Recent science reform advocates for the inclusion of engineering design to teach science and represents a shift to so-called three-dimensional (3D) learning. This shift often requires science instructors to adapt their current curriculum to integrate 3D learning. To support this shift, the current study illustrates the collaborative development…

Integrating social issues into biology courses may be of particular interest for educators seeking to create inclusive science environments that support diverse populations. This social justice-focused service-learning project extended a partnership between a social justice institute and a nonprofit organization into an undergraduate introductory…

Classrooms were turned upside down amid the global COVID-19 pandemic, which began approximately halfway through the spring 2020 semester. A service-learning project was implemented in my section of a general biology course for majors. With the shutdown of academic institutions and other businesses or government agencies, service was not…

Data modeling practices are often invisible to students in introductory biology courses. However, developing a well-rounded understanding of these practices is critical for scientific literacy. Furthermore, introductory undergraduate science laboratory courses are often taught by graduate students or novice instructors with little autonomy,…

Sessions of our laboratory-based physics course have been "meeting" synchronously online instead of on campus due to the pandemic. Shifting to remote instruction prompted us to create online versions of the course. In the unit on global climate change, for example, we continued engaging students in documenting their initial and evolving…

Many studies illustrate the positive influences of undergraduate research experiences on student learning, attitudes, and retention in the sciences. At our institution, over 90% of the biology majors surveyed reported a desire to participate in undergraduate research, but only 3% per year have the opportunity to work in a traditional…

Recent reform efforts in postsecondary science teaching have called for shifts in instructional methods to include more evidence-based instructional practices. However, a myriad of factors play a role in whether an instructor adopts these more student-centered methods. One such factor is teaching perspective. In this study, we explored the…

Active instructional approaches have been demonstrated to result in greater student achievement, prompting institutions to transition to more active learning environments. However, little work has been conducted to specifically measure the retention of knowledge gained. The purpose of the research presented here was to test assumptions regarding…

The purpose of this article is to describe a model for teaching introductory biology coursework within the Vision and Change framework (American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2011). The intent of the new model is to transform instruction by adopting an active, student-centered, and inquiry-based pedagogy consistent with Vision and…

"Vision and Change in Undergraduate Education: A Call to Action," published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2011, suggested cultivating biological literacy and practicing more student-centered learning in undergraduate life sciences education. We report here on the use of Group Active Engagement (GAE)…

Half of students who start college pursuing a degree in science drop out of the sciences by their senior year. This is due, in part, to low attendance and lack of preparation by the students. The failure to develop instructional strategies that actively engage students in science, however, is also a marked factor. A crucial need to reform how…

Despite numerous calls for reform, the early chemistry experience for most college students has remained unchanged for decades. In 2004 the National Science Foundation (NSF) issued a call for proposals to create new models of chemical education that would infuse authentic research into the early stages of a student's college experience. Under this…

A small undergraduate liberal arts college explored a model, grounded in the literature, to develop a shared vision for its science and math general education curriculum that focuses on scientific literacy skills. This process has allowed us to produce shared general education learning goals across our eight science and math departments, conduct…

Although much has been said and written about the value of using the history of science in teaching science, relatively little is available to guide educators in the various science disciplines through the educational history of their own discipline. Through a discipline-specific approach to a course on the history of science education in the…

The purpose of this article is to describe a reform model of instructional collaboration, Japanese lesson study, which has been shown in previous research to enhance reform-based teaching. Japanese lesson study is a method of professional development in which teachers collaborate with peers and other specialists to improve teaching and learning.…