Although instruction on meiosis is repeated many times during the undergraduate curriculum, many students show poor comprehension even as upper-level biology majors. We propose that the difficulty lies in the complexity of understanding DNA, which we explain through a new model, the DNA triangle. The "DNA triangle" integrates three…

Student retention and completion rates are challenging issues in higher education. In the academic domain, pressure exists for every institution to come up with strategies that support student success from enrollment through graduation without compromising academic or accreditation standards. This paper presents the findings from a review of…

Recent science reform documents have called for incorporating authentic scientific discourse into science classes as engaging in discourse has shown to result in numerous benefits. Whether these benefits are observed in students depends upon the quality of the discourse in which they engage. However, characterizing the quality of student-student…

The National Science Foundation funded a synthesis study on the status, contributions, and future direction of discipline-based education research (DBER) in physics, biological sciences, geosciences, and chemistry. DBER combines knowledge of teaching and learning with deep knowledge of discipline-specific science content. It describes the…

The purpose of this monograph is to present both the empirical and conceptual evidence of the causes and effects of undergraduate student engagement in research and creative activities. Four questions guide this report: (1) What are the intellectual underpinnings of engaging undergraduate students in research and creative activities?; (2) What are…

While academic and student affairs partnership programs have been championed as a means to enhance undergraduate education, research documenting the characteristics of effective partnership programs is sparse. The Boyer Partnership Assessment Project is a qualitative examination of academic and student affairs partnership programs at 18, diverse…

This Study was conducted to determine if women in the sciences were as accurate in spatial abilities as male counterparts. An experiment was also conducted to find if an intervention would improve the visuo-spatial awareness of women as rapidly as men. Data indicated that while women tended to start at a lower level, they were able to learn…

Conducted through the joint auspices of the National Art Education Association and Illinois State University College of Fine Arts, this national survey gathered data through a mail questionnaire of more than 1,000 higher education institutions located in the United States, Puerto Rico, and Canada. The institutions included two-year and four-year…

Reported are results of a study of a sample of 259 students at the University of Massachusetts who scored low on a math placement test and later took precalculus math classes. Several possible conclusions are presented to explain the test results. A significantly higher percentage (p<.05) of a remedial sample (compared to a non-remedial sample)…

The idea that cognitive science can provide useful guidance to the teaching of physics has been met by some with skepticism. One argument is that the current understanding of cognition is too crude to be helpful; another, that any scientific approach to education stifles the art of teaching. Some feel that art and science need not be incompatible.…

Graduates and employers were surveyed on the mathematical education of engineers in Australia. This paper summarizes their views and contrasts undergraduate and postgraduate courses. The undergraduate courses tend to be more traditional and structured, while there is a need for more work emphasizing mathematical modeling for postgraduate courses.…

Reports on a national survey of 520 psychology programs on the number of mathematics and science courses required as part of the general education requirements for an undergraduate degree. Finds that an average of one mathematics course and two science courses are required. (CFR)

The Panel on Undergraduate Engineering Education prepared this report as part of the overall effort of the National Research Council's Committee on the Education and Utilization of the Engineer. The panel studied the academic preparation of engineers for practicing their profession. This document provides an analysis of the research done by the…

Reports on a national survey designed to determine some of the ways in which students enter biochemistry programs. Results indicated that the majority of students entering graduate biochemistry programs have an undergraduate biology degree. (TW)

Presents findings of a comparison of the personality profiles of music educators with indicators of teaching success. Reports that application of the Missouri Pre-Professional Teacher Interview (MPTI) showed that music teachers scored relatively well on "stimulator,""developer," and "command" themes but less well on…