Intriguing experiences
A program in which students visit, study, and learn about am important cultural river—and then are exposed to a curriculum that is oriented around the disputes and issues that relate to this river
An approach in which, during each class, the instructor presents a couple of unrelated but intriguing puzzles
Engaging technologies
An event in which students watched holographic speakers from around the globe
Holographic technology that enables medical and nursing students to practice common procedures, such as the insertion of tubes
A gamified computer application that is designed to teach disaster medicine
A class in which students receive VR headsets to watch and to participate in theatre
Tough love
Orientation practices that prepare students
before they commence online courses
The prohibition of mobile devices during classes in which students attend in person
A program in which students visit, study, and learn about am important cultural river—and then are exposed to a curriculum that is oriented around the disputes and issues that relate to this river
At Humboldt State University, first year students in biology, wildlife, zoology, botany, fisheries, environmental science, and other STEM courses are granted opportunities to participate in Klamath Connection, a learning community, in which all the teaching revolves around the Klamath River in Western USA. The river engenders a variety of multifaceted and interdisciplinary issues, such as conflicts over water rights and conservation of natural resources, affecting a diversity of tribes and communities. The students undertake a range of learning activities, under the guidance of scientists, tribal members, environmental groups, and other stakeholders. For example
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during summer, students are immersed in the region for four days, visiting a reservation, watching presentations and a film about relevant issues, analyzing a report about the region, and completing some activities to explore these issues
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while on campus during their course, instructors directed a significant portion of the content towards examples and topics that are relevant to the region. For example, the botany class explored the algae in this region
Subsequent research showed these students, relative to matched peers—as derived from propensity score matching—were more likely to report a greater sense of belonging, to receive higher academic grades, and to complete their course on time. Specifically, students who experienced the place-based learning developed stronger connections to peers and reported greater satisfaction with the course.
Further reading
Johnson, M. D., Sprowles, A. E., Goldenberg, K. R., Margell, S. T., & Castellino, L. (2020). Effect of a place-based learning community on belonging, persistence, and equity gaps for first-year STEM students. Innovative Higher Education, 45(6), 509-531.
Johnson, M., Sprowles, A., Overeem, K., & Rich, A. (2017). A place-based learning community: Klamath Connection at Humboldt State University. Learning Communities Research and Practice, 5(2).
An approach in which, during each class, the instructor
presents a couple of unrelated but intriguing puzzles
In STEM courses at three universities in New Zealand, midway during each class, the instructor presents one or two irregular problems—that is, problems in which students need to utilize their initiative, ingenuity, and creativity to determine how to solve these puzzles. These problems are called non-routine. The instructor grants the students a couple of minutes to solve these problems, either individually or in small groups. Then, for several additional minutes, the instructor facilitated a discussion on how to solve these problems, often extending the ideas or solutions that students offered. Across a course that lasts 12 weeks, the instructor presents about 20 of these problems.
The puzzles were challenging and paradoxical, comprising a solution that may be surprising, entertaining, and counter-intuitive or sophisms—invalid reasoning that might seem correct but is subtly flawed. To illustrate, in the following problem, most students assume the answer is 20m. But the right answer is actually 19m.
Adam, Brett, and Chris compete in a 100 m race. If Adam beats Brett by 10 m, and Brett beats Chris by 10 m, what is the distance that Adam beats Chris, assuming all three individuals run at a uniform speed.
This puzzles, although superficially irrelevant to the course, enhanced student engagement. The students also perceived these problems as beneficial to their creativity and problem-solving skills.
Further reading
Evans, T., Klymchuk, S., Murphy, P. E., Novak, J., Stephens, J., & Thomas, M. (2022). Engagement of undergraduate STEM students: the influence of non-routine problems. Higher Education Research & Development, 41(1), 146-162.
An event in which students watched
holographic speakers from around the globe
In 2018, the London Imperial College Business School organized an event, lasting over an hour, in which guest speakers, located in various studios around the nation, presented their insights about women in technology. As the speakers presented their material, their image appeared as a holograph, in life size, in the auditorium in which the students were located. In particular, the guest speakers were located in various locations around the US, and the students were located in London. The students could even ask the speakers questions, and the speakers could answer. Indeed, at one time, the panel of speakers were projected simultaneously, close to the facilitator, to discuss various questions. A company called ARHT Media arranged the technology to generate these holograms.
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Further reading
Holographic technology that enables medical and nursing students to practice common procedures, such as the insertion of tubes
The National University of Singapore has introduced holographic technology into their medical and nursing programs. The students wear a Microsoft HoloLens 2, a headset, that projects holograms or 3D images only a latex dummy. The hologram generates images, such as a wound, coupled with instructions that help students complete medical procedures. The students can actually use tools to manipulate the images. The students can then practice these procedures frequently, even at home, and do not need to wait until placements or lectures return. Once they master the fundamentals of these procedures, they are then exposed to complications.
