The views on epistemology by philosophers of science are developed through an historical lens. Enabling students to develop a scientific mindset is complicated by student's views on the Nature of Science. Students need to appreciate the history of science and to contrast different frameworks. In order to do this, students have to be able to follow…

Objective: The authors examined the effects of medical student assignment to U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center inpatient and outpatient psychiatry clerkship sites versus other university and community sites on the performance outcome measure of National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) subject examination scores. Methods:…

This article describes an unlikely collaboration between a high school chemistry teacher and a high school English teacher who attempted to teach scientific concepts through poetry. Inspired by poet John Updike's (1960) "Cosmic Gall," these two teachers crafted writing tasks aimed at teaching science content through literary devices. The result…

This study investigated students' learning style participation rate within a blended Family and Consumer Sciences Exploring Childhood constructivist secondary course using an exploratory quantitative approach with descriptive analysis, ANOVA testing, and contingency tables. Howard Gardner's multiple intelligence inventory was used to determine…

The use of social technologies, such as wikis and chats, has brought a renewed attention to L2 collaborative writing. Yet, a question that still remains to be answered is the extent to which learners' writing is enhanced when using these tools. By analyzing learners' individual and collaborative writing, this study (a) explores L2 learners'…

In an effort to gain greater insights into bilingual and bicultural children's understanding of their cultural and linguistic identities, the authors embarked on a Where I'm From (WIF) multi-media poetry project. The WIF project has great potential and value for developing students' language and communication skills, and for exploring the meaning…

Three faculty members from three different professional disciplines outline strategies to engage first-year students in a team-taught, multidisciplinary first-year experience course. The theme of the discussed section is titled food for thought...and action. Assignments are grounded in theories of cooperative and experiential learning. Tentative…

Many psychology instructors approach the topic of gender with considerable resistance and apprehension. Some professors may be reluctant to incorporate gender issues into their psychology courses due to their fear of altering their teaching practices. Others may be unable to present their views on gender in an unbiased way, so they avoid…

Standardised tasks and a repeat design were used to investigate development in narrative writing by 112 primary schoolchildren. The scripts comprised the NFER "Literacy Impact" Writing Test B, completed near the end of the children's second terms in Year 5 and Year 6. The test includes a narrative task using content of appeal to both genders. The…

This case study describes an information literacy lab for an undergraduate biology course that leads students through a range of resources to discover aspects of genetic information. The lab provides over 560 students per semester with the opportunity for hands-on exploration of resources in steps that simulate the pathways of higher-level…

This article describes an analysis of course syllabi from selected courses in the biology curriculum at Iowa State University. The purpose of this research was to learn about the numbers and types of information literacy assignments given to students majoring in biology. Overall, the most common assignment type for biology majors was a lab report…

As the field of second language writing embraces the authenticity and meaningfulness of connecting writing with other skills, language teachers and testers require greater understanding of how writers respond to as well as compose for integrated tasks. Research on integrated tasks is critical in highlighting how integration impacts students and…

Business writing instructors work diligently at raising the level of student writing performance in business communication classes. Some students, however, need additional motivation to apply writing concepts and perform to their highest level. Typically, business students are confronted with hypothetical writing situations, such as claim letters,…

As online learning continues to grow each year, so do the number of new media and Web 2.0 technologies faculty have at their disposal, yet the majority of online courses remain heavily text-based. Online learning often mirrors the traditional classroom, with a focus on read and write (and at times discuss)--sometimes with good reason. One of the…

A critical component of science is the role of inquiry and argument in moving scientific knowledge forward. However, while students are expected to engage in inquiry activities in science classrooms, there is not always a similar emphasis on the role of argument within the inquiry activities. Building from previous studies on the Science Writing…