In recent years, microarray analysis has become a key experimental tool, enabling the analysis of genome-wide patterns of gene expression. This review approaches the microarray revolution with a focus upon four topics: 1) the early development of this technology and its application to cancer diagnostics; 2) a primer of microarray research,…

The life sciences, in particular molecular genetics, have become a pivotal area of research and innovation, and at the same time are amongst the most controversially discussed in today's society. Despite this discussion, the demand for life science expertise increases rapidly, creating a growing need for life science education in particular and…

Are traditional laboratories in the core introductory biology courses teaching physiology majors the art and trade of science, or simply leaving them with a memory of trivial experiments done for unknown reasons? Our students, a population dominated by premed and physiology majors, think the latter and have encouraged us to challenge this model,…

A previous study (Wallace, Yang, Hand, & Hohenshell, 2001) indicated that seventh-grade life science students using a learning tool known as the Science Writing Heuristic (SWH) performed significantly better on conceptual test questions than did a control group. In the present study, the researcher studied more deeply how students utilized a…

Proposes that content- or skill-based labs can be revised to explicitly involve the scientific method by asking students to propose hypotheses before making observations. Students' self-assessment showed they felt that they learned a great deal from this style of labs and found the labs to be fun; however, students felt that they learned little…

Experimental physics is seen as an essential part of tertiary physics education. Students are supposed to develop practical skills and advance from closed "cookbook" experiments to open experiment and design experiment procedures independently. As a consequence tertiary practical physics courses increase in the level of challenge…

There were several changes in the laboratory teaching program in the Biological Sciences at Florida International University (FIU) between 1993-1994. The underlying goal was the improvement of the amount of material learned and retained by the student, but these changes showed little positive improvement. It was deemed necessary for FIU to…

There is a collective need to increase the use of inquiry-based instruction at the college level. This paper provides of an example of how inquiry was successfully used in the laboratory component of an undergraduate course in microbial ecology. Students were offered a collection of field and laboratory methods to choose from, and they developed a…

In this article, we describe an exploratory study of a small-scale, concept-driven, voluntary laboratory component of Introductory Biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. We wished to investigate whether students' attitudes toward biology and their understanding of basic biological principles would improve through concept-based…

Incubation studies are traditionally used in soil microbiology laboratory classes to demonstrate microbial respiration and N mineralization-immobilization processes. Sometimes these exercises are done to calculate a N balance in N fertilizer-amended soils. However, examining microbial responses to environmental perturbations would appeal to soil…

A survey was conducted among second-year students in organic chemistry (OC) lab and first-year students in English composition (EC) to determine whether an interdisciplinary exchange and review of articles would improve students' understanding of the process of scientific research and of writing within the field of chemistry. The primary…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the blended learning preferences under which adult students study mathematics, electronics and industry certificate examinations like project management and e-SAP (systems, applications and products). Design/methodology/approach: The study is based on four case studies in mathematics,…

The purpose of this study is to first develop an 8-week college teaching module based on root competition literature. The split-root technique is adapted for the teaching laboratory, and the Sugar Ann English pea (Pisum sativum var. Sugar Ann English) is selected as the species of interest prior to designing experiments, either original or…

The recent structural reforms in New Zealand education have given schools and teachers unprecedented freedom in curricular design and delivery. Using official educational award statistics for 2004 and data arising from a study of 23 schools' upper secondary science curricula in the same year, this study represents an early monitoring of the impact…

The MicroObservatory network of five online telescopes has been used by middle and high school students, their teachers, and the public in all 50 states to carry out a wide variety of inquiry-driven projects. From an analysis of 475 student projects and other data, we report substantial gains in students' conceptual understanding of what…