This study investigated whether participation in a 1-semester science course for college students who are not majoring in the natural sciences could increase their scientific literacy, confidence in doing science and improve their perception of science and scientists. The study was conducted at a small, 4-year, liberal arts institution in Portland…

The main objective of this study was to characterize the acceptance of evolution among biology majors. Semi-structured interviews were carried out to track the opinions of students in relation to two aspects of evolution: (1) attitudes toward evolution in general; and (2) attitudes toward human evolution. The participants characterized their…

While research has investigated elementary teachers' understanding of science content, such research is often limited to topics typically not addressed in elementary school curricula. Yet, research has illustrated that many elementary teachers struggle to accurately articulate and teach science concepts and professional development (PD) is needed.…

The case study method of teaching uses real-world narratives to teach concepts and content. This method of teaching encourages active learning, which has been shown to have a positive effect on student performance in many disciplines including science. Although more females than males pursue a postsecondary degree, more males than females pursue…

In this study, a cohort of final-year undergraduate science students were surveyed to examine whether they fully read journal articles, including whether they seek to understand how the results support the conclusions. Their writing was also examined to see if they use deep or surface approaches to scientific writing.

Evolutionary theory is a central tenet of biological science, and it is essential for all science teachers, early childhood through secondary, to have a clear understanding of not only the science behind evolution, but also the legal precedents for teaching evolution in the classroom. This study examines the effectiveness of a curriculum on…

The integration of an undergraduate science content course and science methods course into a single combined course for preservice teachers, including a precourse field experience, was undertaken at a small, liberal arts college. The conceptual framework for this new delivery system was grounded in the "Next Generation Science Standards…

The authors examined college students' perceptions about their middle school and high school preparation for college science courses as well as what led them to study or not study science in college. Analysis of a survey using mixed methods revealed that the more laboratory techniques students felt proficient in conducting and the more science AP…

Certain scientific conclusions are controversial, in that they are rejected by a substantial proportion of nonscientists despite an overwhelming scientific consensus. Science educators are motivated to help students understand the evidence behind the scientific consensus on these matters and to move students' views into alignment with those held…

Remember the time when all you had to do was memorize these five steps: ask a question, formulate a hypothesis, perform experiment, collect data, and draw conclusions? And you received full credit for defining the scientific method. Well, those days are gone. This article discusses why the "scientific method ain't what it used to be." (Contains 2…

First results from a 20-year survey of science knowledge and attitudes toward science among undergraduates are presented. Nearly 10,000 students taking astronomy as part of a general education requirement answered a set of questions that overlap a science literacy instrument administered to the general public by the National Science Foundation.…

Inquiry-based instruction is gaining favor in college classrooms because it improves scientific skills as well as critical thinking. As we seek ways to improve science education, elementary school is increasingly becoming an embattled component because of decreased time spent on science during those years. The approach that elementary educators…

Undergraduate students enrolled in an introductory biology course for nonmajors during the fall semester of 2007 were administered the Biology Attitude Scale (Russell and Hollander 1975), a constructed Mathematics Attitude Scale, and a portion of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (Pintrich and Smith 1993). Together, the…

Attitudes toward science may develop as early as middle school and often differ between genders. Do these gender-based differences in attitude persist into the college years? In a survey of 376 university students, male students reported a stronger self-concept, more motivation, and more enjoyment of science than did female students, and female…

Chemistry is a good entry to many topics in nanotechnology. This paper describes a non-science majors' course in which chemical concepts provide the background to the study of this new field. (Contains 2 tables and 1 figure.)