The purpose of this study was to analyze the effectiveness of scripted biology curriculum as a means of providing students with the information required to increase content knowledge, while comparing curriculum developed by the teacher that utilizes the Understanding by Design (UbD) framework (2005). The study is guided by two research questions:…

Many science educators are proponents of cooperative learning, but struggle to find equitable and effective ways to build groups. In this article, the author describes her method for forming heterogeneous cooperative learning groups that is not only impartial, but also requires students to begin learning science on the first day of class.…

An implementation and assessment of three creative-learning mechanisms in a research-inspired split undergraduate/graduate course in Analytical Microdevice Technology is described. Microscale research is challenging to incorporate into the classroom due to the phenomena length-scales and the creating learning strategies were used to promote…

This study examines how student practice of scientific argumentation using socioscientific bioethics issues affects both teacher expectations of students' general performance and student confidence in their own work. When teachers use bioethical issues in the classroom students can gain not only biology content knowledge but also important…

To solve the twin problems of a projected shortfall of science workers and general science illiteracy in the United States, many educators have proposed a massive restructuring of the curriculum and pedagogy of elementary and secondary school science. This resarch suggests that science eudcators focus on such issues as course design, teaching and…

Reviews international studies that show that girls have a poorer command of physical concepts than boys. Examines factors that might explain this phenomenon and discusses whether or not boys have different learning styles than girls. Recommends that science course content must be structured to fit girls' skills and interests. (CFR)

Presented is a report on a course for undergraduate students which is designed to increase their intellectual abilities early in their college careers. The report gives the characteristics of concrete thought and formal reasoning, followed by an explanation of the process involved in data collecting and the data itself. The authors suggest that…