The faculty at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS) recognized the potential benefits for collaborative teaching and learning across disciplines. Research and development of an Interprofessional Case Learning Project (ICLP) laid the foundation for the creation and implementation of a problem-based learning course. This…

In science education, the value of the constructivist methodology has long been integrated with experiential and hands-on learning while offering a framework for teaching and learning. In recent pre- and future postpandemic times, as various online modalities have been leveraged in the teaching of science, there should be a complementary approach…

Recent science reform advocates for the inclusion of engineering design to teach science and represents a shift to so-called three-dimensional (3D) learning. This shift often requires science instructors to adapt their current curriculum to integrate 3D learning. To support this shift, the current study illustrates the collaborative development…

The authors wanted to improve student learning of evolutionary concepts by integrating content across the biology major. In this article they describe the process used to develop support among members of the department and administration to implement and measure the outcomes of curricular reforms.

Many studies illustrate the positive influences of undergraduate research experiences on student learning, attitudes, and retention in the sciences. At our institution, over 90% of the biology majors surveyed reported a desire to participate in undergraduate research, but only 3% per year have the opportunity to work in a traditional…

This article describes the development of a model for an optional, research-based course that bridges two existing, traditionally separate, introductory science courses. This research course provided freedom for students to design and implement new experiments on the basis of technical foundations built from enrollment in separate introductory…

"Vision and Change," a publication by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, has illustrated the need for curricular change within biology departments across the nation. Yet despite this apparent need for change, many institutions have been slow to move for a number of reasons, perhaps most significant among them is a…

Education research provides a range of curricular reform options that can lead to improved student course outcomes. These options can appear easy to implement with the hope of immediate increases in student learning. In 2006 the Ithaca College Physics Department went down this path by moving all of their 100-level courses out of lecture halls and…

Lab components of undergraduate science courses typically have students complete highly directed cookbook-like laboratory activities. These experiences rarely engage students in a meaningful manner and do not accurately convey what the work of science entails. With funding from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), we have created more…

Many science educators know of the pedagogical benefits of inquiry- and research-based labs, yet numerous barriers to implementation exist. In this article we describe a faculty development workshop that explored interdisciplinary and inter-institutional collaborations as potential mechanisms for overcoming barriers to curricular innovation.

Inquiry-based instruction is widely promoted to increase both students' conceptual understanding and their engagement in course content. What this means for day-to-day practices in the classroom is more elusive. Instructors adopting inquiry-based curricula often are unaware of the typical instructional challenges they may face. In particular,…

A collaborative of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) and education faculty developed a STEM certificate aimed at elementary education majors. A four-phase process model was used to create and evaluate courses. The certificate is comprised of three interdisciplinary, team-taught, lab-based courses: Environmental Biology,…

To form and orchestrate intelligent groups is a real challenge for 21st-century education and research. In this paper the authors show how a regional state university was able to facilitate interdisciplinary research and education through forming an interdisciplinary institute. (Contains 1 table and 1 figure.)

Significant challenges to education transformation in lecture-oriented science departments include initiating and supporting a dialogue about teaching and learning among faculty whose priorities are primarily research. The authors established a faculty learning community through which participants made significant changes to how they think about…

An interdisciplinary team of science and education faculty at the University of Illinois at Chicago and several Chicago-area community colleges developed and implemented a series of four integrated, inquiry-based science courses for preservice elementary school teachers. All four courses are based on guiding principles taken from the rich…