Adapting Active Learning Techniques for Traditional Classroom Settings

Medicine intertwines with arts as part of the wider field of humanities since its origin; they integrate creating a new synergy. Clinical diagnosis involves the observation, description and interpretation of visual information. These skills can be developed and trained by analysing visual art works. Visual thinking strategy (VTS) has been recognized as a legitimate cognitive tool (1,2). Thanks to a collaboration between our medical faculty (Sant’Andrea Hospital) and the Borghese Gallery and Museum we are piloting an innovative experience with small-group interactive sessions within the course of Methodology (3rd-year students). This activity is carried out under the tutelage of art education curators and faculty members. Sessions focused on the analyses of selected original paintings. Students were evaluated through pre- and posttest questionnaires and with short oral presentations. Discussion was warm and enthusiastic and students appreciated the interaction with faculty on a non-medical level. By engaging with art works, students learn a broader conception of human-ness, enhancing mindfulness, rendering learning enjoyable and meaningful. Museums as teaching labs are valuable resources for enhancing learning beyond the classroom walls. VTS in medicine encourages critical thinking and problem solving, thus improving clinical abilities by means of observation and clinical reasoning, promoting empathy and getting used with team work. These activities can be integrated with art works shown in the classroom as clinical triggers: several figurative paintings are shown within our course of human and clinical anatomy (first and second-year students), i.e. self-portraits of Piero della Francesca and Mantegna’s “Virgin and child” well illustrate goiter; Raphael’s La Fornarina and Rubens’ “The three graces” show breast cancer. Rombouts’ “Allegory of the five senses” is a nice introductory image for the sense organs as Bigot’s “A doctor examining urine” for the urinary tract. An art-based approach to teaching observational skills should be included continuously within required courses in the medical curriculum.

This study aims to improve the quality of physical education learning materials mainly through approachesplaying basketball. The research was conducted in the learning process, research is often called action research(classroom Action Research), an act in this study were divided into three cycles and implemented in threemeetings, in each cycle shows the learning process of physical development with basketball material. Thesubjects were fifth grade students of SD Negeri 14 mulyoharjo in the second semester of academic year2012/2013. The instrument used for data collection in this study was the observation sheets, questionnaires,and student test performance. Analysis of the data used in this study is a descriptive analysis.The resultsshowed that the implementation of learning to play basketball with the approach can make their lessons moreactive, enthusiastic students participating in learning and seemed happy to perform a given task motion so thatthe teacher and the student movement skill mastery basketball increase of the percentage of students who precyclevalue KKM achieve as much as 63.16% or 12 children out of the total number of students by 19 students,the first cycle measures the percentage of students that reached KKM be 73.68% or as many as 14 students and89.47% or as many as 17 students in the second cycle of action .

