Quantifying student engagement with online learning resources on virtual learning environments such as BlackBoard is important in understanding how these technologies enhance the student learning. In the present study, it was examined when, and how often, first-year students accessed lecture recordings, lecture slides, and lecture notes via…

Today's undergraduates are highly engaged in a variety of social media outlets. Given their comfort with technology, we wondered if we could use this phenomenon to teach science-related material. We asked students to use freeware to make a short video with text, images, and music as a way to explain scientific concepts that are traditionally…

Undergraduate science education curricula are traditionally composed of didactic instruction with a small number of laboratory courses that provide introductory training in research techniques. Research on learning methodologies suggests this model is relatively ineffective, whereas participation in independent research projects promotes enhanced…

Many college science educators have moved away from the traditional lecture format and toward learner-centered classroom environments. Yet many of us struggle to cover large content loads, reverting at times to rote memorization. This paper suggests rote memorization simply does not work and students must be actively engaged to learn. (Contains 1…

A Synchronous Distance Education (SDE) course, jointly offered by Auburn University, Tuskegee University and Auburn University at Montgomery, introduced non-science majors to the concepts of nanoscience. Lectures originated from each of the three campuses during the semester, and video conferencing equipment allowed students at all three campuses…

This dissertation describes the teaching methods and educational philosophies of natural philosophy instructors at several of the colleges in colonial and early national North America. It finds two distinct approaches: the demonstrative, in which the instructor centers the course on visually engaging lecture-demonstrations, and the catechetical,…

The authors engaged in an education experiment to determine if the integration of lab and lecture activities in zoology and botany proved beneficial to student learning and motivation toward biology. Their results revealed that this strategy positively influenced students' academic achievement, conceptual understanding, and ability to apply…

Describes a college microbiology course in which traditional lectures were abandoned in favor of guided learning objectives and student initiative. A statistical analysis of the data indicates that student achievement on the nonlecture-plus-lab system was not so great as on the traditional lecture-plus-lab course. (JR)

Presents lecture outline comparing uniformitarianism with other philosophic approaches to earth study. Comparison is valuable since: (1) it provides insight into the character of geology and the meaning of the scientific method; and (2) it reveals the necessarily biased nature of all information. (Author/JN)

Presented is a description of a technical laboratory-oriented science course dealing with the science of enology or wine-making. Experiments and the distillation apparatus are described. (SA)

The purpose of this study was to determine transfer of learning from an introductory to an advanced course in biology. All lecture sections in the advanced course at New York City Technical College were used for random sampling in the study. These lecture sections consisted of a mixture of students who were exposed to techniques of transfer of…

The study reported here concludes that the laboratory does help students in their geology lecture course work even though the content emphases are different. (MDR)

Describes an instruction system combining features of lecture and independent study methods, including course management and instructional materials. Compares course to lecture and independent study sections. (SK)

Described are different chemistry curricula that use lecture-experiments. Different components are discussed within the lecture-experiment format, such as determinism, memory, note taking, descriptive chemistry, and holistic chemistry. Also discussed are different personalities in chemistry education. (DS)

A two-quarter Human Anatomy and Physiology course for health-science students has been developed which incorporates the principles of individualization while maintaining the lecture hall setting. The lecture method contributes the following components to the course: (1) no special equipment or supplies; (2) personal interaction between instructor…