Misconceptions are sometimes called "alternative conceptions" in acknowledgement of the fact that although these concepts are inaccurate, they are congruent with prior experiences. The idea that misconceptions must be addressed to improve learning is helpful to remember when developing a case study. Students will bring their existing…

Undergraduate science students benefit greatly by learning to read and interpret primary research articles. However, once they obtain a level of competence in analyzing primary literature and develop a better understanding of the nature of science, they may become frustrated by the lack of scientific literacy and objectivity demonstrated by the…

One-day professional development workshops for graduate students and postdocs were held at top National Research Council--ranked chemistry research departments. Attendees intend to pursue academic careers, yet their experience and knowledge about teaching and learning were small. Postsurveys indicated that despite the short duration, the workshop…

Remember the time when all you had to do was memorize these five steps: ask a question, formulate a hypothesis, perform experiment, collect data, and draw conclusions? And you received full credit for defining the scientific method. Well, those days are gone. This article discusses why the "scientific method ain't what it used to be." (Contains 2…

Clickers are a popular tool in large science classes. The authors find that clickers can also be used in small undergraduate- and graduate-level science classes, and to some extent also in laboratory classes, to achieve the same purposes as in large classes. Issues that can be addressed using clickers include fully engaging all students,…

Testing strategies centered around open-ended assessments are generally thought to result in deeper learning compared with close-ended questioning. However, the time requirements involved in grading open-ended assessments on exams often limit the feasibility of using such assessments. This article presents an index card questioning strategy…

Scientific modeling is an integral part of contemporary science, yet many students have little understanding of how models are developed, validated, and used to predict and explain phenomena. A simple modeling exercise led to significant gains in understanding key attributes of scientific modeling while revealing some stubborn misconceptions.…

The K-W-L method of teaching is a simple method that actively engages students in their own learning. It has been used with kindergarten and elementary grades to teach other subjects. The authors have successfully used it to teach physics at the college level. In their introductory physics labs, the K-W-L method helped students think about what…

Frequent and immediate feedback is critical for learning and retaining content as well as developing effective learning teams (Michaelson, Knight, and Fink 2004). The Immediate Feedback Assessment Technique (IF-AT) provides a single and efficient way for learners to self-assess their progress in a course and to structure significant small-group…

One of the unifying themes of modern biology is evolution. In introductory biology courses, evolution is studied in some detail and used as a focal point for many courses. For many teachers of those courses, the greatest frustration is their inability to help students become Darwinian. Students do not reject evolutionary ideas, but they quickly…

Reports on students' preexisting knowledge and examines misconceptions among nonscience major undergraduate students. Focuses on evaluating results of misconceptions in selected astronomy courses. (YDS)

Research shows that many students hold misconceptions related to plant functions (Hershey 2004). Some of these students will become teachers with little content understanding to identify their students' misconceptions about plants (Amir and Tamir 1994). The literature on teaching about plants doesn't help; it contains frequent errors,…

Nonscience majors often come into science courses with misconceptions about the nature of science. As part of an integrative mathematics and science course, we have structured a continued dialogue regarding the nature of science through inquiry-based classroom activities and an extended investigation.

Instructors used an electronic response system to enhance student-centered learning in large and small college biology classes. The system worked well to engage students in learning the subject matter and to assess their prior knowledge and misconceptions. It provided useful feedback to students as well as instructors. Problems encountered…

Active engagement in the classroom is one of the best tools available for overcoming conceptual difficulties. Science educators agree that students of all ages learn more by participating actively in the interpretation of scientific phenomena (NAS 2003; NSF 1998). In this article, the authors describe demonstrations in class using paper wads as an…