Population genetics is fundamental to understanding evolutionary theory, and is taught in most introductory biology/evolution courses. Many students are unaware that understanding this topic requires pertinent knowledge of mathematics and consequently struggle with the subject. As a response to this problem, a virtual tool (Pop!World) was…

Inspection of thousands of student responses to computer-marked assessment questions has brought insight into the errors made by adult distance learners of science. Most of the questions analysed were in summative use and required students to construct their own response. Both of these things increased confidence in the reliability of the…

Failure rates in first year calculus courses are high in most post-secondary institutions across North America and other parts of the world. This Inukshuk-funded open education project involved the development of five stand-alone pre-calculus learning modules. The design and revision phases of this project occurred between the fall of 2007 and…

We have been piloting web-based multimedia learning modules (MLMs), developed by the Physics Education Research Group at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign (UIUC), as a "prelecture assignment" in several introductory physics courses at California State Polytechnic University at Pomona. In this study, we report the results…

It is known that introductory physics students rarely, if ever, read the textbook prior to coming to lecture. In this study, we report results from a curriculum intervention in a large enrollment introductory physics class that addresses this problem. In particular, we introduced web-based multimedia learning modules (MLMs) as a "prelecture…

This curriculum guide serves to assist faculty who are developing undergraduate courses in public health as well as educational administrators and faculty curriculum committees who are designing undergraduate public health curricula. The approach outlined in these recommendations focuses on the development of three core courses, each of which is…

We studied the effect of formative assessment and feedback on learning. Students produced phylogenetic trees based upon morphological and molecular data. The trees were projected in class, feedback provided, and the process repeated twice with new data. Assessment revealed that these in-class modules resulted in significant improvement in student…

Sociologists can make meaningful contributions to quantitative literacy by teaching sociological research skills in sociology classes, including introductory courses. We report on the effectiveness of requiring a research module in a large introductory class. The module is designed to teach both basic research skills and to increase awareness of…

This study investigated the impact of learning style on performance in a Web-based learning environment. Specifically, Introductory Psychology students with different learning styles, as measured by Kolb's Learning Styles Inventory (LSI-IIa), were randomly assigned to one of two Web-based training modules that differed only in terms of their…

Purpose: While a number of universities in Australia have embraced concepts such as project/problem-based learning and design of innovative learning environments for engineering education, there has been a lack of national guidance on including sustainability as a "critical literacy" into all engineering streams. This paper was presented…

The 13 selected papers included in this conference report are: "Achieving Curriculum Fit for That 'Horrible' Second Year" (Lorraine A. Strasheim); "Project Partnership: French Culture and Language in the Elementary School" (Susan Turner); "A Middle School Exploratory Course" (Kay Thorp); "Creative and…

One college French course introduces third-semester students to commercial French while simultaneously teaching contemporary French theater to the same group. The 3-week course segment is taught with two 3-week modules, and is part of a course using the Personalized System of Instruction (PSI). The commercial language module helps to build an…