Doctoral qualifying exams are considered essential in assessing a student's readiness for research and advanced studies. Despite their significant role in many physics programs, questions have been raised about their format, execution, and relevance. Our research investigates perceptions held by faculty members regarding the graduate doctoral…

This chapter discusses the impact of undergraduate research as a form of engaged student learning. It summarizes the gains reported in post-fellowship assessment essays acquired from students participating in the Auburn University Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program. The chapter also discusses the program's efforts to increase opportunities…

This article describes a project to engage sociology students in real-world research designed to foster critical thinking about food security. Faculty-librarian collaboration was an essential component. An open-ended questionnaire was administered to three classes at the end of the semester. Assessed were students' experiences gathering data and…

In 2007 and 2010, the National Research Council reported that the United States was not producing enough graduates in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields to meet the demands of an increasingly competitive global economy. Despite recent challenges to these findings, one thing remains clear: Underrepresented…

This article described the faculty-sponsored, faculty-driven approach to undergraduate research (UGR) at Auburn University. This approach is centered around research in the Pediatric Movement and Physical Activity Laboratory, and students can get elective course credit for their participation in UGR. The article also describes how students' roles…

Recognition of the value of a scientifically literate citizenry has driven American science education reform since the 1950s. We have seen some improvement in the comprehension of science facts in the past 10-20 years, but far less improvement in Americans' understanding of the nature of science. College science courses are ideal venues for…

Coupling the scholarly activities of the chemistry research faculty with that of the first-year honors general chemistry laboratory has resulted in additional research experience for undergraduate students and a rise of productivity within the chemistry department. For seven years, first-year university honors students enrolled in the honors…

Undergraduate students in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at the University of South Alabama, Mobile, are required to take a course entitled "Issues in Biomedical Sciences," designed to increase students' awareness about bioethical questions and issues concerning research integrity. This paper describes the main features of this…

Students from the University of Montevallo, Alabama's public liberal arts university, re-created the Battle of Shiloh (April 6-7, 1862) approximately twenty miles north of Corinth, Mississippi. For ten weeks in a classroom environment, nineteen students studied strategy, operations, and tactics that affected events nearly 143 years prior. Then,…

This article describes and assesses the effectiveness of a 3-yr, laboratory-based summer science program to improve the academic performance of inner-city high school students. The program was designed to gradually introduce such students to increasingly more rigorous laboratory experiences in an attempt to interest them in and model what…