This paper describes three instructional practices in the context of lecture and laboratory courses in Digital Signal Processing. The three concepts are: (1) In the course development process, articulate learning outcomes associated with each section meeting, then develop assessments for each learning outcome prior to developing instructional material for the course, and then, and only then, pr...

Learning from worked-out examples is very effective for initial skill acquisition, at least when learners actively explain the solution steps in the examples to themselves. However, learning solely on the basis of self-explanations is connected with several restrictions, even when effective self-explaining is trained or elicited. Therefore, a coherent set of principles for integrating instructi...

This paper describes a novel online tool, Individualized, Interactive Instruction (3i), that enables new instructional approaches based on formative assessment. The 3i system provides real-time feedback from students to instructors in the classroom. 3i directly displays each student’s progress on specific problem solving tasks that reveal understanding of instructional topics. The 3i system des...

New technologies, such as MOOCs, provide innovative methods to tackle new challenges in teaching and learning, such as globalization and changing contemporary culture and to remove the limits of conventional classrooms. However, they also bring challenges in course delivery and assessment, due to factors such as less direct student-instructor interaction. These challenges are especially severe ...

This paper examines the validity of measures of teacher effectiveness from the Tennessee Value Added Assessment System (TVAAS). Specifically, we consider the following claims regarding teacher effects: that they adequately capture teachers' unique contributions to student learning; that they reflect adequate standards of excellence for comparing teachers; that they provide useful diagnostic inf...

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to present the Information Literacy Instruction Assessment Cycle (ILIAC), to describe the seven stages of the ILIAC, and to offer an extended example that demonstrates how the ILIAC increases librarian instructional abilities and improves student information literacy skills. Design/methodology/approach – Employing survey design methodology, the researcher and ...

As an instructional tool, graphic organizers (GOs) have been highly recommended and used in contemporary classrooms. Over the past decade, a number of concerns have been raised about claims for the effectiveness of GOs. These concerns involve the inconsistent research results on student improvements, the limitation in generalizability from research studies, and the need for research studies wit...