By: Gunter E. Weller, Ph.D.
Director, Center for Global Change Research
NOAA-UAF Cooperative Institute for Arctic Research
University of Alaska, Fairbanks

Recipient of the AAAS International Scientific Cooperation Awarded Delivered at the 2000 AAAS CAIP Annual Meeting Luncheon held in conjunction with the AAAS Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. on February 20, 2000

Many university students would rather take a course taught by a popular, experienced professor than one taught by an inexperienced postdoctoral student, but that may not be the better choice. A report in the 13 May issue of the journal Science suggests that teachers’ methods—specifically whether they use an active teaching format or the more traditional lecture—matter more than their experience when it comes to student learning.