The development of the earth science curriculum in the nation's secondary schools led institutions of higher education to develop diverse methods of structuring new earth science courses and to develop new teaching methods for potential earth science teachers. Although numerous guidelines have been developed by experts, little has been done to…

Reported is a summary and review of over 300 research papers published in 1988. The review is organized into 10 sections: (1) "Professional Concerns"; (2) "Teacher Education"; (3) "Programs"; (4) "Curriculum"; (5) "Instruction"; (6) "Conceptual Development"; (7) "Problem…

Described is cooperative education, a strategy for relating education and work. The benefits, growth in cooperative education, and labor market studies are included. Appended is a list of cooperative education training and resource centers and their directors. (KR)

Describes four instructional techniques used to deliver specific developmental objectives in both an introductory chemistry course and a general course in science and technology. The four techniques described are miniresearch projects, scenario-based research projects, short essay examination questions, and issues-directed research project. (PR)

Describes a teaching activity consisting of a problem-solving story about a company in a small town that is burying hazardous material which may create future problems for the community. The activity challenges students to address ethical issues relative to responsibility and accountability for protection of the water supply. (PR)

The study of starlings in the urban environment integrates nervous regulation, the senses, and animal behavior, while also providing an excellent example of how the biology of an animal is related to the demands of the physical environment. (PR)

The voices of African American students reveal sociocultural factors that influence their achievement in science and mathematics classes. Using a sociocultural theoretical framework (Mercer & Covey, 1980), this ethnographic study interpreted the perspectives of five African American students as they discussed their learning experiences in science…

There is growing awareness of the need to equip students to think through the ethical implications of developments in biology. We describe an exercise in which students work in teams to produce websites about current controversial issues within the subject. Participants report a significant improvement in their knowledge of bioethics and…

This paper describes the development of a new university physics course designed to integrate physics, education, research, and community partnerships. The coordinated system of activities links the new course to local community efforts in pre-college education, university education, university outreach, and research on teaching and learning. As…

An experimental study was designed to study the effectiveness of Problem Based Learning (PBL) in the context of higher education in an urban-city university in Lima, Peru. In the fall semester of 2004, eleven sections of Chemistry 1 were offered to first year students in the College of Science at this University. In six of these eleven sections…

Research experiences are becoming increasingly available for undergraduate science students. Although many undergraduate research programs are designed with assessment-friendly outcomes as stated goals, a more personalized approach in goal setting can help administrators and mentors design fulfilling experiences for their students. Implementation…

The S-Star Trial Bioinformatics on-line course (www.s-star.org) is a global experiment in bioinformatics distance education. Six universities from five continents have participated in this project. One hundred and fifty students participated in the first trial course of which 96 followed through the entire course and 70 fulfilled the overall…

I have examined how frequency of assessment impacts learning in an undergraduate biology course employing a student-centered, active-learning pedagogy. Frequent assessment was associated with better student performance and greater retention of course concepts. Improvement of higher-order thinking skills may require more classroom practice.…

This is the second and final part of a review of educational research on children's ideas about gravity. The first part concerned students' understanding of how and why things fall. This article picks up the trail of research studies that address students' understanding of the more complex ideas of projectile motion and orbits and examines how the…

The Biology Intensive Orientation for Students (BIOS) Program was designed to assess the impact of a 5-d intensive prefreshman program on success and retention of biological science majors at Louisiana State University. The 2005 pilot program combined content lectures and examinations for BIOL 1201, Introductory Biology for Science Majors, as well…