At the onset of the COVID‐19 pandemic, many traditional in‐person courses were converted to synchronous, asynchronous, or hybrid online formats. Instructors of a large undergraduate Basic Human Anatomy course at Indiana University ‐ Bloomington leveraged these changes to convert the lecture portion of the course to a flipped‐classroom model with two components: asynchronous online course content delivery, and live in‐person interactive learning sessions. The in‐person interactive learning sessions introduced students to active learning strategies and techniques (drawing, memory matrices, flow charts, diagrams, etc.), and the students actively participated in these sessions through the use of an online interactive learning platform ‐ TopHat. Here we sought to assess the efficacy and outcomes of the active learning sessions on student performance in the course.Basic Human Anatomy (ANAT‐A215) is a 5 credit hour undergraduate (baccalaureate) course that has an enrollment of 480 students with 1 large lecture section and 12 smaller lab sections. In Fall 2021, the instructors modified the lecture component of the course into a flipped classroom format. Lecture content was delivered via asynchronous online lectures, and the F2F class time was listed as optional (but strongly encouraged) for attendance. To facilitate greater student‐instructor interaction, one half of the class attended on Mondays and the other half attended on Fridays, and participated in similar interactive sessions. Wednesday F2F interactive lecture sessions were open to the entire class. To encourage attendance and participation in the optional F2F interactive lecture sessions, extra credit points could be earned through participation in TopHat anatomy questions. Points were earned for participation only (.5 points per question). TopHat questions were created by the instructors and consisted of both lower order and higher order questions that tested lecture and lab anatomical content. At the end of each lecture exam block of material, the instructors selected multiple TopHat questions at random for extra credit, with a range of 2‐4 extra credit points that could be earned per exam block.We found a statistically significant positive correlation between the number of points accumulated for participating in the F2F active learning lecture session questions and lecture exam scores. Using the number of points accumulated via the TopHat questions as a proxy for lecture attendance, we found that more TopHat points accumulated by students resulted in higher mean lecture exam scores – the greatest benefits occurring if students participated in multiple (>3) F2F lecture sessions per block. Students who regularly attended F2F interactive sessions saw the greatest gains in their lecture exam scores. These findings indicate that active learning strategies could be efficacious in supplementing an asynchronous lecture content delivery format. We shared our findings with the class to encourage them to attend the active learning sessions, but encouraging some student populations to attend these sessions remains a challenge. Future research should be conducted on methods to encourage student involvement and participation in the course.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of adopting a Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) as primary supplementary material in blended learning classroom on Taiwanese university EFL learners’ English proficiency levels. The study utilized pre- and post-tests of English proficiency, specifically the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) by Educational Testing Service (ETS), learners’ learning experience and learners’ satisfaction. In this study, thirty EFL learners at a private university in Northern Taiwan participated in a year-long paired-group study, first under blended learning environment while adopting a MOOC as primary supplementary material and followed by traditional face-to-face learning, with each learning mode lasting one semester. All participants were computer science and information engineering majors with intermediate English proficiency based on university placement exams. During the first semester (Fall 2013), consists of EFL learning via the blended mode of teaching, which partially incorporates student-centered learning utilizing Coursera education platform. While The second semester (Spring 2014), traditional learning mode the course is comprised of EFL instruction in the traditional way, i.e., teacher-fronted instruction and in-class assignments with textbook materials. Several scholars have suggested that instead of replacing courses at higher education institutions, blended learning with the asynchronous distance learning capabilities of MOOCs could enhance the course content and increase learning proficiency. This paper investigated on such exploration, wherein implementing the online learning experience into English for specific purposes (ESP) course at a private university in Northern Taiwan. This research explained to further understand the implications of blended learning at the tertiary education level in Taiwan. The investigator sought a comprehensive approach to the examination of the blended learning model by utilizing three different sections: students’ learning progress, student’s’ learning satisfaction and students’ learning perspectives. Within-group comparison of the students’ mean scores of the pre- and post-test examinations provided the quantitative assessment of learning progress, while open-ended questionnaire responses and interviews provided the qualitative data comprising the students’ perspective. This research provided a blended learning approach whereby there was a mixture of face-to-face and online learning activities where students would integrate the information and data gathered from both platforms to improve on their learning techniques. The result revealed that the improvement of academic performance and learning satisfaction was attributed to the fact that with the MOOCs assistance, students could study their course materials at their own pace and designated time either at home or in their dormitory rooms. Blending MOOC technology integrates synchronous and asynchronous learning tools that transform and improve the education system and provide room for enforcing learners’ active, autonomous, collaborative, interactive and effective learning techniques.

Software Engineering courses are perceived as being dry and boring. The education community has been looking at active learning and hands-on training techniques to engage students better and thereby provide a better understanding of concepts. This paper presents a web-based game called Scrumify, developed by undergraduate students, that is designed to introduce students to the Scrum software development process through story elements, and quiz mechanics. The game is designed to reinforce software engineering concepts more specifically agile software processes. Quizzes within the game are designed to grant points that inject a sense of competition for the users and motivation to learn the agile methodology concepts. Scrumify serves two objectives: software engineering education for audience of the game and web-based game development and software testing education for the developers of the game. Use of this game in classroom provides an active learning technique for agile software processes. Students are more engaged with games and thereby absorb the concepts better. The game was evaluated in a sophomore software engineering class and the results are presented.

Since the information technology (IT) and the Internet are growing rapidly, B-Learning is adopted by the enterprise widely. According to information industry investigation, more than 40% of the enterprise approved the B-Learning in Taiwan in 2004. And more than 20% to 32% of the enterprise among them had implemented the E-Learning in their enterprises. Obviously, B-Learning plays an important role for the enterprise to train their staffs. In recent years, the warehouse clubs and the supermarkets extend their branch stores rapidly. However, how to train the employee with standardized knowledge (organization regulations, professional techniques and workflows in the supermarket) and with lower training cost among different branch stores becomes a very important issue for the superintendent in the supermarket. On the job training (OJT) and customized training provide unique opportunities for participants who already possess some job-related skills and the knowledge to learn as they earn. Traditionally, on-the-job training of the domestic warehouse retailers and the fresh supermarkets was undertaken in a classroom with computer assisted instruction (CAT) in Taiwan. However, the training cost of the traditional training methods is extremely high as well as time consuming. Especially at the seafood department on both the warehouse clubs and the supermarkets, it happens frequently with high aquatic product attrition rate. Since the customers and the superintendent in the supermarket have different cognitions in seafood quality, it becomes the leading causes of customer complains. Therefore, the sales (employees) must have good knowledge of aquatic food processing to keep the seafood product in a very good condition. The reduction of seafood attrition rate can take advantage of reducing commodity loss cost and developing much better relationship in marketing and customer management in the supermarket. Based on the above reasons, this research demonstrates how an B-Learning curriculum of aquatic food processing for the supermarket is created and evaluated. Based on the ADDIE model proposed by Driscoll in 2002, this B-Learning system with multimedia database technology can assist employees in the supermarket in learning the aquatic food processing over the Internet. Therefore, as an employee in the supermarket, he (or she) can learn his (or her) professional knowledge without the time and place limitation. In additions, this B-Learning system can also assist the manager of the supermarket in reducing the training cost, in finding different learning platforms and in achieving multipurpose B-Learning goals.

