Current technology has the capacity for affording a virtual experience that challenges the notion of a teaching laboratory for undergraduate science and engineering students. Though the potential of virtual laboratories (V-Labs) has been extolled and investigated in a number of areas, this research has not been synthesized for the context of…

Hydraulic fracturing ('fracking'), like other complex social and environmental issues, is a controversy about science which raises educational questions about how best to prepare young people to understand, respond to and, where necessary, act (or not) in response. It raises political questions. We present a state-of-the-art review of research…

Summarized are definitions, trends, and the change in the views of design in engineering education since the 1950s. Four decades of report conclusions are reviewed. (CW)

Presented is a review of the literature on the development of university and industry research cooperation and conflict up to the early 1980's. The founding of both research universities and industrial America, two world wars, the space race, and protest movements provide points of reference for this period. (MVL)

Described is the status of science education reform in 1990. Different groups working on change, demographic trends in the US, student anecdotes, lab operations, the role of Sigma Xi, goals set by the state governors, industry efforts, and programs for the improvement of middle school teachers are discussed. (CW)

This article emphasizes the importance of K-12 education in a technically literal society. Cites several major studies in a discussion of the reasons for the apparent unpreparedness of K-12 teachers to teach mathematics and science. Makes recommendations as to how engineering colleges can help to improve K-12 teachers' technical abilities. (CW)