Environmental ethicists have focused much attention on the limits of utilitarianism and have generally defined "environmental ethics" in a manner that treats utilitarian environmental ethics as an oxymoron. This is unfortunate because utilitarian ethics can support strong environmental policies, and environmental ethicists have not yet produced a…

Core concepts can be integrated throughout lower-division science and engineering courses by using a series of related, cross-referenced laboratory experiments. Starting with butane combustion in chemistry, the authors expanded the underlying core concepts of energy transfer into laboratories designed for biology, physics, and engineering. This…

Having nonmajor general biology students teach each other in small groups helped improve student learning when compared to students in traditional lecture-based courses. This form of collaborative learning helped students with the lowest grades the most. (Contains 2 tables and 2 figures.)

Classroom debates used to be familiar exercises to students schooled in past generations. In this article, the authors describe the technique called "intimate debate". To cooperative learning specialists, the technique is known as "structured debate" or "constructive debate". It is a powerful method for dealing with case topics that involve…

Not all demonstrations involve using exciting visual displays of one or a series of scientific principles. Demonstrations can be as simple as showing the interrelationship between scientific concepts or principles using concept maps. Concepts maps are tools that help people conceptualize and remember a conglomeration of facts making up complex…

Learning real three-dimensional (3D) anatomy for the first time can be challenging. Two-dimensional drawings and plastic models tend to over-simplify the complexity of anatomy. The approach described uses stereoscopy to create 3D images of the process of cadaver dissection and to demonstrate the underlying anatomy related to the speech mechanisms.…

To adequately prepare future faculty for their multiple roles as researchers, teachers, and colleagues, innovative teaching opportunities must be made available to doctoral students that allow them to maintain a high level of research productivity while acquiring independent teaching experience and training. A new program is developed that offers…

This paper discusses pedagogical advantages and challenges of using science-fiction movies and television shows in an introductory science class for elementary teachers. The authors describe two instructional episodes in which scenes from the movies "Red Planet" and "The Core" were used to engage students in critiquing science as presented in…

The use of portfolios has had a positive impact on students, faculty, and the program in the Chemistry Department at Berea College. The portfolio allows for the inclusion in the curriculum of activities that occur outside of the classroom and offers a convenient means to monitor student participation in those activities. In addition to guiding…

In this article we describe a case study of interactive lecture experiments in a large introductory physics course. The impact of this pedagogy on student learning and motivation is also discussed. (Contains 1 table and 3 figures.)

The authors present results from an experiment that tested the effect of seat location on student performance and attitudes in an undergraduate biology class. The seat assignments were randomly assigned on the first day of class. The authors did not find that students sitting in the front did any better than students sitting in the back. (Contains…

In this article, the author presents informal surveys conducted on students regarding their opinions on the meaning of their existence. A total of 740 student responses are collected and summarized from eight sections of Astronomy 100. As a result of the study, it is apparent that "purpose in life" is of fundamental importance to students. The…

One of the major concerns in higher education is the need for more accountability on the part of institutions so that members of the public know what they are getting for their tax or tuition dollars. There has been increased call for institutions of higher education to improve their efficiency if they are to remain affordable. In this article,…

Community college students in a nonmajors biology class are introduced to mitosis by reading a case-study article that allows them to gauge how many times various parts of their bodies have been regenerated. The case-study article allows students to develop a conceptual framework of the cell cycle prior to a lecture on mitosis. (Contains 1 figure.)

Although the majority of the teaching faculty at U.S. universities is composed of people who are scientific experts, research has found that most scientists do not have information about effective teaching methods (DeHaan 2005). Traditional lecture-style college science teaching does not reflect knowledge about best teaching practices based upon…