In our increasingly digital world, students are often disconnected from the natural environment and may not understand how human actions affect it. One of the most significant human impacts on ecosystems is water pollution. Measuring the water quality of a local stream, river, or lake can be a valuable learning experience but is often impractical.…

Renee Clary and James Wandersee implemented the Stratigraphy and Data Interpretation Project described in this article when they recognized that some students were having difficulties constructing appropriate graphics and interpreting their constructed graphics for an earlier mathematics-science project in their classrooms. They also previously…

In this work, an educational experience is described in which a microwave communication link is used to make students aware that all electromagnetic waves have the same physical nature and properties. Experimental demonstrations are linked to theoretical concepts to increase comprehension of the physical principles underlying electromagnetic…

When a subject is heated, the stimulation of temperature-sensitive nerve endings in the skin, and the raising of the central body temperature, results in the reflex release of sympathetic vasoconstrictor tone in the skin of the extremities, causing a measurable temperature increase at the site of release. In the sympathetic release test, the…

Tutoring services often restrict their data collection and analysis practices to publicizing session counts and tutee GPAs. This study suggests that programs that offer writing consultation may enhance their sessions' epistemic power by researching their tutoring staff's instructional choices. After explaining why and describing how a…

This laboratory exercise presents a novel way to introduce undergraduate students to the specific detection of enzymatic activity by electrophoresis. First, students prepare a crude peroxidase extract and then analyze the homogenate via electrophoresis. Zymography, that is, a SDS-PAGE method to detect enzyme activity, is used to specifically…

Purpose: Studying normal or disordered motor control requires accurate motion tracking of the effectors (e.g., orofacial structures). The cost of electromagnetic, optoelectronic, and ultrasound systems is prohibitive for many laboratories and limits clinical applications. For external movements (lips, jaw), video-based systems may be a viable…

For the past nine years, we have been offering an interdisciplinary course for science majors: The Biology and Chemistry of Brewing. This course is primarily laboratory- and inquiry-based; from a total of 24 h of student/instructor contact time, approximately 6 h are devoted to lecture, and the other 18 h are divided between laboratory exercises,…

In this study, relationship between prospective science and technology teachers' experiences in conducting Hands on physics experiments and their physics lab I achievement was investigated. Survey model was utilized and the study was carried out in the 2012 spring semester. Seven Hands on physics experiments were conducted with 28 prospective…

It is generally accepted nowadays that History and Philosophy of Science (HPS) is useful in understanding scientific concepts, theories and even some experiments. Problem-solving strategies are a significant topic, since students' careers depend on their skill to solve problems. These are the reasons for addressing the question of whether problem…

The Center for Authentic Science Practice in Education (CASPiE) is a course-embedded undergraduate research curriculum that aims to introduce authentic research experiences for students in their early college years. A cohort of students who were randomly assigned to the CASPiE laboratory sections was tracked during and two and three years after…

Despite numerous calls for science education to be driven by authentic investigation, many laboratory experiences continue to consist of disconnected weekly units during which students carry out instructions that lead to some predetermined finding. This study developed and evaluated a pedagogical design for introductory biology labs where students…

In recent years, the rapid advancement of information technology has had a great impact on our daily life and changed the world in which we operate; in particular, mobile devices have become more portable and powerful than ever. As a result, mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) and ubiquitous learning have been widely adopted in a variety of…

This study examines how two kinds of authentic research experiences related to smoking behavior--genotyping human DNA (wet lab) and using a database to test hypotheses about factors that affect smoking behavior (dry lab)--influence students' perceptions and understanding of scientific research and related science concepts. The study used pre and…

Leading voices in the biological sciences have called for a transformation in graduate education leading to the PhD degree. One area commonly singled out for growth and innovation is cross-training in computational science. In 1998, the University of Tennessee (UT) founded an intercollegiate graduate program called the UT-ORNL Graduate School of…