It has been argued that humor is beneficial in the classroom because it increases social bonding between instructor and student, salience of information, and ultimately recall and retention. The current study sought to add to the literature by empirically testing some assumptions about humor as a pedagogical tool. Specifically, we predicted that…

The scholarship of teaching and learning represents an important movement within higher education. Through this work, the profession of teaching is able to build upon itself through sustained inquiry and an evidence-based culture. However, for the scholarship of teaching and learning to take hold on a campus, a culture shift often needs to occur,…

This study examines the attitudes of university students toward academic service semesters and their interest in participating in them. The findings suggest that students' attitudes toward an urban-based academic service learning program may be multidimensional. Four of the six factors identified in the study as being associated with students'…

This article reviews the results of a survey of former students to determine the long-term significance of a community-based Spanish practicum that has been offered since 2000. The respondents affirm that, even nine years later, they still remember well the Mexican immigrant families that hosted them during the course. The students were able to…

Although research suggests that active learning is associated with positive outcomes (e.g., memory, test performance), use of such techniques can be difficult to implement in large lecture-based classes. In the current study, 1,091 students completed out-of-class group exercises to complement course material in an Introductory Psychology class.…

Using Astin's I-E-O model as a framework, this article explores the effects of a variety of factors on first-year persistence for conditionally-admitted students participating in a learning community at a public land-grant university. Since the learning community began in 2002, program administrators have collected survey, interview, and academic…

We assessed the effectiveness of refutational readings and lecture on decreasing psychological misconceptions for students of high versus low levels of achievement. During the course of a semester we addressed introductory psychology students' misconceptions with refutational readings, refutational lecture, or not at all. From pre- and post-test…

This article contends that although Intervention Specialists are presented with a variety of children with diverse challenges that arise from neurological dysfunction, few teacher education programs adequately prepare teachers to understand, recognize and address these needs. The University of Findlay requires candidates in the post-baccalaureate…

Reflection and Communities of Practice are common constructs in teacher education. Co-teaching is often seen as beneficial, yet teacher education students rarely have experiences being co-taught. Thus, reflection, communities of practice, and co-teaching, deserve careful consideration in designing teacher education learning experiences. Based on…

This study examined the extent to which academic procrastination predicted the performance of cooperative groups in graduate-level research methods courses. A total of 28 groups was examined (n = 83 students), ranging in size from 2 to 5 (M = 2.96, SD = 1.10). Multiple regression analyses revealed that neither within-group mean nor within-group…

Case reports are an established form of scholarship used for teaching and learning in medicine and health care, but there are few examples of the teaching and learning activities used to prepare students to write a case report. This report describes the implementation of two courses that prepare physical therapy students to write and disseminate a…

While this paper set out to discover what activities and/or interaction channels might be expected to lead to more highly engaged students, what it found was a bit different. After first creating a scale to measure online student engagement, and then surveying 186 students from six campuses in the Midwest, the results indicate that there is no…

Active learning theory indicates the importance of helping students take control of their learning, monitor their understanding, and assess learning strategies. Knowledge surveys are intended to improve a student's ability to self-assess and cover the content and the full range of cognitive levels of a course. We explore an interdisciplinary data…

Instructors of first-year students must understand that many of the frustrations they encounter with this demographic are a normal part of a transition process. Not only are first-year students asked to adjust to new academic demands, they also must learn how to live independently in a new environment. An effective way to facilitate academic…

The paper provides case studies of how four faculty members who teach in undergraduate and graduate programs at the Indiana University School of Informatics promote academic literacy throughout the curriculum. The paper describes the writing assignments in several courses, the objectives of these assignments in enhancing the writing skills of…