Homestudy Assignments: An Experiment in Promoting Active Learning in Introductory Chemistry—Preparing Students for Today’s Cooperative Work Environment

Journal Article | January 1997

In this article, students are given "Homestudy Assignments." These are written assignments completed by teams of two or three students both inside and outside of class. The assignments had several benefits in addition…

Sense-of-Place Writing Templates: Connecting Student Experiences to Scientific Content Before, During, and After Instruction

Journal Article | February 2013

Assess students' understanding and interactions with their environment using writing templates.

Taking Science Online: Evaluating Presence and Immersion Through a Laboratory Experience in a Virtual Learning Environment for Entomology Students

Journal Article | August 2009

A 3–D virtual field trip was integrated into an online college entomology course and developed as a trial for the possible incorporation of future virtual environments to supplement online higher education laboratories…

Can Students Learn From Lecture Demonstrations? The Role and Place of Interactive Lecture Experiments in Large Introductory Science Courses

Journal Article | December 2006

There is little doubt that well performed lecture demonstrations play an important role in science teaching (Straits and Wilke 2006): for many students, exciting demonstrations are what keep them interested and…

Research and Teaching: Meaningful Learning in a First-Year Chemistry Laboratory Course: Differences Across Classical, Discovery, and Instrumental Experiments

Journal Article | October 2011

To investigate students' perceptions of learning through three categories of experiments—classical, discovery, and instrumental—six students were interviewed over the course of a semester. Students' descriptions of…

The Total Science Experience Laboratory for Sophomore Biology Majors: Transcending the Laboratory to Learn Much More Than Just Biology

Journal Article | February 1999

In the Total Science Experience (TSE) lab, students become team research scientists. Proposal writing and reviewing, project management, team coordination, manuscript writing, and presentations help students make career…

A Shared Biology Teaching Experience Among Undergraduate Colleges: The "Spartan Speakers Program”—Benefiting Colleges and Universities Across Michigan

Journal Article | August 1999

In over 18 years of operation, the Michigan State University’s “Spartan Speakers Program” has provided over 346 quality seminars, discussions, and workshops at over 40 four-year and community colleges throughout the…

Semester-Length Field Investigations in Undergraduate Animal Behavior and Ecology Courses: Making the Laboratory Experience the Linchpin of Science Education

Journal Article | February 1999

Undergraduate science laboratory courses often use "cookbook" exercises where expected results are known without the need for thought or experiment. In this article the University of Iowa's elective courses Animal…

Sponsored Web Seminar: Creep It Real: Halloween Experiments Students Won't Stop Talking About, October 20, 2026

Web Seminar | June 2026

Join us on Tuesday, October 20, from 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM ET, and learn about Halloween-related activities that you can do in your classroom. Halloween is the perfect opportunity to make science a little more engaging and…

Learning from experience

Blog Post | July 2017

My first year of teaching biology was challenging, but I made it! Do you have any suggestions for what I should do to improve for next year?  —C, Virginia Congratulations for completing your first year! A good way…