Introductory-level laboratory courses provide students with hands-on experience using the discipline's tools and theories. These courses often rely on recipe-based experiments due to the constraints of large enrollments, short lab periods, and the desire to minimize complexity. In addition, covering a breadth of topics can lead to a fragmented…

The integration of research and education is an essential component of our university's teaching philosophy. Recently, we made a curricular revision to facilitate such an approach in the General Chemistry Laboratory, to teach students that investigative approaches are at the core of sciences. The curriculum revision included new interdisciplinary…

Many undergraduate institutions are dealing with less-than-prepared students entering the biology major. When the biology department at College of Notre Dame of Maryland analyzed data from five past cohorts of prospective biology majors, it was evident that there was a significant correlation between their success in the introductory course in the…

Summarizes the mechanics of a course designed to give students a structured, guided approach that simulates more closely the way that many students approach learning new material. (CCM)

Describes an exercise which focuses on the ethical and human aspects of science. Outlines the approach and components of a writing assignment based on a literary and humanistic analysis of "The Double Helix" by James Watson. Provides sample questions and examples of integrative literary works. (ML)

Describes an introductory geology course for non-science majors that focuses on problem solving and group dynamics at The Ohio State University. Reviews its format and contents and compares it with other course options for non-science majors. Includes evaluative comments and provides a listing of group studies project topics. (ML)

Discussed are similarities between college courses described as exemplary by the Society of College Science Teachers. Various strategies used to teach problem solving based on a three-stage model are highlighted. The process of identification of exemplary programs is discussed. (CW)

Reviews the goals and methodology of an investigative unit on ecology which focuses on pond studies. Provides specific examples of the activities and involvements of the students. (ML)

Reports on the development of a modified Problem-Based Learning approach to a freshman course. Enables faculty to teach basic biochemical concepts and principles as well as their application to clinical cases. Includes the syllabus and workshop goals based on Bloom's taxonomy. (MVL)

A large-enrollment, undergraduate cellular biology lecture course is described whose primary goal is to help students acquire skill in the interpretation of experimental data. The premise is that this kind of analytical reasoning is not intuitive for most people and, in the absence of hands-on laboratory experience, will not readily develop unless…