Enhancing student learning with case-based teaching and audience response systems in an interdisciplinary Food Science course

A growing body of research in higher education suggests that teachers should move away from traditional lecturing towards more active and student-focus education approaches. Several classroom techniques are available to engage students and achieve more effective teaching and better learning experiences. The purpose of this paper is to share an example of how two of them – case-based teaching, and the use of response technologies – were implemented into a graduate-level food science course. The paper focuses in particular on teaching sensory science and sensometrics, including several concrete examples used during the course, and discussing in each case some of the observed outcomes. Overall, it was observed that the particular initiatives were effective in engaging student participation and promoting a more active way of learning. Case-base teaching provided students with the opportunity to apply their knowledge and their analytical skills to complex, real-life scenarios relevant to the subject matter. The use of audience response systems further facilitated class discussion, and was extremely well received by the students, providing a more enjoyable classroom experience.

Teaching / learning process through the case method in the law degree

This project in teaching innovation and improvement aims to disseminate the case method as one of the most innovative educational instruments inteaching of Law in general, and specifically with regard to Family and Inheritance Law. The methodology used ensures learning through a legal conflict, which must be resolved by the students themselves from different viewpoints as legal agents. This is an activity in teaching innovation, in which students become the protagonists. Participation is voluntary, and the main aim is student motivation. The subject's aim is for students to learn public speaking skills fundamental to the profession while familiarising themselves with judicial practice. Theteacher sets up a legal conflict in order for students to resolve the dispute as legal agents with divergent viewpoints - in other words, as judges, attorneys, lawyers and so on. The project seeks alternatives to traditional teaching methods and is an innovative teaching method aimed at professionally training future lawyers as well as being a model that involves students more in their own learning.

The role of information literacy competence and higher order thinking skills to develop academic writing in science and engineering students

This article discusses a study organized to develop academic writing skills in undergraduate students pursuing engineering courses. The target group consisted of 30 students pursuing a Bachelor of Technology in their third year. The classroom observations regarding teaching writing revealed that writing proficiency for most of the students was at a very low level. Followed by this, an intervention program was organized in one college, where the researcher taught academic writing to the students. Units comprising tasks that focused on raising awareness of the academic texts and involving the students in the cognitive processes of writing were designed. The study focused on raising student awareness regarding the nature and characteristics of academic texts in order to develop academic writing skills. The study also emphasized that involving the students in the cognitive processes of writing (e.g., defining the rhetorical problem, identifying the rhetorical situation, determining the audience, setting goals for writing, planning for the text by generating, and organizing ideas) is necessary. The study further suggests that discussions between students and teachers regarding the construction of a text and the way language works in various text types facilitates better writing.

Communication skills–core of employability skills: Issues & concerns

Based on a case study conducted by the researcher on a sample of 618 UG students, this paper focuses on identifying certain flaws in the present educational communication. The researcher after presenting the data analysis of the survey, attempts to highlight the present ELT scenario and its relevance to the present day needs of the society. It also emphasizes on the need to focus on practical dimensions of learning. It substantiates that inadequate language proficiency, lack of presentation skills knowledge and unawareness about life skills are the main reasons for the educated unemployment. Finally, the researcher concludes this paper with some suggestions and recommendations which will help the learners to enhance their communication skills.

Empowering engineering students through employability skills

A professional course program like engineering strives to get the maximum number of its students placed through campus interviews. While communication skills have been added in all the engineering courses with the aim to improve their performance in placement, the syllabus mostly concentrates on the development of four language skills. The students are not made aware of the employability skills and their significance. This essay intends to enlist the importance of skills and why students need to be aware of the skills they possess and how they can work on packaging their candidature around a few skills. The discussion starts by addressing the apparent gap between academic programs for engineering students and industry skills requirements. A list of vital employability skills from the standpoint of engineering students follows, with a discussion on how to potentially develop such skills through campus life. The essay stresses the role of academia in filling this gap by acting as facilitators in a three-step process (i.e., awareness, self-analysis, and acquisition). The author concludes that the combination of both employability skills along with an engineering degree should ensure students meet the high expectations of the employers.