This research identifies important features of mathematics learning from the accounts of early school leavers. These students were enrolled in a Youth Reconnected Program at a Technical and Further Education [TAFE] college. Specifically, it examines the relationship between their experiences of mathematics learning in two different social contexts, the program and secondary school classrooms, the discourses and associated discursive practices of these two contexts, and the forms of identities of participation that are constructed in them. Drawing on a social theory of learning and critical discourse theory, the research identifies the processes by which membership in communities of learning is achieved and identities discursively constructed. It draws on the accounts of forty-three early school leavers and six staff members located in a Youth Reconnected Program, a program designed to re-engage early school leavers in education and or training, about their prior experiences of secondary school and their current experiences of TAFE. From these accounts, the thesis seeks to explicate their experiences of learning mathematics in both contexts and to consider the implications of different student experiences of learning for mathematics education. Critical discourse analysis provides the means for applying this framework to examine the discourses, discursive practices, identities, and forms of participation constructed in the accounts. It views the accounts as constituted by their social context. It shows how the language of the accounts works to construct particular versions of reality and how relations of power construct particular identities. It allows a richer qualitative exploration of the reported practices of mathematics classrooms with particular regard to linking the theoretical and practical concerns of this study. It makes transparent the relations between the social (including relations of power and domination), discourse, and discursive practice, thus enabling a more in-depth reading of the participants‘ accounts. Discourses about two different experiences of mathematics learning were identified—one about mathematics learning in the Youth Reconnected Program (TAFE) and the other about mathematics learning in secondary schools. The discourses and their associated discursive practices—differing application of instructional style, communication and interaction, source of authority, pace of instruction, grouping of students and assessment— were found to contribute significantly to the construction of particular student identities and forms of participation. Student experiences emphasised the importance of four characteristics for membership in a community of learners—mutual engagement, joint enterprise, shared repertoire and access. These characteristics and practices were shown to contribute substantially to the construction of identities of participation in mathematics learning for most of the students who participated in this study. There was strong evidence to indicate that small class sizes impacted significantly on student engagement and participation in learning. A crucial factor here rests with the role of the teachers and tutors and how, given the opportunities for reduced class size, they implement, sustain and maintain interactions with the students for effective teaching and learning to occur. If in this context, consistent interactions are provided that also includes clear and explicit explanations, discussion, and negotiation, students are more likely to maintain their interest and actively participate in mathematics learning. This study‘s significance is twofold. It lies in the critical importance of the issue it addresses—student participation in mathematics learning—and the articulation of a social theory of learning with critical discourse theory to enable a different and more effective understanding of the significance of discourses, identities and communities of participation in mathematics learning. Although the study cannot claim generalisability across other populations of learners or across all mathematics and TAFE classrooms because of the small select sample of early school leavers drawn upon, by highlighting these accounts of students‘ learning experiences in some mathematics classrooms and the TAFE program, and their associated experiences of them, it draws attention to a different perspective on mathematics learning. In this alternative framing, learning as a social process is contingent on access to the discourse of mathematics learning and the discursive practices that support learning, participation, and membership in a community of mathematics learners. An attention to the social processes of mathematics learning infers a significant role for mathematics teachers in enabling student access to certain discourses and communities of learning. Such a role is often neglected in current contexts of accountability that specify a focus on achieving syllabus outcomes.

Although effective teaching is focusing more on the need to use active learning techniques, the research literature regarding the efficacy of various teaching methods is inconclusive. An innovative active learning technique combining the features of role plays and simulations for an industrial psychology course is presented. Subjective reports and objective assessments of knowledge retention measured at two distinct times indicated the role play simulation is an effective teaching technique. The differential importance of active learning and passive learning (i.e., lectures) techniques for the college classroom was also examined. Finally, the application of this technique for several college courses is presented.

