A major goal of physics education is to develop strong problem-solving skills for students. To become expert problem solvers, students must have opportunities to deliberately practice those skills. In this work, we adopt a previously described definition of problem solving that consists of a set of 29 decisions made by expert scientists. We…

House Bill 5 (HB5) was passed by the Texas Legislature in 2013 which changed high school graduation requirements and defined endorsement options which allowed students more choice in coursework. Focusing on science, the Foundation High School Program (FHSP) requires three science credits for graduation -- Biology, IPC or an Advanced Science…

Physiology education is at the core of biomedical science and medicine. Physiology unites multiple disciplines to explain the mechanisms whereby a risk factor is associated with disease. Race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and gender identity are associated with risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Minority stress theory attempts to explain the…

A literature review is an important part of conducting academic research. Knowing how to conduct a literature search and write a high-quality literature review is a valuable skill. Herein, the authors describe the method of introducing a literature review writing exercise in an upper-level biochemistry course. Since 2020, authors have collaborated…

We describe a three-day advanced organic laboratory experience that includes the solid-phase synthesis of an unknown three amino acid polypeptide for junior/senior undergraduate chemistry majors. Students conduct a series of 1D and 2D NMR experiments (HSQC, HMBC, TOCSY) and analyze the data to identify the side chain residues of the peptide and…

Increasing the rigor of courses taken in high school is a crucial part of education policy. However, existing knowledge about high school coursework is outdated. Using data from a recent nationally representative data set, this brief reports results that expand our knowledge base on the relationship between rigorous coursework and postsecondary…

Creating equity for Black science students requires deep listening and can be achieved with phenomenological qualitative research and a community of inquiry. The phenomenological study examines the lived experience of a phenomenon by a student. This article investigates how Black students perceive advanced science classes and what prevents them…

High school principals can change the status quo of the current iniquitous disparities in the education system between South Carolina's rural high schools and their more populated and affluent suburban schools. Using a non-standard structure and the resources in their control, these school leaders can find solutions so schools can offer rural…

We examine students' challenges in determining the number of distinct many-particle stationary states for a system of noninteracting identical particles, focusing on how these insights guided the design, validation, and evaluation of a quantum interactive learning tutorial (QuILT) to aid students' understanding. Specifically, we focus on systems…

This article reconsiders the role of prior academic preparation as it relates to English learners' access to advanced coursework in high school. Using longitudinal data from New York City (n = 178,155), we test a set of interactions between middle school preparation--in the form of math achievement and advanced math and science coursework--and…

This Data Byte uses data from a previous study to analyze whether indicators of having taken advanced coursework in specific subjects (i.e., English, math, science, and social studies) can reduce the negative impact of grade inflation.

Supply of students to 'the science pipeline' remains an important imperative for economic policy, and for individual life chances. In England, Science courses from age 14-16 have been divided into 'Double' and (extended) 'Triple' Science. This article draws on data from 6,053 students to investigate the effects of science course designation on…

Studies have shown that teachers play an important role in the academic success of students (Cherng, 2017; Gershenson, et al.,2016; Ready & Wright, 2011). Scholars have also proposed that teachers may be more inclined to perceive students of color as facing greater challenges in their classes compared to White students in the same course…

Women are underrepresented in physics. Because of the structure of the Japanese educational system, more women must choose physics as a subject for university entrance exams to increase the number of women studying advanced physics at university. In this study, we investigated the factors influencing girls' choice of physics for university…

This study identified a lackluster classroom atmosphere in advanced biochemistry, characterized by low levels of active student participation in interactive communication and subpar quality of after-class learning tasks. The issues stemmed not only from students' learning attitudes, such as insufficient attention to the curriculum, but also from…