Traditional lab courses separate lectures from lab work, whereas integrated lab-lecture courses (also known as studio courses) combine both in a single session under one instructor. Previous studies suggest that integrated lab-lecture courses may have the potential to enhance the learning experience for introductory-level students. In this…

A 3-year study (2017-2019) was conducted to obtain the views of nonmajor undergraduate students about discussions in learning physiology. The teaching methods used were lecture only (lecture), group discussion alone (discussion), and a combination of lecture and discussion (lecture + discussion). Students were assigned homework in a textbook, and…

With an overwhelming amount of research and a demand for collaborative learning in the classroom, teachers are tackling challenges at all educational levels that often accompany the social aspects of group work. Team-Based Learning (TBL) is an instructional sequence that shifts instruction from teacher lecture to small-group learning. Through the…

"Beer Brewing: Chemical and Biochemical Principles" is a 15 week laboratory and lecture course specifically designed for nonscience majors as an introduction to science literacy via structured laboratory experiments that encourage student engagement. It provides students with a foundation in chemical and biochemical principles using a…

This study assessed the impact of an "active learning" strategy employed alone or in combination with traditional lectures on the learning of mammalian physiology by undergraduate students. The study investigated the impact of three teaching strategies, namely (1) traditional lecture, (2) group discussion alone, and (3) combination of…

During the 2012-2013 academic year the University of North Dakota (UND) piloted the use of a Student Centered Active Learning Environment for Undergraduate Programs (SCALE-UP) classroom. "Genetics," a 300 level class for Biology majors, and "Concepts of Biology," an introductory course for non-majors were two of the classes…

The work presented here is the summary of a 3 year study that aimed to uncover how students' perception of science changes with the chance to participate in a mini-conference that is incorporated into the biochemistry lecture course. Students were asked to work in groups of 2 or 3 and research a topic that is related to the material covered in…

To make our general education biology course for nonmajors more relevant and engaging, we recently implemented an instructional approach featuring collaborative, active-learning exercises. The primary point of interest in this study was the impact of the exercises on students' grades, particularly those students who struggle on tests. Expectedly,…

SCALE-UP-type classrooms, originating with the Student-Centered Active Learning Environment with Upside-down Pedagogies project, are designed to facilitate active learning by maximizing opportunities for interactions between students and embedding technology in the classroom. Positive impacts when active learning replaces lecture are well…

Deliberative democracy, a consensus model of decision making, has been used in real-life policy making involving controversial, science-related issues to increase citizen participation and engagement. Here, we describe a pedagogical approach based on this model implemented in a large, lecture-based, nonmajors introductory biology course at an…

Several years ago, a new nonscience majors course, The Science of Food and Cooking, was developed at our institution. The course covered basic scientific concepts that would normally be discussed in a typical introductory chemistry course, in the context of food and food preparation. Recently, the course has been revamped in three major ways: (1)…

A comprehensive guided-inquiry approach was used in a combined organic and biochemistry course for prenursing and predietetics students rather than lecture. To assess its effectiveness, exam grades and final course grades of students in three instructional techniques were compared. The three groups were the following: (i) lecture only, (ii)…

Most students enroll in general education introductory nutrition classes because they want to improve their diets in order to lose weight or enhance athletic performance. These nonscience majors are often less interested in learning about the fundamental biochemical principles underlying nutrition or are surprised that this foundational knowledge…

We report the student response to a two-year transformation of a one-semester organic chemistry course for nonchemistry majors. The transformed course adopted a peer led team learning approach and incorporated case studies. Student attitudes toward the course transformation were assessed throughout the semester, and adjustments to the methods were…

We implemented peer instruction in an introductory level conceptual physics course for nonscience majors on the basis of the success others reported with this method. We expected to see that learning from peer conversation, as evidenced by answering conceptual questions correctly following discussion, would correlate with course grade, but we did…