Discusses the merits of investigative labs and how they change the role of students from passive direction followers to more creative and analytical thinkers. Focuses on the University of Minnesota's program in the Virgin Islands that involves undergraduates in research. (DDR)

Assessment provides feedback to teachers so that instruction can be modified. It also provides feedback to students during and after the course. Discusses approaches to assessment in geology courses that relate assessment to instruction. Three student assignments are described: (1) Personal Question Sheets; (2) a report on Personal/Social Issues…

Presents a study using an electronic bulletin board as the software platform for students in a large second-year college biology course to improve communications among students and between students and the instructor. Reports that the bulletin board was successful in fostering interaction between students as well as improving student-instructor…

Compares attrition rates for students in a developmental science course to those for students with the same standardized Science Inventory scores who did not enroll in the developmental section. Indicates that students who completed the developmental science course had a higher rate of success than students who did not. (MAB)

Presents recommendations for teachers and their instructors to help teachers master science courses. Comments for teachers include create a learning community, do not dread solving problems, think things through, and keep a positive attitude. Comments for instructors include think about who your students are, make your course learner-friendly, try…

This study examined Draw-a-Scientist-Test (DAST) images solicited from 212 undergraduate students for the presence of traditional gender stereotypes. Participants were 100 males and 112 females enrolled in psychology or computer science courses with a mean age of 21.02 years. A standard multiple regression generated a model that accounts for the…

Since the discovery of the DNA double helix (in 1953 by Watson and Crick), technologies have been developed that allow scientists to manipulate the genome of bacteria to produce human hormones, as well as the genome of crop plants to achieve high yield and enhanced flavor. The universality of the genetic code has allowed DNA isolated from a…

Many students in introductory science courses at both the secondary and tertiary levels learn science as a miscellaneous collection of facts, concepts, and equations that must be memorized to pass examinations. One way to show students that they actually can "do" science is to have them use an observable event to generate a relationship that can…

Through a series of fictionalized diary entries based on Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer's own writings, this case recounts the "discovery" in South Africa in 1938 of a fish believed to be extinct for over 70 million years. The case was developed for use in an introductory freshman biology course. In this setting, it could be used as a…

Case-based laboratories offer students the chance to approximate real science. Based on interesting stories that pose problems requiring experimental solutions, they avoid the cookbook approach characteristic of traditional undergraduate laboratory instruction. Instead, case-based laboratories challenge students to develop, as much as possible,…

The increased availability of computational modeling software has created opportunities for students to engage in scientific inquiry through constructing computer-based models of scientific phenomena. However, despite the growing trend of integrating technology into science curricula, educators need to understand what aspects of these technologies…

This study investigates the approaches adopted by students to a university writing programme designed to help them learn first-year undergraduate science. The research design includes phenomenographic analyses of 19 interviews and 50 open-ended questionnaires, as well as quantitative analyses of the qualitative data. The main results of the study…

Evolutionary theory serves as the fundamental cornerstone to all life science; yet students frequently possess misconceptions regarding evolution or resist learning the idea altogether. This study, which emerged from a larger project focused on informal reasoning, explores how college students' conceptions of evolutionary theory affect their…

The ability to use the research literature within a given field is a basic skill that students should acquire as part of their higher education studies. However, undergraduates need support in developing this skill. The use of concept maps as an aid to interrogating the literature is described here. This may help students to highlight key issues…

The colourful, vigorous territorial display behaviour of the Siamese fighting fish, "Betta splendens", has great appeal for both pet enthusiasts and animal behaviourists. Their beauty, longevity, easy maintenance and rearing make them a popular pet and an ideal science laboratory specimen. This investigation utilises "B. splendens" to test for the…