This Innovative Practices piece details the design of a scaffolded project in a public health course that paired a narrative inquiry assignment with an empirical health literature review assignment to highlight both the positivist and constructivist epistemologies of critical health research in public health. The authors discuss and reflect on the…

We used problem-based or experiential learning in our undergraduate Health Policy course to examine food deserts via a health impact assessment (HIA) assignment. An HIA evaluates potential effects on population health before a policy/program is implemented, to improve health and reduce adverse outcomes. We investigated if the HIA assignment…

The social, economic, and educational upheaval that has been occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic, the concurrent and stressful conversation about race and racism in the United States, and domestic political turmoil has turned the world on its head. In these so-called "unprecedented times," traditional higher education appears to be on…

The utility of Just-In-Time-Teaching (JITT) is compared across course topics and groups of students not receiving JITT exercises in class. JITT feedback incorporated various active learning exercises based on students' performance on online homework problems from Sapling Learning. With over 200 students in two sections participating in the…

With states and districts across the country implementing the Common Core State Standards, teachers have more opportunities than ever to collaborate around the shared goals of strengthening curriculum design, classroom practices, and student learning. Building from this premise, the Common Assignment Study (CAS) has brought together teams of…

Literature suggested that the mandated filtering required by the Children's Internet Protection Act of 2000 adversely affected the educational system. The literature stated that schools imposed more restrictive filtering than the Act mandated. School systems had the responsibility to ensure that children learn to read, write, and perform…

Recognizing the limitations of traditional research assignments, the two authors of this article--one a librarian and one a historian--set out to redesign a history capstone seminar to focus on the research process as much as on the research product: tipping the iceberg to look at what is underneath. The article begins with a brief overview of the…

Initiated for the 2013-14 school year, the Common Assignment Study (CAS) is a three-year effort being led by the Colorado Education Initiative (CEI) and The Fund for Transforming Education in Kentucky (The Fund) with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Conceptually, CAS builds on previous efforts to improve instruction through…

This project studied the effect of individualized, voluntary learning contracts for 18 students who performed poorly in the first part of the semester. Contracts were hypothesized to increase commitment and motivation, and lead to changes in behaviors and course performance. Self-reported prioritization and learning-related behaviors (completion…

This article describes three service-learning projects implemented in three different ESL programs in the United States. Each description includes typical course goals, service-learning assignments, reflection activities, student learning outcomes, and pedagogical challenges. The first project was developing digital literacy through…

Educational Policy Improvement Center (EPIC) researchers visited 38 public high schools around the United States in 2007 and 2008 with the goal of validating and operationalizing a definition of college readiness. Schools in the sample were selected because they were demonstrating success at enabling more students from underrepresented groups to…

THE PRESENT STUDY WAS UNDERTAKEN TO ASSESS THE DESIRABILITY OF USING VIDEOTAPED INSTRUCTION TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM OF PROVIDING UNIFORMLY CONSISTENT STUDY SKILLS COURSES TO UNIVERSITY STUDENTS. THIS FIRST PHASE INVOLVED PRODUCING TEN 30-MINUTE VIDEOTAPED LECTURES. THE SECOND PHASE CONSISTED OF OFFERING THE VIDEOTAPED COURSE TO NINE GROUPS THROUGHOUT…