An original integrated course called "Chemistry: Magical Science" at Montpellier University (France) is presented. This approach mixes tutorials and practical work by using the pretext of high-tech materials synthesis to teach students knowledge, skills, and practical techniques. It also educates students about chemical risks and…

In France, the notion of competence began to be discussed in the early 1990s and was finally enforced in the Education Act of 23 April 2005. Since its emergence, this notion has been strongly opposed by a certain number of teachers, unions and researchers. To understand how competence-based education finally prevailed, I take into account the…

Purpose: In France at the high school the subject matter "Sciences Économiques et Sociales" (economic and social sciences) deals with the present economic crisis. We study the ways it is taught about: words, and explanatory patterns. Design/methodology/approach: We use a specific approach, that we call "semantic holism",…

The article analyzes the trends in teacher education development with the aim to improve the system of education in Ukraine. The need to improve professional training of future teachers taking into account metacognitive learning strategies is emphasized. The main way of enhancing efficiency of professional knowledge acquisition is defined to be…

The use of digital exhibitions in two advanced language and culture courses within a liberal arts curriculum provides an innovative pedagogical approach to promoting language learning and critical analysis. This article proposes a pedagogy to incorporate Maker-Centered Learning (MCL), the framework that emerged from a Harvard Graduate School of…

Purpose: This paper aims to present the authors' views on education for responsible consumption (ERC) in higher education, and deals with major components to be considered to educate students for responsible consumption. Design/methodology/approach: There are three components that seem relevant for ERC in higher education: taught courses should be…

Computer science as a school subject in France is characterized by a succession of promising starts that have not yet been transformed into perennial solutions. The main goal of this article is to analyze this complex situation from a historical perspective, and describe the current rebirth of an optional Computer Science course in the last year…

This study explores how second generation tutors within blended learning courses link the face-to-face and online course modalities--in their representations as well as through their pedagogical activities--and which aspects help them to feel involved in the course. The methodology used is a qualitative analysis of interviews with seven tutors of…

In scientific teaching, especially in physics and chemistry, some historical aspects have been introduced at the secondary level in France, since 1993. Particularly, in 2007, the syllabuses of 11'-15' years old level ("college") propose precise activities in history of science and technology. Detailed guidance has been distributed in…

This paper describes an upper level foreign language course designed to enable students to "learn about conversation" as both a universal and culture-specific form of talk, and to "learn to converse" at an advanced level and in culturally appropriate ways with speakers of French from France and Francophone countries. Students…

With rapidly increasing globalization, business students are required to understand complex global markets and adapt to the rapid changes in the global landscape. This paper discusses a project where students from International Marketing courses in Pakistan, the United States, and France used an interactive platform as a base to jointly explore…

e-Learning has entered the mainstream in higher education and many institutions are implementing technology-mediated learning at some level. This paper outlines the case of a course taught jointly in 2010 over three months by two graduate programmes in management at the University of Tsukuba in Japan and the Grenoble Ecole de Management in France…

Training professionals to design and produce interactive systems requires the use of well thought-out training scenarios. Indeed, it is essential to consider pedagogical forms whose objective is providing learners with field experience. It is also necessary to motivate learners to learn about subjects that sometimes seem distant from their…

During the Fall term, 2001, the author taught a new course intended to develop a diversity of close reading skills among his students. An integral component of the course involved the exploration of memory and history. As the fate of the syllabus would have it, right after the September attacks he taught Sarah Farmer's "Martyred Village:…

Describes an advanced French civilization course, some of the instructional materials used, and the teaching methods adopted. (AM)