Undergraduate science students benefit greatly by learning to read and interpret primary research articles. However, once they obtain a level of competence in analyzing primary literature and develop a better understanding of the nature of science, they may become frustrated by the lack of scientific literacy and objectivity demonstrated by the…

Acid-base chemistry is central to a wide range of reactions. If students are able to understand how and why acid-base reactions occur, it should provide a basis for reasoning about a host of other reactions. Here, we report the development of a method to characterize student reasoning about acid-base reactions based on their description of…

Student success in chemistry is inherently tied to motivational and other affective processes. We investigated three distinct constructs tied to motivation: self-efficacy, interest, and effort beliefs. These variables were measured twice over the course of a semester in three sections of a first-semester general chemistry course (n = 170). We…

There has been increased interest in the transformation of post-secondary level instructional practices in STEM from more traditional to evidence-based practices that are more aligned with how learning occurs. Research has shown that instructional practices are linked to student learning outcomes even when content is unchanged; therefore,…

Sunscreens have different levels of protection, measured most commonly with the sun protection factor (SPF). Students initially believed higher SPF factors mean greater sun protection and learned through this activity that higher SPF does not mean greater protection. Students analyzed the amount of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) protection and…

The study described in this article is part of the Maryland and Delaware Climate Change Education Assessment and Research (MADE CLEAR) project, which aims to improve climate literacy in the K-16 population through systemic, sustainable change in teacher preparation. The authors surveyed faculty members at four higher education institutions to…

Undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education reform continues to be a national priority. We studied a reform process in undergraduate biology at a research-intensive university to explore what leadership issues arose in implementation of the initiative when characterized with a descriptive case study method. The…

The Modeling Instruction (MI) approach to introductory physics manifests significant increases in student conceptual understanding and attitudes toward physics. In light of these findings, we investigated changes in student self-efficacy while considering the construct's contribution to the career-decision making process. Students in the Fall 2014…

Teaching of pathophysiology concepts is a core feature in health professional programs, but it can be challenging in undergraduate medical/biomedical science education, which is often highly theoretical when delivered by lectures and pen-and-paper tutorials. Authentic case studies allow students to apply their theoretical knowledge but still…

Improving interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is crucial to widening participation and success in STEM studies at the college level. To understand how classroom and extracurricular interventions affect interest, it is necessary to have appropriate measurement tools. We describe the adaptation and revalidation of a…

The lack of knowledge about how to effectively spread and sustain the use of research-based instructional strategies is currently a significant barrier to the improvement of undergraduate physics education. In this paper we address this lack of knowledge by reporting on an interview study of 35 physics faculty, of varying institution types, who…

A range of factors can lead to situations where university courses have to be taught with a very small number of students. In this paper, we report on our experiences of a chemistry course that was especially designed to encourage learning in small groups of students (four to five per course). The course design included inquiry-based approaches,…

The purpose of this study was to understand the factors that support the adoption of active learning teaching strategies in undergraduate courses by faculty members, specifically in the STEM disciplines related to geoscience. The focus of the study centered on the context of the department which was identified as a gap in evaluation and…

There is increasing interest in science curricula that engage students in scientific practices to deepen their understanding of the core ideas of the field. There are, however, few examples of their designs or assessments available for use as guides for understanding the strengths and weaknesses of particular designs. We offer a summary of our…

We review previous research on the teaching and learning of thermodynamics in upper-level, undergraduate settings. As chemistry education researchers we use physical chemistry as a context for understanding the literature. During our synthesis four themes of research emerged: factors that influence student success in learning thermodynamics,…