All Journal of College Science Teaching resources

Journal Article

Point of View: The Scientific Method and School Science

Can we assume that science teachers and graduates understand the scientific method and the meaning of key terms such as theory, law, and fact? Selby (2006) notes that the “current debate about teaching Intelligent Design in science classes is revea...

Journal Article

SCST: Society for College Science Teachers—We Know How to Improve Science Understanding in Students, So Why Aren’t College Professors Embracing It?

It’s difficult for most professors to realize that what’s worked in the past won’t necessarily work with today’s students. Adopting new strategies and technologies is always hard, yet it’s amazing how quickly professors take to new instruct...

Journal Article

A Simple Activity to Facilitate Proportional Reasoning in the Contexts of Density, Dissolving, and Nanoparticles

To address the confusion resulting from difficulties with proportional reasoning among preservice physical science students, a cube-assembly activity was used to bring a sense of concreteness to abstract ideas. The activity took students from the con...

Journal Article

Research and Teaching: Characterizing the Level of Inquiry in the Undergraduate Laboratory

Discrepancies abound in use of the word “inquiry.” In this paper, the authors propose a quantitative rubric designed to characterize the level of inquiry in laboratory activities and laboratory curricula. They do not wish to answer the question, ...

Journal Article

Research and Teaching: A Teaching Intervention to Increase Achievement of Hispanic Nonscience Majors Taking Physical Science Courses

This quasi-experimental pilot study of nonscience majors taking a physical science course at a university in South Texas was conducted on Hispanic undergraduate students, and is theory based—an application of attribution theory. That the treatment ...

Journal Article

Using Natural History Interpretation as an Authentic Assessment Tool

Natural history interpretation offers college science instructors an educationally challenging alternative or complement to traditional evaluation methods, such as multiple-choice testing. Because it asks students to draw connections among varied con...

Journal Article

A Message from the NSTA President: Science Education—The Times They are A-Changin’

Inspired by her favorite Bob Dylan song of 1964, “The Times They Are A-Changin,” NSTA President Page Keeley’s presidential theme during her 2008—2009 tenure will be “From Transition to Transformation—Striving for a Science-Literate Nation...

Journal Article

Society for College Science Teachers: I’m in the “Thinking Business”

Teaching through inquiry doesn’t come automatically—professors have to think of instruction in a different way. Instead of describing information that students should know, they must challenge students to think at a higher, critical-thinking leve...

Journal Article

Coupling Scientific Journalism and Poster Sessions as Teaching, Learning, and Assessment Tools in the Nonmajors Science Classroom

Scientific journalism, by definition, is writing concise, scientifically accurate, and engaging articles for nonexpert or lay audiences. When coupled with in-class poster sessions, it is a powerful and efficient mechanism for engaging and assessing s...

Journal Article

Environmental Service Learning: Relevant, Rewarding, and Responsible

At Georgia Southern University (GSU), a regional university of 17,000 students, environmental science is a required introductory course for all students. Consequently, environmental-biology class sizes are large, often approaching 1,000 students each...

Journal Article

A Dialogue of Life: Integrating Service Learning in a Community-Immersion Model of Preservice Science-Teacher Preparation

Dubbed a “dialogue of life,” community immersion in preservice science-teacher education aims at providing a true-to-life and empowering opportunity for prospective science teachers (both elementary and secondary) to become active participants in...

Journal Article

Lights, Camera, Reflection! Digital Movies: A Tool for Reflective Learning

At the end of a biology course entitled Ecology, Evolution, and Genetics, students were asked to consider how their learning experience had changed their perception of either ecology or genetics. Students were asked to express their thoughts in the f...

Journal Article

Editorial: Why I Want to Slug My Neighbor

“So, are you enjoying your summer off?” This innocuous question can be a source of frustration for educators during the summer months. It implies that educators are tranced-out in their mp3 feed while munching on fair-trade chocolate if they are ...

Journal Article

Research and Teaching: Implementing Inquiry-Based Learning in Teaching Serial Dilutions

The 5E model of inquiry-based learning was incorporated into a sophomore-level microbiology laboratory to increase student understanding of serial dilutions, a concept that is often difficult for most students to comprehend. Quantitative and qualitat...