[This paper is part of the Focused Collection in Investigating and Improving Quantum Education through Research.] The modern physics course is a crucial gateway for physics majors as it provides an introduction to concepts beyond the scope of the K-12 education. This study collected 167 modern physics syllabi from 127 U.S. research-intensive…

We use the Survey of Thermodynamic Processes and First and Second Laws-Long (STPFaSL-Long), a research-based survey instrument with 78 items at the level of introductory physics, to investigate introductory and advanced students' difficulties with entropy and the second law of thermodynamics. We present an analysis of data from 12 different…

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, anatomy education was forced to adopt online modes of delivery. Previous research on student views revealed areas of strong preference (asynchronous lectures) and strong dislike (virtual specimens) in online anatomy courses. The current study seeks to compare the views of a single cohort of students…

The Graduate Certificate in Data Science for the Chemical Industries was designed to provide skills to working professionals, via a fully online and asynchronous format. The certificate may also be earned by undergraduate and graduate students at Georgia Tech. The certificate consists of four courses. The two core courses are Data Analytics for…

We describe a novel, university-level, introductory biology course that uses evolution as a narrative framework. Our course conveys the content in an introductory biology course by telling the story of the evolution of life on Earth. We begin with early Earth environments in which biological molecules and processes evolved and led to the first…

Quantum mechanics is an integral course for physics students. An understanding of quantum concepts is imperative for enrollment in physics graduate programs, participating in research within physics fields, and employment with companies developing quantum technologies. This study analyzes 188 U.S. research-intensive institutions' course catalogs…

Colleges throughout the United States typically expect their students to take at least one course in the sciences to fulfill liberal studies curriculum requirements. For nonscience majors, the choice of science class can include introductory chemistry, introductory biology, and astronomy, among others. Based upon interactions both in and out of…

The paper describes an upper-division university course in Mars literature taught online since Fall 2013. The course readings comprise six novels relating to Mars. Authors include H.G. Wells, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Ray Bradbury, Phillip K. Dick, Greg Bear, and Kim Stanley Robinson. After an introduction, sections of the paper discuss course…

We present data from large introductory algebra-based physics courses at a large public research university in the US in which most students were bioscience majors or other health-related majors. The data was analyzed from two introductory physics courses, which are required for most of these students and they are often considered "weed…

The paper presents the design and evaluation of a voluntary online introductory stoichiometry (VOIS) course aimed at facilitating the transition from secondary to higher education. The course utilized simple analogies and adaptive feedback through a formative scaffolding assessment. The study assessed the effectiveness of the VOIS course through…

Learner-centered and inclusive and equitable teaching practices aim to promote better learning outcomes for all students. Course syllabi can provide a window into these practices. We adapted an existing rubric to measure inclusiveness and equity-mindedness of syllabi and used an established rubric to assess their learner-centeredness. We then…

With a primary objective to engage students in the process of science online, we transformed a long-standing laboratory course for first-year science students into a more accessible, immersive experience of current biological research using a narrow and focused set of primary literature and the Consider, Read, Elucidate a hypothesis, Analyze and…

This paper explores the extent to which Biology syllabi are open to students' engagement with and acquisition of critical thinking skills in Tanzania's developing country context. It focuses on the Biology syllabus of Ordinary-level secondary education and that of Advanced-level secondary education. The paper reports the findings of a study whose…

Introductory courses in biology often lack sufficient emphasis on quantitative skills and interdisciplinary problem solving, leaving many students unprepared for more advanced biology coursework and hampering their ability to pursue biology research careers. MathBench Biology Modules were created to enhance the quantitative skills of biology…

In the 1930s, the teaching staff of the University of Chicago devised a clever way to deliver experimental data to their introductory students without meeting them in the laboratory. The university's curriculum included a required Introductory Course in the Physical Sciences. There were probably too many students to allow for a standard…