Gateway science courses are an ongoing obstacle to recruitment into STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). Students come into courses that have a high cognitive load, which makes success in the course challenging. Instructional design can be used to reduce cognitive load. The findings demonstrate that leveraging pre- and…

In large, introductory courses, instructors and teaching assistants often struggle to provide detailed feedback on student homework in a timely manner. Here we describe a peer-reviewed homework system that provides quick turnaround while offering flexibility in the construction of homework problems. Homework is administered through a cycle, which…

Student experience and achievement in undergraduate science courses is important for degree retention and generating interest in careers in STEM. Graduate student teaching assistants (GTAs) provide a majority of instruction in STEM laboratory courses at universities and play a critical role in the educational experience of students. Many GTAs…

Many large-lecture introductory science courses for nonscience majors do not have a lab component and hence do not provide much opportunity for students to engage in the practice of science. I have developed a new instructional activity called Dorm Room Labs that enables students to conduct hands-on activities as homework (or dorm room work) to…

Three years ago, the "National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science" (NCCSTS) was inspired to merge the case study and flipped classroom approaches. The resulting project aimed to create the materials required to teach a flipped course in introductory biology by assigning videos as homework and case studies in the classroom. Three…

A flipped classroom is one where students are first introduced to content outside of the classroom. This frees up class time for more active learning strategies and has been shown to enhance student learning in high school and college classrooms. However, many studies in General Chemistry, a college gateway science course, were conducted in small…

Studying physics for nonphysics majors at college level is usually a process of learning new problem-solving skills and sometimes seems a frustrating experience. In an attempt to provide students with more learning resources, online homework was required to supplement the instruction. This study reveals the role of the online homework assignments…

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…

To improve students' retention rates in general chemistry, online homework was introduced into our curriculum. Replacing quizzes directly by online homework significantly improved (p less than 0.0005) success rates in second-term general chemistry. Attitudinal Likert survey results indicate that the majority of students completed the online…

Creative exercises (CEs) are a form of assessment in which students are given a prompt and asked to write down as many distinct, correct, and relevant facts about the prompt as they can. Students receive credit for each fact that they include that is related to the prompt and distinct from the other facts they list. With CEs, students have an…

College science teachers know that students get the most out of class if they have completed the assigned reading. To reinforce this expectation, we ask our introductory physics students to submit a question they had about the reading. In this paper we describe the rationale and logistics of this assignment. (Contains 2 tables and 2 figures.)

A homework problem that can be graded quickly, involve students in problem solving, and provide feedback on their problem-solving ability is described. A two-part homework problem is assigned: part one stated in the usual manner, and part two consisting of a description with segments left blank for students to fill in. (Author/JN)

Instructors can use interactive Java applets to present science in a concrete and meaningful manner to nonscience majors. This article shows how applets can take the place of laboratory work and gives examples and benefits of using applets. (Contains 1 table and 3 figures.)

Latent image processing is a method which reveals hidden ink when marked with a special pen. Using multiple-choice items with commercially available latent image transfers can provide immediate feedback on take-home quizzes. Students benefitted from formative evaluation and were challenged to search for alternative solutions and explain unexpected…

Suggested are ways that problem solving can be integrated into existing college courses. Modification of assignments, reduction of class examples, developing the structure of knowledge, finding time to teach process skills, and developing student awareness are discussed. A self-assessment form for students is included. (CW)