Effective communication of science is a ubiquitous learning outcome for most science degrees, and a national threshold learning outcome for science in Australia. Evidence suggests that employers and academics are dissatisfied with the communication skills of many science graduates. Our study examines communication tasks used in summative…

Students often approach biochemistry with a degree of trepidation with many considering it one of the more difficult subjects. This is, in part, due to the necessity of making visual images of submicroscopic concepts. Molecular interactions underpin most biological processes; therefore, mastering these concepts is essential. Understanding the…

We examined the variation in Force and Motion Conceptual Evaluation (FMCE) preclass scores according to the type of physics class a student had in high school. This was done for students who had taken Physics 1 at a highly selective university. The majority of students had taken an Advanced Placement (AP) physics course, allowing us to examine in…

Practicing chemists use models, diagrams, symbols, and figures to represent phenomena which cannot be detected by the human senses. Although research suggests that these external representations (ERs) can also be used to address the challenges that students have in learning chemistry, it is not clear how instructors' use of ERs aligns with their…

It is critical that we understand and address features of learning environments that encumber students historically underrepresented in STEM fields. Here we consider social elements of group work that can either support or impede learning. We tracked gender-bias in student--teaching assistant (TA) interactions in 184 small groups across 27…

Through the experiments described in this article, students become acquainted with the principles behind ternary liquid-liquid systems and/or Aqueous Two-Phase Systems (ATPS), and their characterization by the determination of the binodal curve, tie-lines, tie-line lengths and critical point, as well as in applying the non-random two-liquid model…

Students' personal theories about education change as students gather new evidence about intelligence, learning, and knowledge. The present study investigated whether college instructors' play a role in changing students' personal theories with the messages professors send in the classroom. Students (N = 162) and instructors (N = 15) of…

Cross-connections between the sciences and mathematics are emphasized through the Next Generation Science Standards and the Common Core State Standards in the United States. One topic that is a common bridge between math and science is the concept of measurement and unit conversions in the metric/English system. This article uses a mixed-methods…

Jigsaw is a peer learning procedure based on the assumption that making "children treat each other as resources" (Aronson & Patnoe, 2011, p. 8) stimulates cooperation among equals. Using a short-term, longitudinal experimental design in 14 sections of an undergraduate human anatomy laboratory, we contrasted this perspective with the…

Microscopy skills are critical for many aspects of biology, yet they are notoriously difficult to teach, especially to large classes. We trialled the use of widescreen monitors with touch-screen capability connected to compound microscopes in an introductory-level plant biology lab. Working in teams, students used the screens to interpret,…

Self-regulation is an active and constructive process in which students regulate and observe their own behaviour, motivations and cognition by setting their own goals during their learning process. In this study, the aim is to investigate the effects of biology laboratory practices that are supported by self-regulated learning strategies on…

There is an urgent need to strengthen undergraduate science students' epistemic knowledge, which requires having the scientists "qua" teachers on board. The divide between scientists' perceptions of science and the perceptions held by those who study science is in this context problematic. Even so, this remains a sorely understudied…

An activity is described in which students in the first semester of a two semester organic chemistry laboratory class are introduced to the use of SciFinder. Students are required to determine the structures of three compounds as well as additional information regarding the synthesis of one of them using some of the features available in SciFinder.

Course-based undergraduate research is promoted as an equitable strategy for providing the benefits of research experiences to a larger, more diverse population of students pursuing science degrees. Here, we report the impacts of course-based research on the self-efficacy and future goals of students enrolled in introductory biology courses at a…

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected the education system worldwide, which was forced to respond with a sudden shift to distance learning. While successful distance teaching requires careful thinking, planning, and the development of technological and human resources, there was no time for preparation in the current situation. Various…