The SCALE-UP (Student-Centered Activities for Large Enrollment for Undergraduate Programs) project was developed to implement reforms designed for small classes into large physics classes. Over 50 schools across the country, ranging from Wake Technical Community College to Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), have adopted it for classes of…

This case study is centered upon the recent debate concerning the decision by Texas Governor Rick Perry to mandate the compulsory vaccination of girls in the Texas public school system against the human papillomavirus (HPV) prior to entering the sixth grade. The interrupted case method is particularly appropriate for this subject with the case…

Explored student characteristics and course characteristics influencing why college students skip class. Found that attendance behavior cannot be easily explained and that the decision to attend is influenced by multiple factors. (EV)

Describes the instituting of interview assignments in undergraduate sociology courses and how they are well suited for producing the primary benefits associated with experiential learning. Also discusses some pitfalls of this teaching method. (EV)

Discusses how college instructors and administrators can decrease significantly the instances of classroom incivility by applying a variety of proactive and reactive measures. (EV)

Discusses how parallel reading of literary and historical texts from the same period offers insight into both. Experience in classes using this technique indicates that students learn history more easily when it is connected to and personalized by literature, and that they read literature in a more profound way when they know its historical…

Describes how, like other writing assignments implemented in various courses in response to the writing across the curriculum movement, creative writing can be a very effective learning tool in economics courses. Includes description of such a class assignment. (EV)

Describes a modified implementation of an instructional strategy known as problem-based learning (PBL) in an introductory cognitive neuroscience course. Discusses the principles of PBL found to be effective and demonstrates how these principles fostered continued restructuring of the course. (EV)

Discusses the design, rationale, and objectives of the course "Environmental Study in China," an upper-level course taught for business students at Bryant College in Rhode Island. Describes the study trip, including insights, challenges, and students' reactions. (EV)

Considers the question: During classroom observation, what phenomena should be focused on, and what will be the focal points of the "snapshots"? Uses observations from a mathematics classroom to illustrate the need to modify traditional focal points to include student primary activity(s), teacher and student "misbehaviors," primary media used by…

Redefines service learning as a valuable instructional tool that can be applied across a variety of disciplines and content areas. Presents a set of steps for using it and examples of successes and failures. (EV)

Asserting that economists must work intentionally to put critical thinking skills into their courses, presents an approach that involves team teaching a course combining economics and another discipline with contrasting assumptions and values. Describes the issues addressed in courses combining economics and English literature and economics and…

Explores teaching evaluations with a emphasis on student evaluations of teaching effectiveness (SETEs). Discusses the role of SETEs in the scholarship of teaching; addresses their two primary uses, highlighting the difference between global and specific items contained within most instruments; briefly addresses the research on their accuracy;…

Reports on one professor's use of integrated synchronous electronic office hours (i.e., a "chat room") with asynchronous course conferencing (i.e., email) in a class on introductory marketing. Describes its uses, limitations, benefits, potential problems, and results from a student survey. (EV)

Hairy root transformation has been widely adapted in plant laboratories to rapidly generate transgenic roots for biochemical and molecular analysis. We present hairy root transformations as a versatile and adaptable model system for a wide variety of undergraduate laboratory courses and research. This technique is easy, efficient, and fast making…