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Journal Article

Making Science Come Alive: Bucking the Declining Science Major Enrollment Trend at Annapolis—The Lure of the "Oceanography Summer Cruise"

Our nation is experiencing a general trend of declining enrollments in mathematics and science majors study tracks. The U.S. Naval Academy (USNA) Oceanography major is "bucking this trend" with a combination of non-traditional appraches that can be a...

Journal Article

Evolutionary Steps: A Stairway-Created Display of the History of Life—How a Xavier University Biology Class Plots Earth's Major Evolutionary Events

The students at Xavier University's general biology course learn about evolution by ascending a stairway in a science building. Along the stairwell walls students examine fossils and explanatory texts while the ascending stairs represent a climb thro...

Journal Article

Reinvigorating Introductory Biology: A theme-based, Investigative Approach to Teaching Biology Majors—Making Science More Meaningful at an All-Women's College

This theme-based, investigative approach to teaching introductory biology offers faculty a way to emphasize the process of science over content. Students appreciate the freedom to test their own ideas and to become active participants in the learning...

Journal Article

Guest Editorial: Science Literacy and the U.S. Congress—A Call from Capitol Hill for Increased Cooperation in Meetng U.S. Technological Challenges

An opinion piece about the important role Congress plays in shaping our national research and development enterprise. Their actions are critical to the success of advancing fundamental scientific understanding and our ability as a nation to deal with...

Journal Article

Student-Designed Experiments in Scientific Lab Instruction: Students at the University of Puerto Rico Go back to the Basics to Learn Chemistry Concepts

Student-designed experiments emphasize depth of understanding. Revisiting "known" concepts like heat, temperature, uncertainty in measurements, mass, and volume, helps students deepen their understanding. Having to apply them in a new situation makes...

Journal Article

Research and Teaching: Student Self-Assessment of Higher-Order Cognitive Skills in College Science Teaching

A wide consensus exists among researchers that the development of students' abilities to ask questions, reason, problem solve, and think critically—in short, higher-order cognitive skills (HOCS)—should become a central focus of current science ed...