Most introductory courses in environmental science are large, lecture-style general education classes. North Carolina State University's ES 100 is no exception, enrolling between 200 and 300 students and holding class meetings in the campus cinema. A key underlying learning objective, however, is to teach students that science is the pathway to…

We incorporated an active, collaborative-based research project in our undergraduate Research Methods course for first-year sports medicine majors. Working in small groups, students identified a research question, generated a hypothesis to be tested, designed an experiment, implemented the experiment, analyzed the data, and presented their…

A well-structured independent literature research project with a poster session was used to introduce students to peer-reviewed literature in a general chemistry course. Overall, students reported an enhanced appreciation of the course due to performing research at some level, using peer-reviewed literature, and presenting their results in a…

Students in an introductory biology course who were given open-book exams during the semester earned significantly higher grades on these exams, but significantly lower grades on the closed-book final exam, than students who took in-class, closed-book exams throughout the semester. Exam format was also associated with changes in academic behavior;…

Describes a course on amphibian research for environmental science majors. Involves students in field studies and introduces them to investigative research. Evaluates the course. (Contains 19 references.) (YDS)

Describes a course (with a framework loosely based on the environmental impact statement) in which students learn research methods as they cooperate in interdisciplinary field research projects. Includes a rationale for the course, a generalized outline of field experiences, and examples of student projects (both on-campus briefings and field site…

Students crave problem-solving strategies that promise increased achievement on tests. Student ambitions seem to align with teacher goals, yet students resist using these strategies for various reasons. We seek to establish a pedagogy modifying student behavior so they are more likely to use any strategy a teacher deems useful. (Contains 1 figure…