ERIC Number: ED418855
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1997-Mar
Pages: 18
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Relating Concepts and Applications through Structured Active Learning.
Springer, Leonard
The central research question in this study was whether structured active learning affects the abilities of science and engineering undergraduates to relate abstract concepts and realistic applications more than a relatively traditional instructional method. More specifically, the research was designed to determine whether differences in the learning outcome were apparent to faculty representing a variety of disciplines as well as to the students who participated in the course. The effects of structured active learning on the measured outcome were compared between men and women. The results suggest that students who participated in structured active learning perceived a greater ability to connect abstract concepts and real-world applications than students who participated in a relatively traditional instruction program. Faculty from a broad range of disciplines also perceived that students who participated in structured active learning were more competent than their counterparts in the traditional program, particularly in comprehending the larger context surrounding a problem and understanding the relationship between theory and practice during the problem-solving process. The positive effect of structured active learning on students' abilities to connect concepts and applications extended to both men and women. (PVD)
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Note: Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (Chicago, IL, March 24-28, 1997).