Existing literature shows students agree that active participation in the classroom is important and many want to engage. However, only one third regularly do so and previous studies have suggested that the vast majority of contributions in class may be made by a handful of students. The aim of this research was to explore from the student's…

Using a combination of survey and student record data from a first year university economics principles class, we look at the characteristics of students who are attending face-to-face lectures, versus those students who choose to view these same lectures via online lecture recordings. The survey includes the Biggs (2001) Revised Study Process…

Many post-secondary common book programs purport to increase a sense of community on campus. This study explored whether a common book program at a Canadian university was able to create a sense of community among students. Results indicate that in-class discussions about the book, liking the Facebook page, attending the author lecture, and…

At Binghamton, Calculus 1 is taught to over 1000 students each fall in sections of about 30-40 students, with graduate student instructors teaching most sections. Despite having small classrooms instead of lecture halls, the satisfaction and performance of students has historically been poor. We had hoped to improve student success by changing how…

This explorative study describes time use and time management behaviour of ethnic minority and ethnic majority students as possible explanations for the poorer study results of ethnic minority students compared to those of majority students. We used a diary approach in a small sample to examine students' daily time use in both a lecture week…

Students attending a lecture usually have a wide range of prior knowledge about the topic in question. Rather than seeing this as a problem, lecturers can take advantage of such differences. This article shows how students' misconceptions about old age were used to inform a lecture on the topic. Prior knowledge can thus be used to aid teaching and…

Formal use of cooperative learning techniques proved effective in improving student performance and retention in a freshman level statistics course. Lectures interspersed with group activities proved effective in increasing conceptual understanding and overall class performance. (11 references) (Author)

Presents a study that addresses the importance of instructional metacognitive knowledge of university freshman through the use of a survey covering: (1) instruction in general; (2) instruction in two different environments; and (3) specific delivery systems and concrete interventions. Finds that instructional experiences affect the student's…

This study compared the effectiveness of the traditional library lecture and computer-assisted instruction (CAI) in scheduled credit classes in library skills. Subjects were 18 college freshman attending branch campuses who were academically underprepared for college level study and who also lacked basic library skills. Eleven students were taught…

Student evaluations of three types of instructional methods were examined. Students preferred, in descending order, environmental (discussion), presentational (lecture), and nondirective (student initiation) teaching methods. Results indicated that differences between these methods were differences in kind, rather than in quality or quantity.…