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…

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…

The ELMO (Embedded Learning Modules) curriculum reform project has designed science curricula for specific nonscience students that fulfill core requirements and demonstrate how science can be engaging and relevant. ELMO students experience science through active learning and group activities that encourage them to make connections between science…

Describes efforts by Central Washington State College to take courses and programs to the community thus negating the student on-campus residence requirement. Illustrates the effect of this effort by listing the enrollment figures for some science courses taught off campus. (GS)

Summarizes the educational objectives and strategies of the Chemical Technician Curriculum Project (Chem TeC), which has the primary objective of preparing a set of texts specifically for training chemical technicians. (PR)

Describes a natural science program that offers twenty-five or more different topics each semester. Presents examples of the topics available and outlines the advantages of this approach. (GS)

Describes an environmental health science technology curriculum designed to provide technicians in the areas of air, water and wastewater analyses, treatment plant operators, public health enforcement officers, and pollution inspectors. (GS)

Describes a curriculum in Environmental Sciences adopted by the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. Includes lists of lower-level courses for the first two years, required courses, and recommended electives. Discusses cooperative education/on-the-job training component, implementation, and evaluation. (Author/JN)

This article highlights the structure of a college horticulture course designed for students with nonscience majors. With an underlying emphasis that science is the manifestation of a basic human need to explain, the course outline illustrates the primary goal of developing and maintaining students' motivation for learning contemporary scientific…

Describes new film catalogs, instructional materials, equipment, and development in a variety of science areas. Outlines the National Science Foundation reorganization, the National Science Board policy statements, and recent National Science Teachers Association actions. (GS)

Presents three science programs developed as special topics courses at one of the two-year regional campuses of the Pennsylvania State University, Shenango Valley. The authors outline these programs in biology, physics and chemistry to illustrate their plasticity for program development and experimentation. (HM)

Describes a two-course program in which students are required to undertake self-initiated and self-developed assignments to collect problem-oriented information from community officials, civic leaders, industrialists, and other citizens. (Author/GS)