Ruth Benedict, and Margaret Mead, during World War II.…

  10. Comparing Practice Management Courses in Canadian Dental Schools.

    PubMed

    Schonwetter, Dieter J; Schwartz, Barry

    2018-05-01

    Practice management has become an increasingly important aspect of dental education over the years in order to better prepare students for the reality of practice. The aim of this study was to quantify and describe practice management courses taught at the ten Canadian dental schools in order to identify common approaches, compare hours, determine types of instructors, and assess the relationship between courses' learning objectives and the Association of Canadian Faculties of Dentistry (ACFD) competencies and Bloom's cognitive levels. The academic deans at these ten schools were surveyed in 2016; all ten schools responded for a 100% response rate. The authors also gathered syllabi and descriptions of the courses and analyzed them for themes. The results showed a total of 22 practice management courses in the ten Canadian dental schools. The courses provided 27 to 109 hours of teaching and were mostly taught in the third and fourth years and by dentists on three main topics: ethics, human resource management, and running a private practice. The courses were correlated to the ACFD competencies related to ethics, professionalism, application of basic principles of business practices, and effective interpersonal communication. Most of the courses' learning objectives addressed comprehension and knowledge in Bloom's cognitive levels of learning. These results can help to guide discussions on how practice management courses can be developed, improved, and refined to meet the challenges of preparing students for dental practice.

  11. Mimansa

    PubMed Central

    Bavadekar, Shriprasad

    2011-01-01

    This paper considers the relevance to Ayurvedic education of Mimansa, one of the six “orthodox” systems of ancient Indian philosophy, which, like Ayurveda, regard the Vedas as supremely authoritative. At the postgraduate level, Mimansa assists the study of Ayurveda because it provides a system of resolving possible conflicts between statements in the texts of the Veda, which can also be applied to Ayurveda, when its own methodology of interpretation given in Tantrayukti falls short. Indeed, certain commentaries on the Ayurvedic texts are suggestive of the Mimansa perspective. The article provides illustrations of this from the courses taught at the Institute of Research in Ayurvedic Medicine, Jnana Prabhodini, indicating some details of the courses taught, and recounting feedback from the students. These show that a course in Mimansa has a useful role to play in encouraging students’ independent reading of the Ayurvedic texts and in maturing their own interpretations of sections that seem obscure. PMID:21731386

  12. Full time adult credential students' instructional preferences at California State University, Long Beach: pedagogy orandragogy?

    PubMed

    Wang, Victor

    2004-03-01

    This study investigated the instructional preferences of full time adult credential students after they took a live course called Principles of Adult Education at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) in the fall semester of 2002. These full time adult credential students had been working on their adult teaching credentials to meet the competencies specified by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. The course introduced students to Andragogy developed by Malcolm Knowles out of the andragogical model developed by Lindeman (1926). The study used Principles of Adult Learning Scales (PALS), advanced by Gary Conti in 1983 to measure instructional preferences. Data were collected from 30 (100% of 30) full time adult credential students enrolled in a live course to determine their instructional preferences of helping adults learn. The results of the study showed in most cases these adult learning professionals taught adult students andragogically; in some cases they taught adult students pedagogically.

  13. 2016 TSRC Summer School on Fundamental Science for Alternative Energy

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Batista, Victor S.

    The 2016 TSRC Summer School on Fundamental Science for Alternative Energy introduced principles, methods, and approaches relevant to the design of molecular transformations, energy transduction, and current applications for alternative energy. Energy and environment are likely to be key themes that will dominate the way science and engineering develop over the next few decades. Only an interdisciplinary approach with a team-taught structure as presented at the 2016 TSRC Summer School can be expected to succeed in the face of problems of such difficulty. The course inspired a new generation of 24 graduate students and 2 post-docs to continue work inmore » the field, or at least to have something of an insider's point of view as the field develops in the next few decades.« less

  14. The Effect of Co-Teaching on Student Achievement in Ninth Grade Physical Science Classrooms

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    LaFever, Karen M.

    Co-teaching is a method that is increasing within schools across the US as educators strive to leave no child behind. It is a costly method, having two paid instructors in one classroom, with an average of 24 students shared between them. If it significantly increases the achievement of all students, it is well worth the costs involved. However, few studies have analyzed the effectiveness of this method on student achievement. This research follows the academic accomplishments of students in a ninth grade physical science course. Nine sections of the course "Force and Motion" were taught with a single teacher, and two additional sections were co-taught, one led by a science-certified and special educator, and another co-taught by two science certified teachers. Subgroup achievement performance was analyzed to determine whether significant differences exist between students with or without IEPs, as well as other factors such as free and reduced lunch status or gender. The results show significance with the presence of a co-teacher, while there is minimal effect size of co-teaching in this study for students with IEPs. The benefactors in these ninth grade co-taught classes were the students without IEPs, an unintended result of co-teaching.

