We review the state of genetics instruction in the United States through the lens of backward design, with particular attention to the goals and assessments that inform curricular practice. An analysis of syllabi and leading textbooks indicates that genetics instruction focuses most strongly on foundations of DNA and Mendelian genetics. At the…

Some 300 years after the founding of the first American institution of higher education, developing students into future leaders remains a central objective of contemporary colleges and universities (Astin, 1993; Johnson, 2000; Komives, Lucas, & McMahon, 2007). In the modern university setting, a significant amount of leadership training and…

Two online science education games, in which players learn about the risks of prescription drug abuse in the context of investigating crimes, were evaluated to determine shifts of prescription drug abuse attitudes attributable to game exposure. High school students from grades 11 and 12 (n = 179) were assigned to one of the games and participated…

Student ratings of teaching effectiveness are widely used to make judgments of faculty teaching performance. Research, however, has found that such ratings may not be accurate indicators of teaching performance because they are contaminated by course easiness. Using student ratings of 9855 professors employed at 79 different colleges and…

With declining state support, increased financial need on the part of the fastest growing demographic sections of the population, and public policy that discourages major increases in tuition for public higher education, the only logical source of additional finances for public colleges and universities is increased private funding through…

Learning happens not only in schools, but also in every context that affords new experiences and opportunities for metacognition. We aim to maximize the different activity-milieux in which learners are engaged in developing their life-long learning dispositions to learn within and across contexts. This paper is a follow up of an earlier published…

With adolescents becoming physically inactive as they age, one must think of other activities to teach during the middle and secondary years in physical education. One lifetime activity that physical education teachers could promote is bowling, an individual sport that could be taught in the gym or in a bowling alley. By using an instructional…

The literature on successful aging reveals a wide range of definitions, generally reflecting the academic discipline of the investigator. Biomedical models primarily emphasise physical and mental functioning as successful aging; socio-psychological models emphasise social functioning, life satisfaction and psychological resources as successful…

This study examined the predictive utility of five formative reading measures: words correct per minute, number of comprehension questions correct, reading comprehension rate, number of maze correct responses, and maze accurate response rate (MARR). Broad Reading cluster scores obtained via the Woodcock-Johnson III (WJ III) Tests of Achievement…

A floating bowling ball? No way! There is no better way to get students' attention and reinforce the need for conceptual understanding than with a discrepant event like this. Density is a central concept in chemistry and physical science from middle school to college. But often, particularly at the high school and college levels, we think students…

Seeing different retrospectives, which show the progression of works by an artist during their lifetime, inspired the author to organize a retrospective showcasing a progression of student works. In November of 2005, the author and her visual art colleagues celebrated the first Bowling Pin Pal Reunion. For 30 years, the bowling pin pals have been…

It is argued that negotiation and performance of identity in contemporary society is linked with the value-laden spaces in which individuals spend time. Concepts of space, place and identity have become important when looking to understand elements of social practice, in light of the recognition that life is becoming progressively more mobile,…

Background: In the U.S. college/university setting, physical activity courses are often offered as part of the general education program, where students earn college credits towards the completion of their degree program. These courses are typically taught by graduate teaching assistants (GTAs), who face several challenges in instructing…

Controlling unwanted annual bluegrass (Poa annua L.) in desirable turfgrass species often relies heavily on herbicide use. As a result, increasing populations of herbicide-resistant annual bluegrass have become a concern. In 2018, a university research and extension initiative began addressing the increasing herbicide-resistant annual bluegrass…

Background: The advent of technology use in physical education is upon us. But the implications of using exergames as a substitute for traditional physical education instruction for some students raise questions. Although exergames have the potential to increase energy expenditure and motivation in some children, it is less clear whether they can…