Medical education underwent standardization at the turn of the 20th century and remained fairly consistent until recently. Incorporation of a patient-centered or case-based curriculum is believed to reinforce basic science concepts. One negative aspect is a reduction in hours spent with cadaveric dissection in the gross anatomy laboratory. For…

Human anatomy in physical therapy programs is a basic science course serving as a foundation for subsequent clinical courses. Integration of anatomy with a clinical emphasis throughout a curriculum provides opportunities for reinforcement of previously learned material. Considering the human cadaver laboratory as a fixed cost to our program, we…

The Internet has rarely been used in auditory perception studies due to concerns about standardisation and calibration across different systems and settings. However, not all auditory research is based on the investigation of fine-grained differences in auditory thresholds. Where meaningful "real-world" listening, for instance the…

Histology is one of the main subjects in introductory college-level Human Anatomy and Physiology classes. Institutions are moving toward the replacement of traditional microscope-based histology learning with virtual microscopy learning amid concerns of losing the valuable learning experience of traditional microscopy. This study used live digital…

Students learn best when they are focused and thinking about the subject at hand. To teach physiology, we must offer opportunities for students to actively participate in class. This approach aids in focusing their attention on the topic and thus generating genuine interest in the mechanisms involved. This study was conducted to determine if…

A course design for first-year science students is described, where the focus is on the skills necessary to do science. The course uses original research projects, designed by the students, to teach a variety of skills including reading the scientific literature, hypothesis development and testing, experimental design, data analysis and…

A new lecture/laboratory course to offer advanced biochemical training for undergraduate and early graduate students has been developed in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. This unique course offers students an opportunity to work hands-on with modern instrumentation not normally found in a predominately…

Science instruction literature provides us with goals for laboratory instruction and guidelines for designing and implementing science labs in the post-secondary setting. How well are we doing in our attempt to provide a meaningful and positive learning experience for our students? This paper describes the results of a study to determine whether…

For the past several years, a team in the Department of Electrical Engineering (EE), National Chung Cheng University, Taiwan, has been establishing a pedagogical approach to embody embedded systems in the context of robotics. To alleviate the burden on students in the robotics curriculum in their junior and senior years, a training platform on…

A number of interesting demonstrations of circular and satellite motion have been described in this journal. This paper presents a variation of a centripetal force apparatus found in G.D. Freier and F.J. Anderson's "A Demonstration Handbook for Physics," which has been modified in order to demonstrate both centripetal force and satellite motion.…

An internal standard method applicable to undergraduate instrumental analysis or environmental chemistry laboratory has been designed and tested to determine the Henry's law constants for a series of alkyl nitriles. In this method, a mixture of the analytes and an internal standard is prepared and used to make a standard solution (organic solvent)…

In 1907, Einstein described a "Gedankenexperiment" in which he showed that free fall in a gravitational field is indistinguishable from a body at rest in an elevator accelerated upwards in zero gravity. This paper describes an apparatus, which is simple to make and simple to operate, that acts as an observable footnote to Einstein's example. It…

Pre-laboratory work has been shown to be an effective investment at undergraduate level in chemistry at the University of Bristol. A Dynamic Laboratory Manual (DLM) has been developed to allow undergraduate students to rehearse practicals using virtual experiments, video clips and a range of assessment support. The DLM has been shown to be highly…

DNA microarray is an ordered grid containing known sequences of DNA, which represent many of the genes in a particular organism. Each DNA sequence is unique to a specific gene. This technology enables the researcher to screen many genes from cells or tissue grown in different conditions. We developed an undergraduate lecture and laboratory…

We present a new, low-cost method of building an all copper heat-pipe oven that increases the practicality of this device in advanced undergraduate instructional labs. The construction parts are available at local hardware and plumbing supply stores, and the assembly techniques employed are simple and require no machining. (Contains 1 footnote, 3…