Undergraduate research experiences (UREs) that include interdisciplinary, engagement-oriented, and collaborative experiences have the potential to benefit students in unique ways. Through these innovative experiences, students are able to see the social impact and importance of their work--a factor known to strengthen the academic and career…

While gender parity has been achieved in overall science degree earning, large gaps still exist within many science disciplines. Further, studies addressing gender inequity in science often ignore a large source of undergraduate science degree earners: those who enroll in science courses intending to pursue careers in health or medicine. This…

Scientists use judgment in deciding what and how much data to present in publications but science degrees rarely address this issue. Instead, scientific knowledge is presented as certain and students have limited opportunities to use their own judgment in the laboratory. A consequence of this may be that students approach science with a moral…

This paper explores the research perspective of neuroscience by documenting the brain cell (neuron) drawings of undergraduates, trainee scientists, and leading neuroscience researchers in a single research-intensive university. Qualitative analysis, drawing-sorting exercises, and hierarchical cluster analysis are used to answer two related…

The characterization of students' cognitive biases is of central importance in the development of curriculum and teaching strategies that better support student learning in science. In particular, the identification of shortcut reasoning procedures (heuristics) used by students to reduce cognitive load can help us devise strategies to foster the…

This study explored whether adding a haptic interface (that provides users with somatosensory information about virtual objects by force and tactile feedback) to a three-dimensional (3D) chemical model enhanced students' understanding of complex molecular interactions. Two modes of the model were compared in a between-groups pre- and posttest…

Instructors continually asked lower level and memory questions despite efforts to change their behaviors by encouraging the use of analysis, synthesis, and evaluation questions. (AL)

An electronic student response system was used in teaching college biology to non-science students. Achievement of this treatment group was compared with that of the control group (not utilizing the response system). The only statistical significant difference found in an analysis of covariance was an interaction between treatment group and time…

Reported is a summary and review of more than 400 research reports published in 1986. The review is organized into four sections: (1) Teaching and the Teacher; (2) Learning and the Learner; (3) Curriculum and Instruction; and (4) Instrument Development and Analysis. Sections include overview, discussion of the studies, and implications for…

Reported is a summary and review of over 300 research papers published in 1987. The review is organized into four sections: (1) "Learners and Learning"; (2) "Teachers and Teaching"; (3) "Curriculum and Instruction"; and (4) "Context and Settings." (YP)

Reported is a summary and review of over 300 research papers published in 1988. The review is organized into 10 sections: (1) "Professional Concerns"; (2) "Teacher Education"; (3) "Programs"; (4) "Curriculum"; (5) "Instruction"; (6) "Conceptual Development"; (7) "Problem…

Discusses results obtained through interviews with university science teachers with regard to their philosophies and practices in college science classrooms. Data revealed that teachers are not satisfied with all aspects of their teaching; however, they are not sure how to make changes that would maximize student learning. (ZWH)

Utilizes a factor analyst technique on the scores of college freshmen responding to a form of Osgood's semantic differential instrument. A three-dimensional vectorial model is constructed to explain involvement in science. (CP)

Students enrolled in an audio-tutorial section of an introductory college physics course responded more favorably than did students in the lecture section on a student questionnaire concerned with attitudes toward the course and laboratory. (MLH)