Learning takes place mostly through communication. This is why teachers employ different types of interaction in the classroom in order to provide a varied environment for the students. Apart from the commonly used Student-Teacher-Talk or Teacher-Student-Talk, presentations or lectures may offer advantages with regard to the promotion of…

Active-learning techniques have been advocated as a means to promote student engagement in lower-division biology courses. In this case study, mini-lectures in combination with active-learning activities were evaluated as strategies to promote a culture of learning and participation in a required botany course. These activities were designed to…

This brief review is meant to serve as a refresher for faculty teaching respiratory physiology to medical students. The concepts of ventilation and perfusion matching are some of the most challenging ideas to learn and teach. Some strategies to consider in teaching these concepts are, first, to build from simple to more complex by starting with a…

The increased use of instructional technology in the past decade has brought about many changes in college teaching, including changes in the lecture format. We surveyed students in six science courses to obtain their opinions regarding technology use, as well as non-technological instructional techniques, and the characteristics of outstanding…

Reports on the comparative effectiveness of demonstration and lecture formats for presenting physiological measures. Although demonstrations may improve retention of information concerning simple procedures, the lecture format is more effective for complex information. (CFR)

Part of a collection of papers commissioned by Foundations, a project designed to identify career development needs of students entering the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID), the paper examines implications of discovery and expository learning for hearing impaired students. Differences are considered between the discovery method,…

Demonstrates how marginal benefit curves can be used in the classroom to illustrate income and substitution effects. Uses tables to explain choices, income effects, and demand curves. Provides explanations for terms and clarifies concepts for teaching methods for traditional subject matter. Explains that this technique allows a rigorous…

In a classroom research project, one college teacher experimented with a variation on conventional lecture method to improve student understanding of content. At logical points in the lecture, approximately 15-20 minutes apart, the lecturer pauses and directs students to review the material and paraphrase it in writing. Analysis of student notes…

Presents techniques aimed at promoting a higher level of student-faculty interaction and active student participation in the learning process in introductory physics lecture classes. Discusses group problem solving, the use of flash cards, and assessment. (JRH)

Salient features of an ideal system of instruction are discussed. There have been recent attempts to write formulas for instruction and to individualize teaching in ways suggested by the science of behavior. DNA technologies may some day enable us to trace correlates of intelligence. We could then design individual educational strategies. (RM)

Maintains that helping to see the personal relevance of course material is an important instructional goal. Discusses student characteristics, instructor characteristics, and the use of discussion groups. Describes four strategies to personalize information presented in large lecture sessions. (CFR)

A national survey of 82 medical schools concerning curriculum and instruction on homosexuality found mean instruction time of 3 hours 26 minutes, with significant geographic variation. The most common strategy was lectures in human sexuality, followed distantly by panel presentations and interaction with gays and lesbians. Integration of the topic…

Asserts that increasing enrollments in college-level geography courses have led to larger class sizes and the dangers of impersonal treatment of students. Provides suggestions for improved interpersonal connections, connections with the content being studied, and connections with the world beyond the university. (CFR)

The purpose of these documents is to provide educators in Saskatchewan with practical and relevant guides to teaching and learning as a means of expanding or refining teaching repertoires. The topic of this booklet is effective lecturing, described as a blend of three types of lectures: interactive (engaging student thinking throughout the…

Discusses four pedagogical issues that arise in teaching policy analysis to undergraduates. Describes three components of the case method approach. Outlines areas where the case method approach improved student performance and identifies its limitations. (CFR)