The ability to effectively communicate science is a skill sought after by graduate and professional schools as well as by employers in science-related fields. Are content-heavy undergraduate science curricula able to incorporate opportunities to develop science communication skills, and is promoting these skills worth the time and effort? The…

This article details the aim, development, and implementation of the Chemistry-Genetics Course Collaborative (CGCC), a cotaught offering of a human genetics course with an honors introductory chemistry course. The CGCC was formed to fully integrate the two courses, along with the associated chemistry lab, to create an interdisciplinary scientific…

Introductory science courses play a critical role in the recruitment and retention of undergraduate science majors. In particular, first-year courses are opportunities to engage students in scientific practices and motivate them to consider scientific careers. We developed an introductory course using a semester-long series of established…

The most challenging global problems of our age involve coupled human--environmental systems within the Food-Energy-Water Nexus. The undergraduate students currently in our classrooms will be tomorrow's global citizens, each of whom must be prepared to understand and reason about these challenges and ultimately make decisions about them in a…

This article presents a case study regarding healthy weight loss and the role of the hormone ghrelin in maintaining a lower body weight. This study was designed specifically for use in an introductory college-level physiology course. It addresses the use of the case study in teaching digestion and metabolism, exploring the role of hormones in…

Successfully engaging students with a community college's introductory biology curriculum is a challenging endeavor. Students have numerous distractions competing with faculty for their attention. Traditional presentation of information may leave students longing for something more engaging to do, and the place where most college-level instruction…

Undergraduate biology lab courses have long been criticized for engaging students in "cookbook" experiences in which students follow a given protocol to collect data that help answer a predetermined question. Recent reform documents in biology education have suggested that students should engage in lab courses that provide more authentic…

Case studies challenge students to think, to process ideas at a higher and more complex cognitive level, and to experience science as a process rather than as a collection of facts. This article describes an introductory biology course sequence that makes regular and frequent use of case studies, which the author has found has synergistic…

Discusses the implementation of an agriculture course through distance education technology that focuses on course development, its evaluation, advantages, and disadvantages. (Contains 11 references.) (ASK)

Explores the use of extra credit in an introductory geology course. Covers the organization and rational behind the program. (PR)

Describes using the course question: "How does chemistry (or biology) impact my personal life and society?" This course question is presented to students and forms the basis of the final exam. Students evaluate a current-events article using the question as a framework. Students explore the relationship between chemistry (or biology) and their…

Describes two curriculum approaches used at a college as an alternative to traditional introductory science-survey courses. The first course is entitled "Nature of Science" and the second is "Current Research." (PR)

Provides reasons for pursuing interdisciplinary study, reviews past interdisciplinary efforts, presents in detail a course model, and summarizes student and faculty reaction. (PR)

Suggested is an approach to general biology which may be effective in sustaining student interest and infusing an appreciation for science. The goal of the approach is to foster life-long learning and capability to make connections and draw inferences. Examples using the levels of biotic organization are given. (CW)

Discusses the purpose, the rationale, and an evaluation of students' comments concerning an introductory college science course for nonscience majors that utilizes content area reading and writing to instill an appreciation for the everyday importance of science by focusing on the theme of science in the news, particularly as reported in the print…