A nonmajors general chemistry course entitled "Putting the Science in SciFi" was taught to 19 seniors at the College of the Holy Cross in 2018. The course coupled the delivery of content with experiential learning strategies in the form of writing assignments and hands-on activities. A pretest and posttest indicate that students gained…

Teaching and learning of many undergraduate science courses often remains confined within the boundaries of classrooms rendering learning of these subjects irrelevant and detached from students' lived experiences. Community-based experiential learning (CBEL) is one way to address this issue. This paper reports the development and implementation of…

In 2009, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) called for more interdisciplinary and community-engaged approaches to teaching and learning in the agricultural and life sciences to better respond to the food system challenges of the 21st century. As a result, institutions from across the nation have responded with a number of experiential learning…

Giving students direct experience with the writing contexts and demands they will soon face as professionals focuses their attention on learning as much as possible from a required writing course. Our approach has concentrated on developing an experiential (client-based) curriculum to provide students the benefits of writing for real audiences as…

Describes the philosophical orientation and methodology employed in a laboratory chemistry program at Princeton University. Discusses the program's approach and use of challenging experiments, teaching assistants, and mastery teaching. (ML)

Describes the Solutions model used at Shelley High School in Idaho which gives students the opportunity to gain practical experience while tackling community problems. This approach is built on the three fundamentals of an integrated curriculum, a problem-solving focus, and service-based learning. Sample problems include increasing certain trout…

Describes a course for nonscience students which aims to teach quantitative modes for investigating natural phenomena by specific oceanographic applications to Long Island Sound. Highlights aspects of the course's lecture series and field study program. Identifies resources needed for the course and discusses problem areas and student evaluation.…

Provides a description of a concentrated four-week term course that provided students with opportunities of association with applied science and engineering professionals. Reviews the program's organizational structure, project requirements, and summarizes students reactions to the course. (ML)

Describes the course "The World According to Microbes" which puts science, mathematics, engineering, and technology majors into teams of students charged with problem solving activities that are microbial in origin. Describes the development of learning activities that utilize key components of cooperative learning including positive…

Describes the approach and programming emphasis of the National University of Distance Education (UNED). Specifically explains the university's summer residential workshops that focused on basic physics phenomena that were laboratory oriented. Includes examples of the course requirements and samples of the participants' opinions about the course.…

Describes an introductory course required of all engineering students at the Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal (Canada). Discusses the design of the course, including its emphasis upon the facets of engineering careers, direct experience, and written and spoken communication. (TW)

Describes how a field research site provides grauduate soil physics students with practical field-oriented experiences. Explains the structure of the course and the nature of the course's investigations. Assesses the advantages and obstacles associated with the field research technique. (ML)

Reports on the development of a series of assignments for use in a basic microbiology course involving sophomore-, junior-, and senior-level students from five different biology majors. Assignments include writing, a class debate, and case history studies. (Author/MM)

Describes a six-week program designed to give scientists from developing countries advanced training in biotechnology methods. Stresses the need to provide the participants with "hands-on" experiences to enhance their ability to contribute to biotechnology programs in their home countries and to train others locally. (TW)

The concept of experiential education has gained increasing popularity among many types of institutions and organizations. Experiential education is an interactive learning process between student, instructor, subject, and environment where the student becomes actively involved with the subject at hand through discussion, activity, and creative…