This article is a small empirical study based on two assignments, both involving reading and writing, in two physics courses at a Christian college. Students read theological, philosophical, and scientific arguments and produced research papers. By performing interdisciplinary intellectual work, students considered the compatibility of science and…

Although there is increased uptake of active learning approaches in especially developed countries, this is still lagging within the African context. The current study therefore focused on the implementation of group learning at Stellenbosch University, with several modifications versus our earlier, pilot study. Students freely formed small groups…

Communicating science with nonexperts (SciComm) is an important scientific practice. SciComm can inform decision making and public policies. Recently, seminal reports have indicated that SciComm is a practice in which students should engage. Unfortunately, students have few opportunities to engage in SciComm, partially due to the absence of a…

Peer learning has become a central feature in many postsecondary classrooms. Many peer learning activities feature near-peer instructors who had previously completed the course and who later serve as peer leaders. There are relatively few examples of activities in which students in a course act as true peer instructors for their classmates. One…

This study explored the self-regulation strategies and learning experiences of undergraduate science students completing Learner-Generated Digital Media (LGDM) assignments that had been implemented using a theory-driven, systematic approach. The rationale for using LGDM in science education is to facilitate student learning of complex scientific…

This paper describes a reading assignment that resulted in students completing 80-90% of the assigned reading in a content-heavy science course taught in a flipped format. Students reported almost unanimously that the assignment was valuable in helping them learn the material, and a majority reported that other professors should adopt a similar…

Laboratory pedagogy is moving away from step-by-step instructions and toward inquiry-based learning, but only now developing methods for integrating inquiry-based writing (IBW) practices into the laboratory course. Based on an earlier proposal (Science 2011;332:919), we designed and implemented an IBW sequence in a university bioinformatics…

Peer instruction (PI) involves interaction between students and provides opportunities for students to reveal their own ideas, articulate their thinking, and facilitate construction of their knowledge with social interaction. Since the classroom environment of PI provides a rich information for students to discuss scientific phenomena, this…

Digital media assignments empower students to become co-creators of knowledge rather than passive consumers of content. The Internet explosion and the affordability of digital technologies and devices such as smartphones, tablets and action cameras have created opportunities to use digital media in the classroom. This article aims to present an…

Online formative assessment is still challenging although it is getting an increased attention as a significant tool for diagnosing and analysing students' motivation and achievement in various education domains. This research examines the effects of an online formative assessment tool (OFAT) about science motivation and achievement in second-year…

The flipped classroom has the potential to improve student performance. Because flipping involves both preclass preparation and problem solving in the classroom, the means by which increased learning occurs and whether the method of delivering content matters is of interest. In a partially flipped cell biology course, students were assigned online…

A desired outcome of education reform efforts is for undergraduates to effectively integrate knowledge across disciplines in order to evaluate and address real-world issues. Yet there are few assessments designed to measure if and how students think interdisciplinarily. Here, a sample of science faculty were surveyed to understand how they…

Active learning yields better learning outcomes than traditional, lecture-based teaching. Common approaches in large lecture courses are activating elements during the lectures and warm-up activities using online learning environments. However, implementing warm-up exercises, on which students work on by themselves makes formative feedback…

Learning basic cell biology in an essential module can be daunting to second-year undergraduates, given the depth of information that is provided in major molecular and cell biology textbooks. Moreover, lectures on cellular pathways are organised into sections, such that at the end of lectures, students might not see how various processes are…

Students in introductory college science courses often have a simplified understanding of the scientific method. To introduce students to the complexity of the scientific process and the value of empirical observations, I implemented a semester-long assignment that required introductory-level college science students to build and calibrate weather…