Large classes on sustainable development present certain challenges. Often high student to instructor ratios encourage passive learning pedagogies. However, because sustainability education seeks to increase awareness and help students shift to more sustainable behaviors, more active learning is often prescribed by pedagogical experts. This study…

Twenty years ago, a major curriculum revision at a large, comprehensive university in the Western United States led to the implementation of an integrated lecture/laboratory (studio) experience for our engineering students taking general chemistry. Based on these twenty years of experience, construction of four purpose-built studio classrooms to…

We have investigated the impact of using multimedia learning modules (MLM) on the learning of students enrolled in introductory physics courses at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. One hundred fifty-nine students were randomly registered in two sections of an introductory mechanics course, one of which featured the MLMs. Both…

Flipped classrooms have the potential to improve student learning and metacognitive skills as a result of increased time for active learning and group work and student control over pacing, when compared with traditional lecture-based courses. We are currently running a 4-year controlled study to examine the impact of flipping an Introductory…

Students often come into the introductory psychology course with many misconceptions and leave with most of them intact. Borrowing from other disciplines, we set out to determine whether refutational lecture and text are effective in dispelling student misconceptions. These approaches first activate a misconception and then immediately counter it…

Actively engaging students in lecture has been shown to increase learning gains. To create time for active learning without displacing content we used two strategies for introducing material before class in a large introductory biology course. Four to five slides from 2007/8 were removed from each of three lectures in 2009 and the information…

The present study investigates pre-business students' reaction to Activity Based Learning in a lower division core required course entitled Introduction to Global Business in the business curriculum at California State University Chico. The study investigates students' preference for Activity Based Learning in comparison to a more traditional…

Supplemental instruction classes have been shown in many studies to enhance performance in the supported courses and even to improve graduation rates. Generally, there has been little evidence of a differential impact on students from different ethnic/racial backgrounds. At San Francisco State University, however, supplemental instruction in the…

As colleges and universities nationwide anticipate enrolling more than two million new students over the next decade, UC Berkeley is exploring options for serving more students, more cost effectively, in large lecture courses. This research project analyzes economic and pedagogical questions related to the use of on-line lecture and laboratory…