National undergraduate research conferences have been commonplace in the US for many years e.g. the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR), and are becoming more frequent elsewhere. Alongside national conferences many universities hold their own events, which are often institution-wide, so as to appeal to a large proportion of their…

In an increasingly data-driven world, facility with statistics is more important than ever for our students. At institutions without a statistician, it often falls to the mathematics faculty to teach statistics courses. This paper presents a model that a mathematician asked to teach statistics can follow. This model entails connecting with faculty…

This is the second of two Directions articles, which together offer guidance to help the reader gain the maximum benefit from participating in institutional and national multi-disciplinary undergraduate research conferences. The earlier article introduced undergraduate research conferences, summarized the key benefits of participating in such…

In their classrooms, the authors observed students experiencing meaningful and memorable learning when they were immersed in scientific inquiry involving Bess beetles. Students who learn from active, experiential instruction, find such learning to be exciting and emotionally engaging. As a result, they learn more deeply and effectively. This…

Land-grant Extension institutions face increasing expectations to use data to communicate value and drive program and organizational development. In this article, we introduce the University of Wisconsin--Extension Data Jam Initiative, an integrated qualitative software, methods, and data analysis curriculum. The Data Jam Initiative is an…

Tuning, as a methodology, implies a philosophy of curriculum design, pedagogy, and assignment design. It implies that successful study in a discipline depends on intentional construction of learning experiences for students. Intentional construction of learning experiences requires an understanding of the learning goals set forth by faculty for…

This article describes a pilot project of the Morgridge Center for Public Service at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for a new structure for community-based learning and research. It is based on the European-derived science shop model for democratizing campus-community partnerships using shared values of mutual respect and validation of…

In the training of doctoral researchers in the use of qualitative research methods, considerable effort goes into preparation for fieldwork and the collection of data. Rather less attention, however, goes into what happens when they have collected their data and begin to make sense of it. In particular, relatively little attention has been paid to…

This appendix accompanies the report "Taking the Lead in Science Education: Forging Next-Generation Science Standards. International Science Benchmarking Report," a study conducted by Achieve to compare the science standards of 10 countries. This appendix includes the following: (1) PISA and TIMSS Assessment Rankings; (2) Courses and…

The research report approach is suggested as a successful technique for student exposure to a diversity of bioethical issues. These interdisciplinary reports require students to analyze a controversy's components to ensure an intelligent resolution of it. Report format, list of suggested topics, and objectives of completing reports are included.…

The purpose of this essay is to examine how writing has shaped the nature of the Quarterly over 75 years. Here the author explores how stylistic elements have changed over time, how form has interacted with function and content, and how well the resulting text has served the several communities within physical education. He makes the following…

Describes two NEH sponsored workshops for the development of foreign language and literature programs which took place at the San Francisco and Houston MLA meetings in 1979 and 1980. Resulting efforts to strengthen foreign language programs as essential components of humanistic education are illustrated by reports from 1979 workshop participants.…

Proceedings and recommendations of the Rhode Island Arts Education Planning Institute are reported. The conference involved 127 participants including educators, artists, and personnel from arts organizations. A brief summary of the presentations of model programs includes exploration in sound, photography, and publication in the high school, a…

The National Research Council completed a major study of undergraduate biology education, "BIO 2010-Transforming Undergraduate Education For Future Research Biologists (BIO 2010)," funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the National Institutes of Health. The "BIO 2010" report recommends that biology pedagogy should use an…

A problem solving course designed to expose the student to the wide range of alternative problem solving techniques and to enable the student to use these methods in practical applications was developed at the University of California at Los Angeles. The course also exposes the humanities student to objective tools such as numerical models, while…