Most studies of curricular diversity have focused on the effects of participation in diversity courses on student outcomes. Though the results have been positive, these studies have used limited measures of curricular diversity and there is a great need for a complimentary body of research demonstrating what faculty and what types of courses are…

Researchers investigated the impact that a first-year college experience course had on students' first-year grade point averages (GPAs) and retention rates. A sample of 109 first-year students enrolled in the course was compared to a sample of 326 students from the same university who had not taken the course. The goals of the experience course…

This study examines student responses to the question, "What circumstances, if any, could make cheating justified?" It then assesses how well those responses can be classified by existing theories and categories that emerge from a qualitative analysis of the data. Results show considerable support for techniques of neutralization, partial support…

Venues for informal science education are usually those sought out by people who are specifically looking for an educational experience. Whether planning a trip to a museum or choosing a television program, these individuals are actively seeking an informal educational experience; they are a self-selected group. This paper investigates whether…

Current proposals for science education recognise the importance of students' involvement in activities aimed at favouring the understanding of science as a human, dynamic and non-linear construct. Modelling-based teaching is one of the alternatives through which to address such issues. Modelling-based teaching activities for ionic bonding were…

Lectures are often thought of in terms of information transfer: students (do not) "get" or "construct meaning of" what physics professors (lecturers) say and the notes they put on the chalkboard (overhead). But this information transfer view does not explain, for example, why students have a clear sense of understanding while they sit in a lecture…

In this work an attempt is made to explore the possible value of using Thought Experiments (TEs) in teaching physics to upper secondary education students. Specifically, a qualitative research project is designed to investigate the extent to which the Thought Experiment (TE) called "Heisenberg's Microscope", as it has been transformed by Gamow for…

Emphasis on improving higher level biology education continues. A new two-step approach to the experimental phases within an outreach gene technology lab, derived from cognitive load theory, is presented. We compared our approach using a quasi-experimental design with the conventional one-step mode. The difference consisted of additional focused…

The students' performance in various types of problems dealing with the conservation of matter during chemical reactions has been investigated at different levels of schooling. The participants were 499 ninth grade (ages 14, 15 years) and 624 eleventh grade (ages 16, 17 years) Greek students. Data was collected using a written questionnaire…

The research outlined in this paper investigated how student teachers perceived the development of their knowledge and attitudes towards physics through video recorded practical workshops based on experiments and subsequent group discussions. During an 8-week physics course, 40 primary science student teachers worked in groups of 13-14 on…

Based upon a national longitudinal dataset of 14,527 college students generated by the UCLA Spirituality in Higher Education Project, this study used structural equation modeling to test the applicability of a model of ecumenical worldview development for students of diverse genders, races, and worldviews. The model suggests that challenging…

Using a national longitudinal sample of 14,274 college students generated as part of the UCLA Spirituality in Higher Education Project, this study employed structural equation modeling to analyze how students develop an ecumenical worldview. The findings suggest that challenging co-curricular experiences and the salience of religion and…

Institutions of higher education rely on student surveys for a number of purposes, including planning, assessment, and research. Web surveys are especially prevalent given their ease of use and low-cost; yet, obtaining a high response rate is a challenge. Although researchers have investigated the use of incentives in traditional mail surveys,…

This study compares the psychometric utility of Classical Test Theory (CTT) and Item Response Theory (IRT) for scale construction with data from higher education student surveys. Using 2008 Your First College Year (YFCY) survey data from the Cooperative Institutional Research Program at the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA, two scales…

The purpose of this study is to investigate social science doctoral students' perceptions and attitudes toward written feedback about their academic writing and towards those who provide it. The study culminates in an explanatory model to describe the relationships between students' perceptions and attitudes, their revision decisions, and other…