All Journal of College Science Teaching resources

Journal Article

Case Study: Chimpanzee Droppings Lead Scientists to Evolutionary Discovery

This case study explores the evolution of HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) from SIV (simian immunodeficiency virus) and how scientists approach problems. The goal is for students to get a sense of how questions are formulated and methods are employ...

Journal Article

Point of View: “Is a Bird an Animal?” The Necessity of Science Content Knowledge

Teachers often see science as an important subject to teach, but they are often reluctant to teach science because they feel inadequately prepared or are unsure of their abilities (Atwater, Gardener, and Knight 1991; Bybee 1991; Dickinson et al. 1997...

Journal Article

Student Reactions to Just-in-Time Teaching’s Reading Assignments

This article describes how the Just-in-Time Teaching (JiTT) warm-up exercises were successfully adopted into a college-level physics course as a teaching tool. Students were found to be more engaged in lectures after completing the warm-up assignment...

Journal Article

MathBench Biology Modules: Web-Based Math for All Biology Undergraduates

Historically, biology has not been a heavily quantitative science, but this is changing rapidly (Ewing 2002; Gross 2000; Hastings and palmer 2003; Jungck 2005; Steen 2005). Quantitative approaches now constitute a key tool for modern biologists, yet ...

Journal Article

On Clickers, Questions, and Learning

The purpose of this paper is to review the procedures used to help students become learning victors. Specifically, this paper will discuss the process used to integrate classroom-response-system technology and question-driven instruction into an intr...

Journal Article

Research and Teaching: Team-Based Learning Enhances Performance in Introductory Biology

Given the problems associated with the traditional lecture method, the constraints associated with large classes, and the effectiveness of active learning, continued development and testing of efficient student-centered learning approaches are needed...

Journal Article

Editorial: <em>Au Courant</em> Connections

In an effort to connect with college-level science instructors “beyond the classroom walls,” the editor plans to start a blog. Blogs are the electronic equivalent of an open conversation at a relaxed conference. You get there through an internet ...

Journal Article

Research and Teaching: Students’ Perceptions of Their Grades Throughout an Introductory Biology Course—Effect of Open-Book Testing

In this study, the authors examined students’ perceptions of their grades throughout an introductory biology course. Since large majorities of students prefer open-book exams (Moore and Jensen 2008); they sought to determine how these exams affect ...

Journal Article

Society for College Science Teachers: “But, I Thought We Were Colleagues?” Professors Evaluating Professors

Isn’t forcing faculty to serve as evaluators of peers a lot to expect? To assign tenured professors to evaluate their colleagues is also not fair when the work is nerve racking, the time is demanding, and the stakes are high. Faculty evaluations ar...

Journal Article

An Undergraduate Journal Club Experience: A Lesson In Critical Thinking

In an effort to better prepare undergraduate students to read and critically evaluate scientific literature, a journal club experience was introduced into a university's bachelor of science curriculum. As a result of this experience, students have be...