This paper attends to challenges for postsecondary science education improvement initiatives, notably understanding and responding to the realities guiding educators' teaching practices. We explored 16 postsecondary biology educators' instructional planning, providing novel insights into why educators select certain strategies over others,…

There is much in the literature about the perks and pitfalls of introducing lecture capture technology (LCT) into the classroom, with recommendations and guidelines as well as mixed reports outlining the ensuing expected and unexpected, in terms of positive and negative outcomes. With the goal of providing another student study resource, LCT was…

Educational techniques that improve student engagement have repeatedly been shown to improve performance at the class level at many institutions and in multiple disciplines. However, knowledge of engagement in individual activities in large first-year classes, where there may be several subpopulations of students in different programs reflecting…

The flipped classroom is a relatively new approach to undergraduate teaching in science. This approach repurposes class time to focus on application and discussion; the acquisition of basic concepts and principles is done on the students' own time before class. While current flipped classroom research has focused on student preferences and…

The use of lecture capture in higher education is becoming increasingly widespread, with many instructors now providing digital videos of lecture content that can be used by students as learning resources in a variety of ways, including to catch up on material after a class absence. Despite accumulating research regarding the relationship between…

The authors explored whether a new pedagogy using personal response systems (clickers) along with case study teaching improved students' perceptions of their understanding of science in large introductory biology classrooms. Twelve faculty from nine institutions and 1,457 students across the United States and Canada participated in this study.…

This paper examines students' mixed perceptions of the use of active learning techniques in undergraduate science lectures. Written comments from over 250 students offered an in-depth view of why students perceive these techniques as helping or hindering their learning and experience. Fourth- and fifth-year students were more likely to view…

Students in 4 Canadian high school physics classes completed instructional sequences in two key physics topics related to motion--Straight Line Motion and Newton's First Law. Different sequences of laboratory investigation, teacher explanation (lecture) and the use of computer-based scientific visualizations (animations and simulations) were…

In the past few decades, the physics teaching community has witnessed a surge in creative and often effective ways of using technology to improve physics instruction. Most of these findings suggest how technology can help instructors create interactive learning environments and how interactivity influences the effectiveness of physics learning.…

Reports a classification of expository teaching styles of biology, chemistry and integrated science teachers in Nigeria. No evidence was found of pupil-pupil interaction in any of the lessons observed. Compares results with other studies from Britain, Canada, and Indonesia and indicates significant differences. (CW)

The problem of major concern to the Physics Education Evaluation Project (P.E.E.P.) involved the improvement of university physics teaching and learning. The present paper describes instruments and procedures developed for systematic formative evaluation of physics lectures. The data was drawn from two sections of a first year university physics…

The current status and frequency of nonmajor biology courses offered in colleges and universities in the United States and Canada were investigated. A random sample of 300 four-year colleges was sent a questionnaire and a request for copies of their syllabi for nonmajor biology courses and other nonmajor science courses. Of the 134 respondents,…