A Discipline-Specific Approach to the History of U.S. Science Education

Journal Article | December 2016

Through a discipline-specific approach to a course on the history of science education in the United States, the authors have spurred the interest of college science faculty and future high school science teachers as…

Implementation of Peer-Reviewed Homework Assignments

Journal Article | December 2016

In large, introductory courses, instructors and teaching assistants often struggle to provide detailed feedback on student homework in a timely manner. This article describes a peer-reviewed homework system that…

Sesame Street Picnic: An Introductory Activity to Claims, Evidence, and Rationale

Journal Article | December 2016

Recent calls for reform in K–16 STEM education not only emphasize mastery of content, but also call for students to engage in the scientific practice of making evidence-based claims, or scientific argumentation. However…

Research and Teaching: Using a Practical Instructional Development Process to Show That Integrating Lab and Active Learning Benefits Undergraduate Analytical Chemistry

Journal Article | December 2016

The authors describe how a practical instructional development process helped a first-year assistant professor rapidly develop, implement, and assess the impact on her Analytical Chemistry course caused by three changes…

Research and Teaching: Using Models From the Literature and Iterative Feedback to Teach Students to Construct Effective Data Figures for Poster Presentations

Journal Article | December 2016

Analyzing, interpreting, and clearly presenting real data are skills all students should develop, majors and nonmajors alike. These process skills require lots of practice coupled with targeted feedback from instructors…

Research and Teaching: Virtually the Same: A Comparison of STEM Students’ Content Knowledge, Course Performance, and Motivation to Learn in Virtual and Face-to-Face Introductory Biology Laboratories

Journal Article | December 2016

Biology I is a required course for many STEM majors and is often their first college-level laboratory experience. The replacement of the traditional face-to-face laboratory experience with virtual laboratories could…

Research and Teaching: Measuring Student Interactions Using Networks: Insights Into the Learning Community of a Large Active Learning Course

Journal Article | December 2016

Collaborative learning in small groups is commonly implemented as a part of student-centered curricula. In large-enrollment courses, details of the interactions among students as a consequence of working in…

Point of View: Science Classrooms as a Gateway to Comprehensive Pedagogy

Journal Article | December 2016

This column shares reflections or thoughtful opinions on issues of broad interest to the community. This month’s issue discusses the importance of college-level science classrooms practicing interdisciplinarity.

Two-Year Community: Using Formative Assessment to Improve Microscope Skills Among Urban Community College General Biology I Lab Students

Journal Article | December 2016

The authors sought to improve student microscope skills by implementing formative assessment techniques in addition to summative assessment approaches.

Case Study: Let’s Get Personal: Putting Personality Into Your Cases

Journal Article | December 2016

This column provides original articles on innovations in case study teaching, assessment of the method, as well as case studies with teaching notes. This month’s issue discusses the importance of personalizing case…

Acting Like Rain

Journal Article | January 2017

PreK students engage in science talk and head outside to build Earth science knowledge and process skills.

Teaching With Play

Journal Article | January 2017

An introduction to environmental stewardship for preschoolers.

Round and Round the Water Cycle

Journal Article | January 2017

Observations and investigations lay the groundwork for primary students’ future Earth science experiences.

Interactive Reading

Journal Article | January 2017

Informational texts enhance a preschool forest unit.

Crowdfunding for Elementary Science Educators

Journal Article | January 2017

A way to bridge the gap between curriculum needs and financial support.