  15. The impact of different college science courses on students' attitude towards science

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Flohic, Helene

    2015-08-01

    For non-science majors, a general education course in college is often the last science course they will ever take. General education courses are often regarded by students as a right of passage in which they have no interest. Thus strict coursework might aggravate students against the matter taught, and decrease their general interest in the subject. To test whether general education courses killed the students' interest in science, we administered a science attitude inventory at the beginning and at the end of an introductory astronomy course. We compared the gain/loss in science attitude with that experienced by students of a writing course as a baseline. Finally, we evaluated the gain/loss in science attitude for students enrolled in a general education seminar on science and society, where no formal science knowledge was taught, but where the students discussed the different aspects of the relation between science and society.We find that the science and society seminar had a more positive impact on students' attitude towards science than the astronomy class, which decreased the students' confidence in their ability to understand science. This study (once tested on a larger scale) could serve as a guideline for educational policies aiming to foster a positive attitude in the population of college graduates.

  16. Examination of engineering design teacher self-efficacy and knowledge base in secondary technology education and engineering-related courses

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vessel, Kanika Nicole

    2011-12-01

    There is an increasing demand for individuals with engineering education and skills of varying fields in everyday life. With the proper education students of high-needs schools can help meet the demand for a highly skilled and educated workforce. Researchers have assumed the supply and demand has not been met within the engineering workforce as a result of students' collegiate educational experiences, which are impacted by experiences in K-12 education. Although factors outside of the classroom contribute to the inability of universities to meet the increasing demand for the engineering workforce, most noted by researchers is the academic unpreparedness of freshman engineering students. The unpreparedness of entering freshman engineering students is a result of K-12 classroom experiences. This draws attention not only to the quality and competence of teachers present in the K-12 classroom, but the type of engineering instruction these students are receiving. This paper was an effort to systematically address one of the more direct and immediate factors impacting freshman engineering candidates, the quality of secondary engineering educators. Engineers develop new ideas using the engineering design process, which is taught at the collegiate level, and has been argued to be the best approach to teach technological literacy to all K-12 students. However, it is of importance to investigate whether technology educators have the knowledge and understanding of engineering design, how to transfer that knowledge in the classroom to students through instructional strategies, and their perception of their ability to do that. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to show the need for examining the degree to which technology and non-technology educators are implementing elements of engineering design in the curriculum.

  17. Establishing Astronomy in the Curriculum at a Teacher Preparation College: Some Successes and Some Challenges

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    French, L. M.; Borkovitz, D.

    1999-12-01

    At Wheelock College, a liberal arts college in Boston which prepares students for careers in elementary and early childhood teaching and social work, we are developing science and mathematics courses designed to prepare our students for their work with children while teaching them adult-level math and science. Our students arrive with varying skill levels and, often, a great deal of math and science anxiety. We must address the anxiety in order for the students to make progress as learners and, eventually, teachers of math and science. Two courses have been notable successes. A one-semester course entitled The Solar System has become a staple in the curriculum. Major topics covered include finding our way around the sky, the nature of light and color, the size and scale of the solar system, and the causes of the Earth’s seasons and the phases of the moon. Students report that it changes their minds about how science can be taught by modeling a style of teaching which is more interactive than the way they were taught. In the graduate school, astronomy is the focus for a course entitled Teaching and Learning. Co-taught by an education faculty member and an astronomer, the course immerses students in learning a new content area and asks them to consider their own learning process. Observations play an important role here, with students keeping journals of their own sky observations. We also describe two challenges. One is the establishment of more advanced courses; although an astrophysics class has been offered twice to overwhelmingly positive student reviews, it is not easy to “sell”. The other challenge is the establishment of an introductory level course in stars and galaxies for non-science majors. This work has been supported in part by a grant from the DUE of the National Science Foundation.

  18. Democracy and Higher Education: The Nature of the Relationship

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Holland, Lauren

    2009-01-01

    This study examines the pedagogical conditions that contribute to political learning in American National Government courses, using data from classes taught at universities and colleges in Utah. The purpose of this research is to assess the relative effect of course content, classroom climate, textbook, institutional ranking and class size on…

  19. English 3135: Visual Rhetoric

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gatta, Oriana

    2013-01-01

    As an advanced rhetoric and composition doctoral student, I taught Engl 3135: Visual Rhetoric, a three-credit upper-level course offered by the Department of English at Georgia State University. Mary E. Hocks originally designed this course in 2000 to, in her words, "introduce visual information design theories and practices for writers [and]…

  20. Politics in Fiction & Film: An Introduction & Appreciation. A Team-Taught Course.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Krukones, Michael G.; And Others

    An interdisciplinary course integrating political science, literature, and film is used at Bellarmine College in Kentucky as a vehicle for examining politics on the local, state, national and international levels. Four novels and their analogous films are used, corresponding to the respective political level--"The Last Hurrah,""All…

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