Offers a brief overview of the evolution of writing center theory and practice (discussing process-oriented pedagogy as well as the shift to social constructionism) over three decades. Stresses the continuing presence of the principles of formative assessment. (SR)

Rearticulates the relationship of the writing center to institutions by attempting to address the gap between theorizing about differences in higher education and working with differences in the writing center. Discusses why so little is heard from writing centers in composition forums, and why writing centers are such contested sites on so many…

Explores the relationship between scientists' orientation to one another and to an experimental apparatus, analyzing as data a videotaped authentic interaction among co-workers in a chemistry laboratory. Demonstrates how the scientists display systematic orientation to the apparatus as their common spatial point of reference and the physical…

Describes scientific collaboratories as environments where researchers can perform their research without regard to physical location, interacting with colleagues, accessing instrumentation, sharing data and computational resources, and accessing information in digital libraries. Focuses on an evaluation study that compared undergraduates working…

Describes a course developed for undergraduate students that includes an environmental science lecture and laboratory section. Focuses on the laboratory section as the critical component with activities that are real-world related, hands-on, problem solving-based, and use cooperative learning approaches. (Contains 12 references.) (Author/YDS)

India has established district institutes of education and training (DIETs) to improve the quality of elementary education. These institutions use of the Lab Area approach, which focuses on innovative ideas and experiments related to elementary education and teacher development. Studies show that this approach has a positive impact. This paper…

Urges the use of plastinated specimens as an alternative to traditional dissection in biology classrooms. Suggests that plastinated biological specimens heighten student interest and enhance teaching. Interview responses of students, teachers, and administrators to the use of plastinated specimens in selected high schools were found to be very…

Discusses appropriate methodologies for investigating how learning occurs in the laboratory. Presents two techniques, concept mapping and V-diagramming, which can be effective research tools in probing students' understanding of chemical principles. These techniques can also be effective instructional tools that help students integrate lecture…

Explains a series of experiments that enable students to discover the internal and external structure of the vanilla pod, isolate the chemical constituents of the pod, identify vanillin in the pod extract, and compare extracts across varieties of vanilla. (DDR)

Presents the idea that several points should be considered in animal dissection: (1) ethics; (2) the animal's position; (3) the law; and (4) the actual benefits to society. Recommends that students be carefully prepared for animal dissection. Contains 21 references. (DDR)

Describes a design for a hand-held conductivity tester powered by a 9V battery that gives semi-quantitative results for aqueous electrolyte solutions of concentrations ranging from 0.001 M to 0.1 M. The tester uses a bar-graph LED driven by an LM3914 integrated circuit to indicate the level of conductivity. A list of parts, procedures, and results…

Presents a complete set of laboratory experiences on density. Includes establishing a density table, identifying an unknown, determining the density of irregular solids, and expanding the density table. Activities can be augmented with discussions about other applications. (DDR)

Explains that thinking like a physicist involves an understanding of the scientific methods of inquiry and the ability to use these methods in investigations. Describes two simple experiments in which high school and college students measure physical constants and make an easy analysis of their experimental data by applying the tools offered by…

Describes the implementation of a new laboratory-based, interdisciplinary undergraduate course on linear dynamical systems. Focuses on geometrical methods and data visualization techniques. (Contains 20 references.) (Author/YDS)

Describes an undergraduate physical science laboratory course exercising the utilization of satellite imagery for studying the floods that resulted in the Parana River region in South America during El Nino (1997-1998), and examines vegetation cover and spectral profiles from the study area in order to further understand and assess the changes…