Rapid advancements in bioengineering call for broad public literacy to help individuals better understand the changes these technologies bring to our lives. However, making bioengineering concepts accessible and relevant, especially to non-science majors, is often challenging. To address this challenge, we designed a general education course aimed…

In this short piece, we argue that, in light of issues with traditional grading practices, critical assessment activities, particularly through guided reflexivity, can support equitable and social justice-oriented education in communication and beyond. The article posits that a culture-centered critically reflexive self-assessment empowers…

Many teachers have a level of discomfort with planning inquiry-based science lessons for students with complex needs. Science instruction typically includes teaching discrete skills with a focus on vocabulary acquisition (Knight et al., 2020). Because science is universal and thus important for all learners, many states have adopted the Next…

By some estimates, over 1.2 billion tons of soil was blown across the Great Plains during the height of the Dust Bowl. The so-called "black blizzards" these massive dust storms caused suffocated cattle, sickened children, and destroyed thousands of family farms. Formerly prosperous farmers, unsure why they had such bad luck, wondered if…

Drawing on the work of prominent atheists and theists, this article argues that any genuinely comprehensive vision of education should include space on the curriculum for subjects such as Theology. Theology is an example of a subject which pushes questioning to infinity, thereby allowing for insight, potential discovery and wonder. The article…

In a recent study of the impact of the "College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards," at least 32 states cited, endorsed, framed, modeled, or adopted the C3 Framework in their social studies standards. Consequently, the expectation for almost 30 million students is that social studies teachers…

The major is a standard undergraduate degree structure in which learners follow largely predetermined course paths with the primary goal of developing content knowledge and skills. Developing the more sophisticated ability to author inquiry is typically deferred to graduate training but can, we believe, be successfully cultivated in undergraduates…

SoTL has been embraced as a viable approach to professional development for higher education faculty. Workshops and programs of various types and lengths have offered guidance and provided mentorship for SoTL novices. Many books, manuals, and websites describe how to undertake a SoTL investigation, but far fewer sources of advice exist for those…

LASAR (Learning about Science and Religion) has been exploring different opportunities to engage children with practical science enquiry to develop children's understanding of the nature of science and how they suppose science connects to 'big questions'. After-school club opportunities and classroom opportunities are presented.

This article illustrates one of several learning sequences from the Interdisciplinary Mathematics and Science (IMS) Learning project, connecting science and mathematics learning in the primary school. Investigating Body Height involved a series of investigations conducted in Years 5 and 6 across six classes in one school. The project teachers…

Connections among the mathematics, science, and engineering disciplines have been recognized and affirmed in national standards. For example, the application of mathematical ideas and skills within science has been highlighted in national science standards for over 20 years. More recently, the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS; NGSS Lead…

The limited time available to teach content area subjects, given the intense demands for literacy and math instruction, is a common concern in U.S. elementary schools. Unfortunately, this is especially true in schools that serve students who are less economically advantaged. With time being a perennial concern for educators, integrated…

Background: Recent developments in STEM and computer science education put a strong emphasis on twenty-first-century skills, such as solving authentic problems. These skills typically transcend single disciplines. Thus, problem-solving must be seen as a multidisciplinary challenge, and the corresponding practices and processes need to be described…

While all citizens are increasingly concerned with climate change and its associated effects, youth show particular interest and activism around the topic. Legislators and activists have recently championed a Green New Deal as offering goals for how the issue might be addressed in the United States and other countries. In this article, we offer an…

This article describes one program's thoughtful and strategic transition to a college and subsequent innovations to its curricular framework. Acknowledging that such a change affords honors practitioners the opportunity to implement best practices established within the honors community, authors describe the unique evolution of the honors college…