Size does matter. When you're faced with a class of 50, 150, or even 250 college students, it's tough to head off boredom - much less promote higher-order thinking and inquiry skills. But it's not impossible, thanks to the professor-tested techniques in this collection of 14 articles from the Journal of College Science Teaching . The book starts by examining what research shows about the effectiveness of popular teaching styles. ( Surprise: Lectures don't stimulate active learning.) From there, the authors offer proven alternatives that range from small-scale innovations to completely revamped teaching methods. Suggested strategies include using quizzes in place of midterms and finals, student forums, interactive lectures, collaborative groups, group facilitators, and e-mail and computer technology .