First-generation college students comprise a sizable number of the student population in colleges and universities across the nation. As faculty are tasked with teaching and supporting these students in their courses, it is important to consider the alignment of faculty perspectives and the needs of first-generation students. This study explored…

The jigsaw technique has been successfully used in classrooms for decades, though less in higher education. Groups are formed with each student having a precise piece of information necessary to complete the assignment. Next, expert groups of students with the same material meet to sharpen their understanding before reforming their initial group…

Design thinking is a critical and creative process understood to support innovation and creative idea generation in a wide variety of contexts. Increasingly, it is being used as a pedagogical approach by educators interested in supporting divergent thinking skill development. This study evaluated the effects of the use of design thinking practices…

Many instructors use videos to support their teaching in online courses to convey course content that would normally be taught in a traditional setting. Prior studies have shown some connection between utilizing online videos and student performance but do not always support their findings statistically or consider the nuance of the online videos,…

This article highlights an innovative take on the jigsaw format, an inclusive and cooperative active learning strategy, implemented in an upper-level engineering elective course. After students complete the usual two steps of the jigsaw method--first gaining mastery in "expert groups" and then collaboratively teaching their peers in…

This research examines the impact of various high-impact educational practices integrated in different group elements (groups course, in-class group activities, and a learning community) on student perceived group work experience related to the Emerging Values model. The Emerging Values model found academic group work to be beneficial for…

This paper describes the principles of transformative pedagogy that lead to the development of distinct student voices in academic writing classes. Whether the course is taught at the undergraduate level through research, expository, and argumentative writing assignments or at the graduate level through literature review essays, research articles,…

A "threshold concept" is a challenging concept that acts as a doorway leading to deeper understanding and a dramatic shift in perception. A learner that is involved in grasping a threshold concept is said to be undergoing a threshold experience within a "liminal space" or learning environment. We used the blog as a liminal…

Research in developmental psychology and neuroscience has demonstrated the critical role of imitation in human learning. Self-report questionnaires collected from 456 undergraduate students in two U.S. institutions and one Chinese institution demonstrated that undergraduate students from both U.S. and Chinese cultures used various imitations in…

Increased demands for technological integration in higher education have resulted in new forms of course instruction. Under a flipped approach, students learn course materials outside the classroom while active learning methods are employed inside. This study focuses on the perceived effects of flipped instruction on knowledge acquisition in…

This paper describes the impact of a learning strategies intervention conducted in first-year seminar courses that, 1) disaggregated components of academic skills into meaningful components for first-year students, 2) taught students academic skills within an authentic context, and 3) scaled-up the intervention for implementation at a programmatic…

Theory and practicals are two essential components of pharmacy course curriculum; but in addition to appearing and passing examination with good score grades, pharmacy post graduation (PG) pursuing students are essentially required to develop some professional skills which might not be attained solely by conventional class room programs. This…

The instant availability of information has changed the paradigm of teaching. Whereas at one time teaching and learning was information being passed, memorized, and repeated, students can now find their own knowledge. Learning now consists of using information in creative ways and requires a shift in how students are taught. This is quite similar…

Building on previous studies on action-oriented strategies for teaching race-related courses, we explore the general effectiveness of teaching about racial stereotypes and racial/ethnic identity construction in two undergraduate race and ethnicity courses. Given that race and the term "White" are culturally constructed and serve to…

Social media and web 2.0 technologies are an attractive supplement to the higher education experience and are embraced as a way to foster intra-and extracurricular knowledge generation among a class community. However, these collaborative media require a rethinking of the theoretical framework through which we engage student communities of…