Holographic technology is better than virtual reality on some attributes. Specifically, when students use virtual reality, the headsets are often heavy and the controllers are often contrived and unwieldy. In contrast, when students use holographic technology, they can use actual medical instruments. They can, therefore, see a blend of holographic images and real images.
Holographic technology also differs from augmented reality. When students use augmented reality, images are merely superimposed on some background: Students cannot manipulate these images with their hands. When students use holographic technology, the students can actually manipulate the images with their hands and with tools.
Further reading
Sichuan University: The Serious Game
A gamified computer application that is
designed to teach disaster medicine
Sichuan University developed a computer game that teaches disaster medicine. The screen displays a schematic illustration of a hospital, including beds and patients in ICU, surgery, examination, the wards, the garden, and other locations. Teams of 10 students then received study materials, such as 39 cases who had experienced casualties after a catastrophic event. The team needed to communicate to solve a range of missions, such as triage patients, provide initial medical care, determine the order patients should be transited to hospital, as well as arrange hospital beds and rooms. The game calculated the degree to which the decisions of teams matched predetermined answers. Relative to traditional lectures, the game significantly enhanced the retention of knowledge, as assessed by a multiple choice test six weeks after the intervention.
Further reading
Hu, H., Liu, Z., & Li, H. (2022). Teaching disaster medicine with a novel game-based computer application: A case study at Sichuan University. Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, 16(2), 548–554
University of Essex: VR theatre performances
A class in which students receive VR headsets
to watch and to participate in theatre
To improve a theatre class during a surge in COVID-19, Dr Liam Jarvis contacted a company that produces content in which viewers can use virtual reality to watch theatre performances. Dr Jarvis then sent virtual reality headsets to all students. The students could watch the theatre performances as well as participate in other activities—such as storytelling workshops and pitching revisions to Greek myths—online. To finance this initiative, Liam Jarvis redirected funds that had been assigned to conferences and trips that were cancelled because of COVID-19.
Before they received these headsets, the students had already developed trust in this lecturer. For example, in one activity, Dr Jarvis had presented the students with 40 pounds of his own money. The students were then granted 30 minutes to choose how to spend the money effectively and democratically.
Further reading
Bank Street College of Education online orientation
Orientation practices that prepare students
before they commence online courses
To foster collaboration in online courses, Bank Street College of Education introduced a set of activities that prepare online students, before they embark on their studies. Specifically, to promote teacher presence, as defined in the community of inquiry framework, the instructors
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in the syllabus, present explicit guidelines on how students should collaborate during online courses—such as how often students should participate in online discussions, how students can assist one another, and a sample of suitable comments to demonstrate the appropriate tone
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students are instructed to build knowledge together and to interact as a means to understand the topic, like a tennis player—rather than merely declare facts
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before students commence the course, they are instructed to complete some short activities to familiarize themselves with how to interact using the learning management system
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after students commence, they are instructed to introduce themselves—such as their own experiences as children and attitudes as adults that are relevant to this course. The instructors also complete this task and present this material over video.
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Further reading
Burr, V., & Otoya-Knapp, K. (2014). Progressive online teacher education: Developing shifts in methodologies. Teacher Education and Practice, 27(4), 514
Anonymous Danish university: Prohibition of mobile devices
The prohibition of mobile devices during
classes in which students attend in person
At one Danish university, students were enrolled in a course that combined online videos with classes in which students attended in person. In these classes, the lecturer prohibited mobile devices, such as laptops, tablets, and smartphones—a prohibition that deviates from the usual practice in Denmark. Students were instead informed they must record notes on paper. To justify this rule, the lecturer expressed the belief that mobile devices may compromise the capacity of students to record effective notes, to participate actively, and to concentrate effectively. In general, students indicated they felt more engaged in these classes but less able to share and to locate their notes later.
Past studies indicate benefits and drawbacks of this prohibition. In lectures or tutorials, if students record notes by writing rather than by typing in a laptop, they tend to learn better and to record more elaborate notes (Mueller & Oppenheimer, 2014). However, this prohibition may offend students and may be unhelpful in particular circumstances (for a review, see Herrmann et al., 2021). Perhaps, instructors could encourage students to agree to forego mobile devices during particular sessions.
Further reading
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Herrmann, K. J., Lindvig, K., & Aagaard, J. (2021). Curating the use of digital media in higher education: a case study. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 45(3), 389-400
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Mueller, P. A., & Oppenheimer, D. M. (2014). The pen is mightier than the keyboard: Advantages of longhand over laptop note taking. Psychological Science, 25, 1159-1168