Nanotechnology has made a huge impact on science, technology, and society. At the same time, educational institutions at all levels have recognized its relevance and introduced courses that aim at familiarizing their students with the basic concepts of nanotechnology. While the importance of teaching nanotechnology, the contents of such courses,…

Courses: Quantitative research methods, research methods, basic communication courses. Objectives: The goals of the exercise are for students: (1) collaboratively to design a "real world" survey questionnaire; (2) to analyze survey questions and survey design to address if and how the survey meets its goals; (3) to evaluate the strengths…

Maximize the quality and quantity of peer interactions and transform your classroom into a dynamic, collaborative space for student learning. The second edition of Cooperative Learning and Teaching further explores the principles and techniques of cooperative learning and teaching, beginning with the question: Why use group activities? This…

Leveraging arts-based pedagogy, this interpersonal and/or family communication activity allows students to engage creatively with a concept of the instructor's choosing through the creation of a collective poem. Each student contributes statements that the instructor forms into a poem, resulting in a collaborative artifact that engages students'…

This article focuses on using the cooperative board game "Pandemic"® to teach management. In "Pandemic," players must work together to cure four diseases and save the world. In this article, we suggest how it can be used in the classroom to teach decision making and also give guidance on how the game can help students learn how…

"High Yield Routines 2nd Edition, Grades K-8," is an essential resource for elementary and middle school mathematics teachers seeking to enhance their instructional practices and optimize classroom time. Authored by experienced educators, this book presents effective mathematical routines designed to integrate seamlessly into everyday…

Courses: Interpersonal Communication, Introduction to Communication. Objectives: Students will be able to explain complex theoretical concepts in interpersonal communication through the use of Internet memes. They will then upload these memes to a communal Instagram page where they will be able to review each other's work, thus building a learning…

This article provides an overview of job design and offers an experiential teaching exercise to help students develop a better comprehension of job design and redesign, as well as learn the importance and challenges of such undertakings. Understanding the core elements of job design is especially important because job design serves as the…

A constant challenge for faculty is to gain and to hold student interest so that substantive learning can occur. One way to achieve this is through the use of games. This article describes an escape room activity for the classroom that is modeled after commercial escape rooms. This fun, single-session team dynamics exercise can be used in an…

Here the author shares his attempt to add, without financial cost, substantive and dynamic international experiences to the secondary social studies teacher education program he facilitates. He provides thick descriptions of (1) the overarching goals of a collaborative, online, international learning project, (2) the curriculum materials he helped…

Explicit and reflective teaching of communal goals forms connections between STEM content and practices, providing in- and out-of-class opportunities to reflect on how communal goals relate to class activities. This lesson integrates the concepts of "prosociality" (science helps others and gives back to the community) and…

Group and team class decision-making activities often focus on demonstrating that "two heads are better than one." Typically, students solve a problem or complete an assessment individually, then in a group. Generally, the group does better and that is what the students learn. However, if that is all such an activity conveys, then a…

Courses: Public Speaking, Storytelling, Performance Ethnography, Oral Interpretation, Language and Communication. Objectives: The aims of this class exercise are: (1) To engage in a collaborative creative process of developing a story/topic from a simple idea to deepening the relationship with the audience through vivid and evocative language; (2)…

This article explores a technique that can be used for almost any kind of classroom listening practice and with all kinds of classes. It seems to work well both in exam preparation and in regular textbook listening exercises.

Collaboration is an important aspect of information systems (IS) education since work is typically performed in teams. However, IS students often do not fully appreciate the value of group work in their business courses. This teaching tip describes an activity that will objectively demonstrate the value of collaboration and diversity of…