Enrollment increases at many institutions have forced science faculty to reevaluate assessment decisions in light of increasing demands on time. Some have advocated the replacement of free-response examinations with forced-choice examinations as a time-saving strategy. The existing research literature contains many studies comparing student…

Graduate students in science technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields often enter degree programs focused on research or field-based experiences. Being a teaching assistant can serve two purposes: one for financial compensation and two as preparation for teaching in a future career. The GK-12 program (Graduate Teaching Fellows in…

The University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez (UPRM) serves approximately 12,800 students. Of these students, nearly 100% qualify as underrepresented minorities by U.S. federal standards. In line with a nationally recognized need to increase students from ethnic minority groups to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and math, the UPRM…

When learning about large-scale environmental problems such as climate change, species extinctions, overpopulation, and habitat destruction, students can become hopelessly dismayed and experience ecophobia--a state of mind in which the student is fearful of the looming environmental problems but senses that there is nothing that can be done to…

Mastery learning is an instructional method based on the idea that students learn best if they fully understand, or master, one concept before moving on to the next and has been shown to be extremely effective in math and science curricula. Competency-based grading is an evaluative tool that allows the faculty member to determine the level of…

Four science programs at our public urban liberal arts college have struggled to attract and retain majors: physics, environmental studies, geology, and teaching science. The Brooklyn Opportunities in Science and Careers (BOSC) program aims to increase student participation in these majors using a new career-focused strategy to recruit students.…

This column provides original articles on innovations in case study teaching, assessment of the method, as well as case studies with teaching notes. In this month's issue the goal of the case study is for students to expand their understanding of membrane permeability and the proton motive force in mitochondria through the study of…

To assess current trends of evolution instruction in high schools of the mid-South, we invited Arkansas high school biology teachers from across the state to respond to a survey designed to address this issue. We also asked students enrolled in a freshman-level, nonmajors biology course at a midsize public Arkansas university to recall their…

A comparison was made between students' overall performance, as measured by overall grade, in different teaching and learning protocols: (1) traditional textbook and lecture along with standard examinations; (2) lectures with online augmentation and PowerPoint lecture notes along with standard examinations; (3) similar to "(2)" but with modified…

Women are underrepresented in most scientific disciplines, with achievement gaps expanding throughout the career trajectory. Gender differences in perceptions of scientific competence are evident at an early age. We examined the extent to which college-level instructor gender affects the confidence of males and females in their scientific…

Science literacy involves knowledge of both science content and science process skills. In this study, we describe the Assessment of Critical Thinking Ability survey and its preliminary application to assess the critical thinking skills of undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows. This survey is based on a complex and…

Access to state-of-the-art instrumentation, namely nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, early in the college curriculum was provided to undergraduate students in an effort to improve student perceptions of science. Proton NMR spectroscopy was introduced as part of an aspirin synthesis in a guided-inquiry approach to spectral…

The development of scientific and quantitative reasoning skills in undergraduates majoring in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is an objective of many courses and curricula. The Biology Department at James Madison University (JMU) assesses these essential skills in graduating biology majors by using a multiple-choice exam…

Biology majors team with business administration majors to develop proposals for "green" enterprise for a business plan competition. The course begins with a series of student presentations so that science students learn about the fundamentals of business, and business students learn about environmental biology. Then mixed biology-business student…

The Toxics Geography Exercise was developed as an application-oriented exercise to develop skills in critical analysis in groups of undergraduate students from widely diverse academic backgrounds. Students use publicly available data on industrial activities, history of toxic material disposal, basic chemistry, regulatory approaches of federal and…