The purpose of this study was to examine the variables which influence a high school student to enroll in an engineering discipline versus a physical science discipline. Data was collected utilizing the High School Activities, Characteristics, and Influences Survey, which was administered to students who were freshmen in an engineering or physical…

Dual-enrollment programs allow high school students to enroll in college-level classes to gain college and high school credit concurrently. Research on how online, dual-enrolled high school students (DES) construct knowledge when compared with online community college students (CCS) is needed to help administrators determine the design,…

When most materials are heated they expand. This concept is usually demonstrated using some type of mechanical measurement of the linear expansion of a metal rod. We have developed an alternative laboratory method for measuring thermal expansion by using a Michelson interferometer. Using the method presented, interference, interferometry, and the…

In recent years, statistics education in China has made great strides. However, there still exists a fairly large gap with the advanced levels of statistics education in more developed countries. In this paper, we identify some existing problems in statistics education in Chinese schools and make some proposals as to how they may be overcome. We…

Over the past decade, the number of students with disabilities enrolling in college has increased steadily. Data are not gathered annually, but the figures compiled by the National Center for Education Statistics show that the number of undergraduates at degree-granting institutions rose from 1,508,000 in 1999 to 2,156,000 enrolled in 2003, a 69…

A thin-layer fuel cell is described that is simple and easy to set up and is particularly useful for teaching and classroom demonstrations. The cell is both an electrolyzer and a fuel cell and operates using a thin layer of electrolyte with a thickness of approximately 127 micrometers and a volume of approximately 40 microliters. As an…

Easily recoverable, thumb-sized pieces of high-density dry ice are conveniently produced by deposition of carbon dioxide within a test tube submerged in liquid nitrogen. A carbon dioxide-filled balloon sealed over the mouth of the test tube serves as a gas reservoir, and further permits a dramatic demonstration of both the gas-to-solid phase…

In 2009 the Faculty of Health Sciences at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia is introducing a common first year for 11 different undergraduate courses in the faculty. Current prerequisite science entry requirements vary with course and range from none to at least two science or mathematics subjects and from [approximately]50 to 99 in…

The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and its companion projects serve colleges and universities committed to monitoring and improving the quality of the undergraduate experience. While participating institutions receive detailed customized reports, the "Annual Results" series presents noteworthy aggregate findings from the…

Early exposure to embedded computing systems is crucial for students to be prepared for the embedded computing demands of today's world. However, exposure to systems knowledge often comes too late in the curriculum to stimulate students' interests and to provide a meaningful difference in how they direct their choice of electives for future…

This paper investigates one aspect of the transition of students from high school to college. It assesses whether students who had an academic ethic in high school performed better in their first semester of college than students who did not possess an academic ethic in high school. Survey data were collected from students at a medium-sized state…

The imperative for prospective teachers, school districts, Illinois policy makers and the public as a whole to know more about teacher preparation is the motivation behind this report. At the request of Advance Illinois, the authors evaluated 111 undergraduate and graduate programs in 53 education schools as well as three "independent…

In 2015, the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) collected responses from more than 315,000 first-year and senior students attending 585 bachelor's degree-granting colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. This report presents selected NSSE results from students at 541 U.S. institutions or subsets of that group where…

The case presented in this article is an exploration of the process of natural selection using white clover ("Trifolium repens") as an example. In general, two forms of white clover can be found around the world in various habitats. One type has plain green leaves and the other type produces cyanide as a defense against herbivores and…

We describe the construction of a simple solution calorimeter, using a miniature bead thermistor as a temperature-sensing element. This has a response time of a few seconds and made it possible to carry out a thermometric reaction in under a minute, which led to minimal heat losses. Small temperature changes of 1 K associated with enthalpies of…