The Council for Advancement and Support of Education's five Professors of the Year are highlighted. Professors include Michael Flachmann (English professor specializing in Shakespeare and Renaissance literature), Howard Goldberg (university physics professor), Diane Keenan (community college economics professor), Mark C. Taylor (undergraduate…

Explores issues that encourage or discourage women from pursuing studies in science--matters that may affect confidence in themselves and in science as a possible career. Focuses on how young women approached career decisions, discerned from over 100 hours of interviews with 40 female college science students. Concludes that mixed societal…

Biology, biochemistry, and other science students are well trained in science and familiar with how to conduct and evaluate scientific experiments. They are less aware of cultural issues or how these will impact their careers in research, education, or as professional health care workers. A course was developed for advanced undergraduate science…

Students of biology must learn the scientific method for generating information in the field. Concurrently, they should learn how information is reported and accessed. We developed a progressive set of exercises for the undergraduate introductory biology laboratory that combine these objectives. Pre- and postassessments of approximately 100…

There are increasing numbers of traditional biologists, untrained in educational research methods, who want to develop and assess new classroom innovations. In this article we argue the necessity of formal research over normal classroom feedback. We also argue that traditionally trained biologists can make significant contributions to biology…

The first challenge in designing and teaching any course is to decide what to teach. At most colleges and universities, the process of selecting course content is an extremely local enterprise. Sometimes the decisions are made by a small group of faculty members, but most often they are made by a single professor with the responsibility of…

This paper describes the development and evaluation of a blended learning resource in the biosciences, created by combining online learning with formal face-face lectures and supported by formative assessments. In order to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of teaching large classes with mixed student cohorts, teaching was delivered through…

A study investigated factors affecting the development of positive attitudes toward environmental issues among college students, focusing on the direct and indirect effects of student background characteristics, institutional characteristics, and college experience and outcomes variables. Data were drawn from the Cooperative Institutional Research…

This project originated with the desire to offer general biology students a laboratory experience which emphasizes scientific thinking rather than a review of lecture content. To create investigative laboratories without many of the practical problems of their implementation, this project uses a combination of "methods modules" for…

The College Science and Technology Entry Program (CSTEP) at Queensborough Community College (QCC) in Bayside, New York, is designed to recruit and assist minority and disadvantaged students and to encourage their enrollment in science, technology, and allied health programs. The program offers academic support services and career information to…

A study at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman investigated the listening comprehension problems of students who were non-native speakers of English (NNS), in lectures by native English-speaking professors. Two professors with no previous experience in teaching non-native speakers introduced geology in 4 weeks of lectures. Instances of vocabulary…

A significant problem for many schools in the United States is the shortage of qualified mathematics and science teachers entering the profession; this, in turn, is having an adverse effect on the quality of education. The purpose of this study was to survey the 320 mathematics and science education graduates (40% responded) from Kansas State…

Activities and programs administered by the Department of Education that are related to science and mathematics education are described. Funding and exemplary programs for improving mathematics and science education are summarized, including the Dwight D. Eisenhower Mathematics and Science Education Program; the National Diffusion Network; the…

This report examines the future shortages of scientists and engineers and suggests potential solutions to the shortage. The first section presents general demographic data and trends and interprets what this information suggests for the future economy and business in general. The second section considers the supply of physical scientists and…

This document contains the abstracts of the presentations made at this conference. Topics of presentations included: (1) linking research and science teaching using community resources; (2) planning science teacher workshops; (3) school-related recycling programs; (4) improving student attitudes toward science; (5) rural science teaching; (6)…