People's ability to evaluate scientific research is important to dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. STEM educators can use the pandemic to frame instruction of scientific literacy and critical-thinking skills. In a small pilot introductory psychology course taught online in spring 2021, we created jigsaw-style modules organized around real-world…

Given the recent state of social distancing, the online lab experience discussed in this article offers an economical and versatile approach to online undergraduate chemistry lab instruction. With videoconferencing software, this experience is easily adaptable to a socially distanced learning environment, although it was initially designed for a…

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 article describes a quasi-experimental study conducted in two Organic Chemistry I classrooms at a diverse, urban, public university. The treatment group received an exam wrapper intervention, a series of four written exercises administered throughout the semester designed to enhance students' academic self-regulation by promoting…

Although many summer undergraduate research programs made the decision to delay, cancel, or suspend their summer experiences in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Morehouse College McNair Scholars Program instead offered a completely virtual summer research experience to 14 Scholars with faculty-led remote research. The program…

Graduate teaching assistants (TAs) play an important role in undergraduate programs in our Earth Science Department. A course on teaching and learning was developed to train graduate students in student-centered pedagogy, in a discipline-specific context. The training course has been running for a decade and has been taken by over 100 graduate…

We describe the implementation of a graduate teaching assistant (GTA) training program in the Department of Chemistry designed to integrate with the professional development initiatives of the Graduate School at a large, public, research-intensive university. The program is a 1-year course of study that offers graduate students a chance to…

As part of a Howard Hughes Program for Innovation in Science Education grant at Iowa State University, a series of interdisciplinary graduate teaching assistant learning communities (TALC) were developed. The purpose of these communities was to create an environment to facilitate teaching assistants' pedagogical development and training to enhance…

Graduate students in science technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields often enter degree programs focused on research or field-based experiences. Being a teaching assistant can serve two purposes: one for financial compensation and two as preparation for teaching in a future career. The GK-12 program (Graduate Teaching Fellows in…

K-12 education has identified an important need for culturally relevant practices among underrepresented minority students in the classroom. Research has shown that minority students perform better in multicultural learning environments that place an emphasis on addressing both the student's social and academic needs. Accordingly, Central State…

Discussed is the underrepresentation of minorities and women pursuing graduate and undergraduate degrees in science and engineering. Two intervention programs are described in detail-Minority Access to Research Careers (MARC) and the Minority Engineering Program (MEP). (KR)