Multicomponent reactions (MCRs) represent very interesting tools to reach eco-friendly and sustainable transformations in organic chemistry. In particular, the Biginelli reaction furnishes a very easy approach to the synthesis of a library of biological active compounds in an academic course. Here we describe the realization of several experiments…

Educators continually strive for better ways to engage students in course content and reflect on learning. Process maps originate from the business field while concept maps are used across disciplines. We adapted the process map to demonstrate its use as an effective assessment tool. This article describes the process of implementing Group Process…

We examined the perceived adequacy and effectiveness of BIO 0475, Advanced Human Dissection, in preparing undergraduate students for the transition into gross anatomy (or equivalent) during their first year of professional school. A 16-item, electronic survey was distributed to course graduates (n=18) that evaluated (1) the importance of BIO 0475…

Universities across the country are experiencing a decline in the number of undergraduates choosing to major in the humanities in general, and similar trends have been observed specifically in the study of foreign languages (FLs), cultures, and literatures. The educational and social psychological literature has explored uptake, or a student's…

We explain how collaboratively assessing a writing-intensive general education capstone seminar constituted a high-impact practice for faculty development. Students at the University of Denver complete an Advanced Seminar taught by faculty across the curriculum. Topics and themes vary widely, as do types of assigned writing, making assessment an…

This paper describes the experiences of using an advanced, low-cost robot in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. It presents three innovations: It is a powerful, cheap, robust, and small advanced personal robot; it forms the foundation of a problem-based learning curriculum; and it enables a novel multi-robot…

A primary goal of university instruction is the students' demonstration of improved, highly developed critical thinking (CT) skills. However, how do faculty encourage CT and its potential concomitant increase in student workload without negatively impacting student perceptions of the course? In this investigation, an advanced biology course is…

Manycore systems have emerged as being one of the dominant architectural trends in next-generation computer systems. These highly parallel systems are expected to be interconnected via packet-based networks-on-chip (NoC). The complexity of such systems poses novel and exciting challenges in academia, as teaching their design requires the students…

In 2001, the governing council of the American Sociological Association (ASA) appointed Professor Caroline Persell of New York University to launch a task force with the goal of creating an advanced high school sociology curriculum that would also be a model for introductory sociology courses in colleges and universities. The principle goal of the…

The Biology department at Spelman, a historically black women's college has undertaken a major curriculum revision in the last few years. A primary goal of this revision is to increase the breadth of topics in biology classes. Historically, classes in the areas of ecology and evolution have been underrepresented whereas Spelman has always offered…

Presents a model that can assess the relative quality of distance education courses by moving the emphasis from student-level data to course-based data. Reports data comparing online and traditional higher education courses covering nine disciplines and explores the usefulness of this framework for identifying discipline-related differences in…

Describes a study conducted at the University of Southern California among advanced ESL students to determine their academic needs. The students were asked to assess what academic skills they expected to need to complete their studies and to evaluate their success in using English in varied social and business settings. (Author/MES)

These publications are intended for secondary-level business educators who want to include more economics in their general and basic business courses. They can serve as curriculum development documents for those charged with redesigning course offerings. Part 1 of the first publication briefly discusses economic ideas to be developed in general…

Student satisfaction with distance education instruction was assessed in the context of slow scan interactive television between two university campuses and between a university campus and a business location. The three studies focused on graduate level courses. The research questions addressed were: (1) Is the level of student satisfaction with…