There were several changes in the laboratory teaching program in the Biological Sciences at Florida International University (FIU) between 1993-1994. The underlying goal was the improvement of the amount of material learned and retained by the student, but these changes showed little positive improvement. It was deemed necessary for FIU to…

Program-level assessment of the biology curriculum at a small liberal arts college indicates progress in the development of communication skills and content knowledge. The authors propose a mechanism to provide more research opportunities for students, giving them all the tools necessary to do science. (Contains 5 figures.)

The mechanism by which air enters the mammalian lung is difficult for many students of physiology. In particular, some students have trouble seeing how pressure can be transmitted through a fluid such as the intrapleural fluid and how the magnitude of that pressure can change. A Cartesian diver, an old-time child's toy, may be used as a visual aid…

The paper presents a teaching regime and evaluation criteria for a general education course in biology. The purpose of the course is to provide students with biological information to help them understand problems facing humans and some of the social and ethical aspects of these problems. Using input from students concerning what constitutes a…

In our study, we focused on the conceptual understanding of the concepts and processes presented in the first lectures of an introductory course in cellular biology for biology majors. The study topic we considered was, "the structure of DNA and the functions of nucleotides". One hundred and eighteen students were asked to prepare concept maps…

This laboratory exercise affords students a hands-on experience learning about traditional dyes, fiber strength, and paper making. It is economical, simple to prepare, provides satisfactory results, and is student friendly. Dyes were extracted from plant leaves, stems, roots, and fruits. Hard-boiled eggs were place in the dyes for 15 minutes to…

A major challenge in teaching any college level general genetics course including a laboratory component is having the students actively understand the research part of an experiment as well as develop the necessary laboratory skills. This laboratory experience furthers the students' knowledge of genetics while improving their laboratory skills.…

Describes a collaborative model in which college instructors work together to support and assess teaching innovations. Basic principles of a clinical-based method of supervision were adapted for the three-phase process (planning conference, classroom observation, feedback conference). Provides examples of collaboration and participants' feedback.…

Explores practical and theoretical benefits of electronic mail in a creative writing program. Practical benefits include creation of alternative writing space, scheduling convenience, and savings on copies. Theoretical benefits include egalitarian communication, blending of formal and informal discourse, increase in student engagement,…

Summarizes ideas gathered from classroom experiences and from colleagues encountered in cooperative learning workshops and presents them as answers to questions from workshop participants who have been exposed to the basic principles and methods of cooperative learning. Information for college instructors covers forming teams, dealing with…

Provides several suggestions to help prepare students for peer assessment: (1) emphasize its purpose; (2) articulate relationship between peer assessment and learning outcomes; (3) ensure students understand elements of high-quality, proficient performance; (4) develop analytic scoring criteria systems; (5) encourage collaborative discussions; and…

Describes a collaboration between teachers and community members at an Israeli school which facilitated curriculum development, teachers' professional development, and the school's institutional development as a "comprehensive community school," a new model which extends its boundaries to include the community by using its industrial and social…

Compared the quantitative problem-solving skills of conceptually-taught and traditionally-taught introductory physics students. Found that students taught conceptually through peer instruction performed significantly better on quantitative exam questions for two out of three exams. However, the conceptually taught students were not as satisfied.…

Asserting that in-class small group work often falters when students report out their work, describes 11 techniques for ending group work and evaluates their relative merits based on efficiency, accountability for individual students, complete sharing of information, and student practice in articulating what they learned. (EV)

Describes a new curriculum called The Language of Chemistry designed to illustrate how problems of biological and/or medical importance can be understood on a molecular basis and to show that the logic, knowledge, and language needed are easily accessible. Among the case studies in the curriculum are the giant peacock moth, bacterial chemotaxis,…