The goals of nonmajor science education are to improve scientific literacy and produce pro-science attitudes. Together, these goals are expected to improve an individual's ability to make evidence-based decisions based on newer understandings of the natural world as well as developing technologies. In a post-COVID-19 world, public understanding of…

National efforts to reform undergraduate education have highlighted the need to relate abstract concepts in biology to real-world examples, especially for non-majors who may undervalue scientific processes. We therefore decided to introduce a module titled "Climate Change, Sustainable Practices and Plastic Pollution," utilizing such…

English language education has always been accorded paramount importance in China since the mid-1980s. In order to improve English teaching quality, China has initiated several rounds of English curriculum reform at various levels against the backdrop of the unprecedented spread of English as a lingua franca. Drawing upon the texts of the national…

The past generation has seen major advances in science and technology, and in the preparation of high school students for college. This study investigates changes in the science knowledge of college students, and in their attitudes and belief systems regarding science and technology. Over 12,600 non-science majors at the University of Arizona were…

Student affect was measured and compared with their overall learning outcome scores. There was a significant difference among the student affect scores (F = 4.52; df = 3, 444; p < 0.01). Among the affect items measured, only Progress Monitoring Information was significantly regressed on overall learning outcome scores (F = 5.45; df = 1, 103; p…

Despite the significant role of oral presentation in the academic context, many university students evade opportunities for participation due to low self-efficacy. The present study has been conducted to compare oral presentation self-efficacy of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners with undergraduates and postgraduates of Non-EFL majors,…

This article discusses the key components of a reform-based introductory undergraduate environmental science course for nonscience majors and elementary teacher candidates as well as the impact of such components on the participants. The main goals for the course were to actively engage the students in their learning and, in doing so, to enhance…

A first year non-majors biology course, with an enrollment of around 440 students, has been redesigned from a course of traditional content and teaching style to one that emphasizes biological concepts in current global issues and incorporates active learning strategies. We were informed by the education literature incorporating many aspects of…

A Geological Perspective is a general education survey course for non-science majors at a large southwestern research extensive university. The class has traditionally served 600 students per semester in four 150-student lectures taught by faculty, and accompanied by optional weekly study groups run by graduate teaching assistants. We radically…

In recent years, short question-and-answer activities known as lecture tutorials that are designed to help students work with and discover concepts for themselves, rather than simply being told about them (lectured to) have become a popular tool for learner-centred teaching of introductory college astronomy. Students on such a course are usually…

The study was conducted among students with some or no background in science and technology subjects (non S&T students) who enrolled in the Faculty of Information Management in a Malaysian public university during semester 2009/2010. It aims to identify students' learning styles on technical courses in order to provide inputs to instructors'…