All organizations have "climates" that significantly affect their employees' performance and satisfaction. The authors posit that an academic department's "climate for teaching" (CFT)--or the the extent to which excellent teaching is rewarded, supported, and expected--has a profound impact on the experience of its…

The authors describe several types of classroom assessment techniques (CATs) and cognitive scaffolding procedures that they have developed over the years. They then bring the procedures together in a sample lecture/group learning class presentation.

The authors address three questions: (1) What are the foundational practices of team-based learning (TBL)? (2) What are the fundamental principles underlying TBL's foundational practices? and (3) In what ways are TBL's foundational practices similar to and/or different from the practices employed by problem-based learning (PBL) and…

Since the 1960s, there has been growing and sustained interest in small-group learning approaches at the school level and in higher education. A voluminous body of literature in this area addresses theory, research, classroom practice, and faculty development. The approaches most highly represented in the literature are cooperative learning,…

The authors assessed the impact of peer review on student writing in four sections of an undergraduate Developmental Psychology course. They hypothesized that peer review would result in better writing in the peer review group compared to the group with no peer review. Writing was rated independently by two instructors who were blind to the…

This study compared student evaluations of teaching (SET) for limited-term lecturers (LTLs) and full-time faculty (FTF) using a Likert-scaled survey administered to students (N = 1,410) at the end of university courses. Data were analyzed using a general linear regression model to investigate the influence of multi-dimensional evaluation items on…

The authors examined the effects of randomized and delayed credit on the percentage of college students participating at four pre-defined levels on each class discussion day: non-participation, credit-level participation, frequent participation, and dominant participation. Although the same amount of participation credit was available to students…

This study documents the effects of service-learning as it was introduced and brought to scale in an introductory undergraduate course in Reading Foundations for students seeking to become early and middle childhood education teachers. Participants included multiple cohorts of students in multiple instantiations of the course taught with and…

The author examined Wikipedia's use as an instructional tool in two studies. The widespread use of Wikipedia indicates that students need to learn more about its workings and validity. Wikipedia articles relevant to psychology were edited by students in one class and critiqued in another class. Analysis of the subsequent editing of students'…

The purpose of the authors' study was to understand the reasons why students comply with requests instructors make and compare these reasons with instructors' perceptions of why students comply. Students and faculty at two universities completed the Interpersonal Power Inventory to assess reasons for compliance. Students were more likely to comply…

Many instructors strive to encourage student reading outside of class and active learning in class. One pedagogical tool, structured reading questions, can help do both. Using examples from question sets across six courses, the authors illustrate how reading questions can help students achieve the six active-learning principles described by…

The author's quasi-experimental study compares undergraduate students' academic performance and experiences as a function of using electronic (n = 117) versus traditional (n = 116) textbooks in a developmental psychology course. Student exam scores did not differ significantly as a function of textbook format. Students who used the traditional…

The purpose of this study was to enhance students' learning by supplementing a multimedia lesson with interesting and relevant video clips (VCs). Undergraduate students watched a target material PowerPoint (tmPP) presentation with voice-over lecture covering the Big Five trait theory of personality. Students were randomly assigned to one of four…

Classroom incivility is a major concern in higher education today. Yet little research has been done comparing the perceptions of students and faculty about the incivility occurring in our classrooms. Based on a survey of 3,616 students and 153 faculty members at a Midwestern U.S. university, this study provides useful information about the…

Online education has emerged in the 21st century as a popular alternative to traditional education. Proponents argue that online education provides opportunities for learners that they would otherwise do without (Beard & Harper, 2002; Hay, Peltier, & Drago, 2004). Opponents (see, for example, Hay et al., 2004) have argued, however, that the loss…