This study was carried out at a nursing college in Taiwan. The main purpose of the study was to examine affective learning in an English curriculum for English as foreign language (EFL) learners in Taiwan. For affective learning to take place it is crucial that the contents and skills that students acquire are directly or in directly relevant to their life experiences (Hsu, 2002:2). This project therefore that is being discussed in this paper mainly hope to investigate the impact of a meaningful learning environment through modern technology. By building up an interactive learning classroom via multimedia technology, the students' learning motivation and English proficiency were expected to be improved.According to the European perspectives of affective education, learning could be efficient if teaching materials are relevant to students' beliefs, attitudes, and faith of life (Lang, 1998). Hence to develop an affective curriculum of the English language, the project was carried out in a sequence of teaching in a language laboratory within a formal curriculum. The study was undertaken in the periods of 2009-2010. This English curriculum was developed to provide students with new learning experiences. For example, the students could communicate with English native speakers through English learning websites. The approach of case study was adopted as the main methodology (Yin, 1994). Classroom observation, students' workbooks, and a questionnaire survey were employed to investigate their learning outcomes and to validate the findings for generalization (Robson, 2000). 120 Students aged 15 to 16 were the main research group. The findings showed that students' attitudes were positive and it appeared that students were no longer afraid of using English as a communicative tool.This study showed the evidence of the data that the study concluded: the EFL learners can improve their learning interests and proficiency through multimedia learning within an affective environment. Students learnt English not only by using textbooks but also through real experiences of their use of English websites. This study showed that the adoption of modern technology indeed offered students more opportunities to use English.

Despite considerable expenditure by school systems on ICT in terms of hardware, software, and related professional development programs, the impact on classroom practice remains disappointing to many. Current models of teacher professional learning in ICT appear to have had minimal impact. Based in the interpretative paradigm, this thesis describes the experience of the participants in a unique professional development program in which students in Grades 3 and 4 mentored teachers in their school in the use of ICT. The study was undertaken in two schools in Melbourne, Australia, and involved the professional development of teachers in the use of digital cameras and related software. Following their initial training with the researcher in one school and a focus teacher in another, the children worked in pairs to conduct three semi-structured sessions with a teacher, mentoring them in the use of the technology. The children were also available to the teachers for further consultation or assistance. It was intended that the mentoring program would enhance teachers' knowledge of the technology and also their classroom practice. This thesis reports the benefits of student mentors in ICT as seen by teacher mentees involved in the project. In particular, the focus of this study is on the teachers' perceived effect of the student mentoring approach to professional development in relation to their skills and confidence with ICT, their classroom practice with ICT and their recognition of other values inherent in the program. Data were collected throughout the project in the form of surveys, interviews, observations and student and teacher journals. Using NVivo, these data were analysed into themes to ascertain teachers' reported benefits of the program in relation to their skills, confidence and classroom practice with ICT.;Findings of the project included the improvement in teachers' skills and confidence and an impact on their thinking and practices with technology in the classroom. As well as these intended outcomes, teachers also reported a greater knowledge of their personal learning preferences, which influenced the way they saw the children's learning and therefore their classroom practice. Child mentors flourished in the mentoring relationships, showing their prowess in mentoring teachers with ICT, with several surprising their teachers with their capabilities. Overall, the teachers were very positive about the mentoring experience and the influence it had on their confidence, skills and classroom practice. This study showed the potential impact of children as mentors of teachers in ICT, and offers a model for consideration by schools and school systems in the way in which they approach professional learning in ICT of their teachers.

Objective To explore the application effect of flipped classroom in the epidemiological teaching for undergraduate, so as to obtain students' attitudes and evaluations of flipped classroom. Methods Totally 2 classes of preventive medical students of Grade 2013 in Tianjin Medical University were selected. They were divided into experimental group and control group, each class have 60 students. Flipped classroom was used in the experimental group while traditional teaching was used in the control group. The theory test scores, practice scores, case analysis scores and total scores of the two groups were compared to evaluate the teaching effect before and after the course. A questionnaire was used in the experimental group to investigate their attitudes and evaluations about flipped classroom. Results After the course was implemented, the theory scores (t=5.762, P<0.001), case analysis scores (t=7.525, P<0.001) and total scores (t=7.947, P<0.001) of the experimental group were higher than those of the control group, and the differences were statistically significant. Most of the students in the experimental group had positive attitude on the flipped classroom. Conclusions The flipped classroom education in undergraduate learning epidemiological teaching has shown a better learning outcome. Flipped classroom was highly rated by students who have accepted the teaching. Flipped classroom is an effective teaching, which can be used as a reference for further epidemiology teaching in undergraduate. Key words: Flipped classroom; Epidemiology; Teaching model; Teaching evaluation

