Abstract: Although medical education has long recognized the importance of community service, most medical schools have not formally nor fully incorporated service learning into their curricula. To address this problem, we describe the initial design, development, implementation, and evaluation of a service-learning project within a first-year medical school course. Medical students (eight women, eight men) screened clients of a community agency for high blood pressure and educated them about the effects of hypertension on health. Results of the project indicated significant increases in students? attitudes, knowledge, and skills related to community health, resources, and service. Infusing medical education with service-learning activities can both meet community needs and enhance student education about the health of the public. The present findings support continued development and evaluation of service-learning projects within medical school training programs.

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Abstract: This article examines current business communication education in higher education, particularly in regard to English as a global language. The discussion is situated at the intersection of business communication, intercultural communication, and internationalization of higher education, and the article draws on research from all three fields. The article questions why not enough use is being made of existing cultural diversity in university classrooms, and it suggests a variety of pedagogical strategies which will enable teachers to build on the cultural and linguistic strengths of their students to develop intercultural communication competence. These new directions for intercultural business communication will equip business graduates to operate successfully in a globalized world.

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Abstract: This paper reports on evaluation of a scheme to improve University teaching through action research over a five-year period in the science, engineering, and technology division of a large Australian dual sector University. Between 2002 to 2006 this scheme directly committed approximately A$210,000 in grants and involved over 130 teaching and other staff in sponsoring projects of up to eight months? duration, with a total of 34 projects completed. Evaluation was informed by the desire of the academic developers concerned with the scheme to engage more widely with staff in predominantly empirical disciplinary cultures, to be more accountable within a University business management paradigm, and to contribute to the scholarship of academic development. The paper provides evidence ? in terms of quality, effectiveness, practicality, participation, and satisfaction ? to show how this scheme enhanced the scholarship of teaching and learning in the University. The paper outlines issues encountered and further work to be done in undertaking evaluation of such a scheme.

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Abstract: Instructional games have become an established factor in corporate and government training, and they are beginning to appear to a greater extent in educational institutions. As a result, courses on instructional game development are being incorporated into educational programs. Students in these courses find themselves faced with the task of confronting, understanding, and internalizing concepts that they have never before encountered. This article reports the practice and result of using games in one such course, and uses student commentary to support the conclusion that the games used were successful in reducing anxiety, increasing motivation, and improving understanding.

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Abstract: This qualitative multi-case study explored the space where critical reflection and group development met within the online environment for the adult learner. Using critical reflection with adult learners through their responses to Stephen Brookfield?s (1995) Critical Incident Questionnaire (CIQ) in the online environment precipitated instructional effectiveness by unearthing reactions to the online environment and provided a consistent framework for assessing group development. The study context included two sixteen-week, online, asynchronous graduate courses on adult teaching strategies at a research-intensive university located in Midwestern United States. The findings reflected evidence of Tuckman?s (1965) and Tuckman and Jensen?s (1977) group development sequence of forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning within both courses. The analysis and implications were related to critical reflection, group development, the online environment, and adult learning.

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Abstract: This two-part study investigates perceptions of interactive classroom teaching techniques for adult learning. In the first part of the study 62 college faculty members and 45 corporate trainers were surveyed about their teaching and training methods. The survey had two main objectives: to determine rates of classroom techniques used, and to determine influences on teaching styles. Trainers used a greater variety of teaching techniques in their presentations, such as visuals and interactive exercises including games, and spent less time on lecturing than their college faculty counterparts. Both groups identified their temperament as the main influence on their teaching style. Several other influences on teaching style were cited with similar frequency by the two groups, but trainers reported using mentors and instructors? guides more frequently than college instructors did. In the second part of the study, five faculty members were mentored to change traditional lectures to interactive games. A review of their perceptions of success and difficulty in using such activities in the college classroom, their students? perceptions of the exercise, and student performance identified both benefits and costs. Suggestions are made for strategies to successfully implement games in the college classroom, based on consideration of these benefits and costs and the survey results.

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Abstract: The transnational widening of participation in higher education (HE) and the concomitant emphasis on promoting successful progression and high retention are focusing attention on how best to create supportive learning environments in HE. Using a phenomenographic approach, we explore variance in how first year undergraduate students experience the learning of generic, subject-related and metacognitive skills within a study skills module integrated into education programs. The findings suggest responses ranging from a lack of engagement in the module to evidence of increased confidence, criticality, self-reflection and change as a learner. The conclusion posits alternative ways of promoting the learning of study skills, which, whilst potentially including all learners, bring significant ramifications for the professional development of university lecturers.

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Abstract: Many university level programs are obligated to prepare students for professional employment while simultaneously providing the academic rigor consistent with university level study. These programs include but are not limited to: commercial recreation, sport management, therapeutic recreation, marketing, accounting, and law. Consequently, an education in any of these areas has to not only foster student learning, but also enhance opportunities for students? professional development. Professional studies classrooms provide exceptional opportunities to facilitate team-like cooperation in a competitive business-like environment. Instructors can utilize these unique instructional opportunities in order to maximize student learning and professional development, preparing them both to cooperate and compete by structuring learning activities that require them to cooperate in teams that compete against one another. This paper presents a rationale for using cooperation and competition in higher education classrooms and then provides an example of the application of these techniques in a capstone commercial recreation class.

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Abstract: This paper looks at the digital native-digital immigrant model presented by Prensky, addresses some of the nuances of each group, and proposes the addition of another group to describe many of the non-users of technology we find throughout education. Suggestions to assist faculty in integrating appropriate technologies into their teaching are provided.

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Abstract: The Virginia Tech Math Emporium is a large-scale, computer-based learning lab supporting courses designed following the emporium model (Twigg, 2003). In this article the authors discuss challenges and solutions faced between the years 1997 and 2006 involved with hiring, training, and evaluating the staff of instructional assistants working in the Math Emporium. The discussion is grounded in literature from the fields of training and peer tutoring. Directions for future methods of training instructional assistants are suggested.

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