This study assessed the impact of an "active learning" strategy employed alone or in combination with traditional lectures on the learning of mammalian physiology by undergraduate students. The study investigated the impact of three teaching strategies, namely (1) traditional lecture, (2) group discussion alone, and (3) combination of…

The application of the Reaction Monte Carlo (RxMC) algorithm to standard textbook problems in chemical reaction equilibria is discussed. The RxMC method is a molecular simulation algorithm for studying the equilibrium properties of reactive systems, and therefore provides the opportunity to develop computer-based "experiments" for the…

Organic chemistry students at two universities, one in Canada and the other in the United States, connected using video conferencing software as learning partners for six online collaborative assignments. Mixed-methods analysis of interviews, surveys, and student-written reflections was used to identify barriers that students encountered during…

The links students make among chemistry content is considered essential for a robust, enduring understanding in multiple learning theories. This article describes the development and implementation of an assessment technique, termed a Measure of Linked Concepts, designed to inform instructors on students' understanding of linking content…

This paper describes investigative homework with apples, aiming to contribute to the primary-school students' understanding of density and conditions leading to floating and sinking. The assignment represents an opportunity for individual autonomous learning of physics and adoption of established scientific concepts through practical activities…

This study examined the regulation of out-of-class time invested in the academic activities associated with a physics class for 20 consecutive semesters. The academic activities of 1676 students were included in the study. Students reported investing a semester average of 6.5 ± 2.9 h out of class per week. During weeks not containing an…

A unique homework assignment has been designed as a review exercise to be implemented near the end of the one-year undergraduate organic chemistry sequence. Within the framework of the exercise, students derive potential mechanisms for glucose ring opening in the aqueous mutarotation process. In this endeavor, 21 general review principles are…

Frequently in Management Science courses, instructors focus primarily on teaching students the mathematics of linear programming models. However, the ability to discuss mathematical expressions in business terms is an important professional skill. The authors present an analysis of student abilities to discuss management science concepts through…

A homework assignment is outlined in which students learn Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) concepts of discretization, numerical stability and accuracy, and verification in a hands-on manner by solving physically realistic problems of practical interest to engineers. The students solve a transient-diffusion problem numerically using the common…

We modified the Just-in-Time Teaching approach and developed a dual safeguard web-based interactive (DGWI) teaching system for an introductory physics course. The system consists of four instructional components that improve student learning by including warm-up assignments and online homework. Student and instructor activities involve activities…

This article reports a set of two homework assignments that can be used in a second-year undergraduate organic chemistry class. These assignments were designed to help reinforce concepts of molecular geometry and to give students the opportunity to use a technological database and data mining to analyze experimentally determined chemical…

This American Association of Physics Teachers/Physics Teaching Resource Agents (APPT/PTRA) spiral-bound manual features labs and demos physics teachers can use to give students hands-on opportunities to learn about impulse and momentum. "Make-and-take activities" include AAPT Apparatus Contest winners "An Air Impulse Rocket," "A Fan Driven…

The Blackboard Learning System™, a Web-based server software system, is widely used on many college and university campuses today. This paper explores the use of the Blackboard system as a teaching and learning tool. Particular emphasis is placed on the online chat feature available through the Blackboard interface. During the fall 2002 pilot…