In this paper we describe the recent changes to the curriculum of the second year practical laboratory course in the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Nottingham. In particular, we describe how Matlab has been implemented as a teaching tool and discuss both its pedagogical advantages and disadvantages in teaching undergraduate…

Though deceptively simple to teach, chromatography presents many nuances and complex interactions that challenge both student and instructor. Time and instrumentation provide major obstacles to a thorough examination of these details in the laboratory. Modern chromatographic method-development software provides an opportunity to overcome this,…

The Microelectronics WebLab at MIT allows students to do actual (not simulated) laboratory research on state-of-the art equipment through the Internet. This study assesses the use of WebLab in a junior-level course on microelectronic devices and circuits in 2004-05 and 2005-06. In quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews, students and…

The study aimed to correlate the performance of Pohnpei Campus freshman students in the College of Micronesia-Federated States of Micronesia during the fall semester 2009 to students' socio-demographic characteristics, parents'/guardians' socio-demographic characteristics, and school characteristics. The Student Survey Questionnaire gathered data…

America's advantage has historically been its people's creativity, flexibility and entrepreneurship. But just as painters need to be proficient in technique and theory to produce great masterpieces, the next generation of Americans will likely require a solid grounding in mathematics and science for their creativity to be maximized in a world…

Although researchers in higher education propose alternatives to traditional approaches to assessment, traditional methods are commonly used in college or university science courses. The purpose of this study was to explore the feasibility and validity of Prospective Science Teachers' (PSTs) concept maps as authentic assessment tools in a…

"Keeping Pace" has several goals. First, it strives to add to the body of knowledge about online education policy and practice and make recommendations for advances. Second, it serves as a reference source for information about programs and policies across the country, both for policymakers and practitioners who are new to online…

The author discusses mentoring and training strategies that enhance adjunct faculty members' teaching effectiveness in undergraduate science laboratories and foster a sense of common enterprise within the institutional environment. These strategies include the preparation of an "Adjunct Faculty Handbook", mentoring and peer-support programs, and…

First-year physics students at the Technical University of Budapest carry out a wide range of measurements in the Basic Level Physics Teaching Laboratory. One of the most exciting experiments is the investigation of a chaotic double pendulum by a V-scope, a powerful three-dimensional motion tracking system. After a brief introduction to the…

Computer-based tools that enable students to collect, display and analyse data in real time have catalysed the design of a laboratory curriculum that allows students to master a coherent body of physics concepts while acquiring traditional laboratory skills. This paper describes "RealTime Physics", a sequenced introductory laboratory curriculum…

This paper describes a project undertaken as an interdisciplinary effort among four science departments, two disabilities services offices, and special education personnel to investigate the use and success of assistive technology devices as well as other equipment modifications in an attempt to transform science laboratories into environments…

The USDA, Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) Web Soil Survey is a valuable teaching tool for soil science education. By incorporating the Web Soil Survey into an undergraduate-level course, students are able to use the most detailed digital soil survey information without the steep learning curve associated with geographic information…

The case-based computerized laboratory (CCL) is a chemistry learning environment that integrates computerized experiments with emphasis on scientific inquiry and comprehension of case studies. The research objective was to investigate chemical understanding and graphing skills of high school honors students via bidirectional visual and textual…

The objectives of this study were: to investigate biology students' perceptions of the classroom and the laboratory learning environments by means of the Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction (QTI) and the Science Laboratory Environment Inventory (SLEI) instruments and to compare these perceptions with the environments ideally liked or preferred by…

Students enrolled in an introductory, audio-tutorial biology course were randomly assigned to either the control group, which followed the regular program and took pre and posttests designed for this study, or to the experimental group, which followed an identical program with additional exercises specially designed to teach higher cognitive…