With the development of new sequencing and bioinformatics technologies, concepts relating to personal genomics play an increasingly important role in our society. To promote interest and understanding of sequencing and bioinformatics in the high school classroom, we developed and implemented a laboratory-based teaching module called "The…

A semester-long research project to synthesize unique compounds designed after published metalloprotease peptide inhibitors is presented. The research project encompasses a set of nine organic chemistry reactions traditionally taught in the second semester lab course, and the procedures are derived from scientific literature. The two principle…

A new method for teaching advanced laboratories at the undergraduate level is presented. The intent of this approach is to get students more engaged in the lab experience and apply critical thinking skills to solve problems. The structure of the lab is problem-based and provides students with a research-like experience. Students read the current…

It has been noted that undergraduate project-based laboratories lead to increased interest in scientific research and student understanding of biological concepts. We created a novel, inquiry-based, multiweek genetics research project studying Ptpmeg, for the Introductory Biology Laboratory course at Brandeis University. Ptpmeg is a protein…

The Holy Cross Chemistry Department has designed and implemented an experiment on buffers as part of our Discovery Chemistry curriculum. The pedagogical philosophy of Discovery Chemistry is to make the laboratory the focal point of learning for students in their first two years of undergraduate instruction. We first pose questions in prelaboratory…

A reality show about a college course--a chemistry class no less? That's what "ChemLab Boot Camp" is. The 14-part series of short videos is being released one episode at a time on the online learning site of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The novel show follows a diverse group of 14 freshmen as they struggle to master the…

Cooking is a tangible, familiar, and delicious tool for teaching physics, which is easy to implement in a university setting. Through our courses at Harvard and UCLA, each year we are engaging hundreds of undergraduate students, primarily non-science majors, in science concepts and the scientific research process. We find that weekly lectures by…

An awareness of the extensive diversity of living organisms is an essential component of a complete biology education. It is important for students to explore the spectacular variety of living things as well as to understand the many solutions to the challenges of living on Earth that have evolved in different organisms. The "National Science…

Undergraduate research is viewed as an important catalyst for educational engagement and persistence, with an emphasis on the faculty mentoring relationship. Despite the common practice of having multi-tiered lab teams composed of newer undergraduates and more seasoned undergraduates serving as peer mentors, less is understood about the experience…

American writing center director Kathleen Shine Cain analyzes the transformative experience of spending a year in a Belfast writing centre, resulting in a renewed appreciation of cross-national and cross-cultural partnerships. Although American writing center theory and pedagogy have informed the development of centers in Europe, Asia, and Africa,…

Radiological images show anatomical structures in multiple planes and may be effective for teaching anatomical spatial relationships, something that students often find difficult to master. This study tests the hypotheses that (1) the use of cadaveric computed tomography (CT) scans in the anatomy laboratory is positively associated with…

This report is a result of a cooperative agreement between the Bureau of Education of the Department of the Interior and the States Relations Service of the Department of Agriculture. The study included in this report was undertaken with a view to determining the character of instruction in agriculture in certain high schools in eastern States and…