In this article, we discuss Micro Assignment Guided Inquiry and Collaboration (MAGIC), an active learning method that draws on the merits of inquiry-based learning in STEM courses. We describe the use of Micro Assignments (MAs) consisting of a series of short, instructive guiding questions that scaffold the course material. Students work through…

An introductory physics course may be run like a video game, where students have an almost unlimited number of attempts to demonstrate their competencies through a sequence of zero-penalty assessments until the end of a semester. Each checkpoint is conducted as a 10-minute, one-on-one oral interview with the instructor, and students are not…

The last decade has seen an explosion of new pedagogical programs, modules, and curricula in undergraduate STEM courses. Despite the importance of effective dissemination in spreading such programs to a broader community of users, relatively little attention is typically given to the needs of potential adopters. In this paper, we build on previous…

Integrating authentic research practices into introductory laboratory courses to prepare tomorrow's scientists has become increasingly prevalent over the past decade. However, an incomplete understanding of the nature of science (NOS) and authentic scientific inquiry (SI) precludes higher-level learning in undergraduate research experiences. In…

This column provides original articles on innovations in case study teaching, assessment of the method, as well as case studies with teaching notes. In this month's issue the authors provide a more definitive answer to the "What Makes a Good Case?" question based on a just-completed Survey Monkey survey given to NCCSTS teachers.

Instead of flipping a conventional college course, here we consider flipping part of a conventional course into a whole new course. The idea tested here for three semesters was to split a full-featured traditional course into two linked courses: a condensed, 1-credit-hour, online mass-enrollment course on core ideas and skills paired with a…

A picture, they say, is worth a thousand words. If a mere picture is worth a thousand words, how much more are "moving pictures" or videos worth? The author poses this not merely as a rhetorical question, but because she wishes to make a case for using videos in the traditional case study method. She recommends four main approaches of…

We present the theory and implementation of a review strategy based on testing rather than lecturing. We also show the results of a beginning-of-course review using the format of a two-stage examination, in which students complete a set of questions individually, then again as a group. This format offers several benefits compared with the typical…

The author makes a case for fieldwork as having a strong capacity for increasing both science and nonscience majors' abilities to learn complex concepts, with the added benefit of actively engaging minority and female students in science.

This column provides original articles on innovations in case study teaching, assessment of the method, as well as case studies with teaching notes. This month's issue discusses the positive and negative aspects of the "flipped classroom." In the flipped classroom model, what is normally done in class and what is normally done as…

This article examines the process of researching and revising a case study presentation on an individual who experienced anesthetic awareness during an abdominal surgery and eventually committed suicide. Topics addressed include the author's selection of an undergraduate student with a science and teaching background to work on the case…

This article discusses the key components of a reform-based introductory undergraduate environmental science course for nonscience majors and elementary teacher candidates as well as the impact of such components on the participants. The main goals for the course were to actively engage the students in their learning and, in doing so, to enhance…

This article discusses the results of a survey that was posted for those who regularly peruse the website of the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science (NCCSTS). Faculty members were asked about their use of case studies and videos in their General Biology classrooms. The results are enlightening because General Biology is arguably the…

This Scholarship of Teaching and Learning project discusses the effectiveness of using distance metaphor-building activities along with a case study exam to help undergraduate nonscience majors understand and apply geologic time. Using action research, we describe how a scholarly teacher integrated previously published and often-used teaching…

This column provides original articles on innovations in case study teaching, assessment of the method, as well as case studies with teaching notes. This month's case study focuses on the chemistry of cocaine to teach a number of core concepts in organic chemistry. It also requires that students read and analyze an original research paper on…