Objective To explore the effectiveness of flipped classroom teaching mode in the course of Introduction to Nursing. Methods Two classes of nursing students in grade 2014 were randomly assigned to the experimental group (n=34) and the control group (n=32) by lottery. Flipped classroom teaching mode and traditional teaching were used in the experimental group and the control group respectively. The final exam score, learning attitude, autonomous learning ability and critical thinking ability were compared between the two groups after the course. Results The final exam score of the experimental group was significantly higher than the control group (t=2.53, P < 0.05). Besides, the learning attitude (t=4.25, P < 0.01), autonomous learning ability (t=11.45, P < 0.01) and critical thinking ability (t=2.53, P < 0.05) were significantly higher than those of the control group and also improved significantly compared with the pre-teaching. Conclusion Flipped classroom teaching mode can effectively improve students' final exam score, learning attitude, autonomous learning ability and critical thinking ability. Key words: Teaching; Constructivism; Flipped classroom; Introduction to Nursing

Objective To evaluate the effects of the blended learning applied in the course of Medical Nursing of Vocational Colleges. Methods From March to November of 2018, the Vocational Colleges nursing students of grade 2017 were selected as the research subjects. They were divided into the experimental group (n=120) and the control group (n=150). The experimental group implements the blended teaching mode based on rain classroom, while the control group adopts the traditional classroom teaching mode. This paper evaluated the effect of the blended teaching mode based on rain classroom by using the students′ autonomous learning ability scale, the teaching effect satisfaction scale and the theoretical examination papers. Results The scores of autonomous learning ability (90.6±8.8) and theoretical examination (48.8±3.5) in the blended teaching mode group based on rain classroom were higher than those in the control group (71.4±9.6,39.6±3.6), with statistical significance (t=21.125,16.942, P<0.05). Nearly 93.3% (112/120) of the students in the experimental group accepted this teaching mode. Conclusions The blended teaching model based on rain classroom can obviously improve the self-learning ability and interest of nursing Medical Nursing of Vocational Colleges, and it is worthy of being promoted. Key words: Rain classroom; Medical nursing; Teaching method; Theory teaching; Blended teaching

Self-regulated learning (SRL), comprising elements of strategy use, metacognition and motivation, has been identified as a key factor of successful learning in many previous studies. SRL has also been widely advocated by the Hong Kong Education Bureau since its curriculum reform. Besides natural maturation, research findings have highlighted the important role of the classroom environment in developing students' SRL. Based on a series of studies conducted in Hong Kong Chinese language classes, this paper discussed the possibilities and challenges of implementing SRL-based instruction in Hong Kong. Participants in this series of studies were 31 teachers and 1,121 Secondary 4 students in Hong Kong. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected to provide a comprehensive understanding of teaching and learning in Chinese language classes from the perspective of SRL. On the one hand, the results indicated that Chinese language teachers generally held a positive attitude towards implementing SRL-based instruction and most of the features of SRL-based instruction showed positive relations with Hong Kong students' strategy use, motivation and reading performance. These findings support the advantages of applying the principles of SRL-based instruction in Hong Kong classrooms to facilitate students' learning. On the other hand, many teachers had reservations about increasing the degree of autonomy in their classrooms. A high degree of student autonomy was also found to be associated with negative learning outcomes. The effects of contextual and cultural factors on teaching and learning in Chinese classrooms and suggestions for developing Chinese students into self-directed learners are discussed.

This classroom action research aims to improve the learning outcomes of class VIII A students at MTs N 2 Pangandaran on business materials and simple planes in everyday life. Improving student learning outcomes by being given action through the Mind Mapping method. This research uses Classroom Action Research (PTK) or Classroom Action Research, which is a research activity carried out in class VIII A of the teaching and learning process using the mind mapping method which consists of several cycles. The population of this study were all students of class VIII A MTs N 2 Pangandaran with 27 students. The results of the study showed that student learning outcomes in learning business materials and simple aircraft in everyday life in class VIII A at MTs N 2 Pangandaran using the mind mapping method showed an increase from cycle to cycle. This can be seen with an increase in the average score from 61.4 in the pre-action to 75.8 in the first cycle or in other words, student learning outcomes increased 52%. Student learning outcomes in learning increased in cycle II with an increase in the average score to 83.3 or in other words an increase of 11% from cycle I. This proves that the learning process of business materials and simple aircraft in everyday life uses the method mind mapping can improve student learning outcomes