In the world of higher education, one of the struggles instructors face in the classroom is engaging students in the material. A second discussion in higher education pedagogy is how to weigh content versus activity in the science classroom. How should college teaching be set up when students now have every fact ever found at their fingertips on a…

Students in introductory college science courses often have a simplified understanding of the scientific method. To introduce students to the complexity of the scientific process and the value of empirical observations, I implemented a semester-long assignment that required introductory-level college science students to build and calibrate weather…

Sustainability is emerging as a prominent curricular initiative at the undergraduate level, and as a result, involving students in real-world problems in the classroom and laboratory is an important goal. The specific problem of a dwindling supply of clean and safe drinking water is also of utmost importance and relevance. This general chemistry…

In traditional introductory biochemistry laboratory classes students learn techniques for protein purification and analysis by following provided, established, step-by-step procedures. Students are exposed to a variety of biochemical techniques but are often not developing procedures or collecting new, original data. In this laboratory module,…

Two-year college (TYC) physics teachers are not often required to provide student research experiences as a part of their contracted duties. However, some TYC physics faculty members are interested in developing research opportunities for their freshman- and sophomore-level students, often called "early undergraduate research" (EUR).…

The focus of this Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) project was on RNA secondary structure prediction by using a lattice walk approach. The lattice walk approach is a combinatorial and computational biology method used to enumerate possible secondary structures and predict RNA secondary structure from RNA sequences. The method uses…

Superhydrophobic (non water-wettable) surfaces can possess the ability to self-clean (the so-called "lotus effect"). The task of devising the apparatus and method for quantifying this self-cleaning effect was offered as a project in a third-year undergraduate laboratory course. Using commonly available equipment the students devised a…

Attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy is a useful technique for measuring the infrared spectra of solids and liquids as well as probing adsorption on particle surfaces. Several examples of the use of FTIR-ATR spectroscopy in different undergraduate chemistry laboratory courses are presented here. These…

Research-like experiences range from relatively "canned" labs that are highly controlled by the instructor (such as those described in Lord and Orkwiszewski 2006) to more individually designed projects (e.g., Switzer and Shriner 2000; Wyatt 2005). This article describes a laboratory approach that allows for many of the benefits of independent or…

This report describes a biochemistry laboratory that is completely project-oriented. Upper-level biology and chemistry majors work in teams to purify a protein of their choice. After the student groups have completed literature searches, ordered reagents, and made buffers they continue to learn basic protein purification and biochemical techniques…

Science educators agree that an undergraduate research experience is critical for students who are considering graduate school or research careers. The process of researching a topic in the primary literature, designing experiments, implementing those experiments, and analyzing the results is essential in developing the analytical skills necessary…

Discusses several characteristics considered to be important to a good undergraduate research program in chemistry. They include providing adequate time for students, proper selection of the research problem, a firm requirement that significant work will be performed, and a suitable format in presenting the research results. (JN)

The involvement of undergraduate science majors in publishable research is a vital aspect of their education. The special problems confronted by faculty doing and directing such research are formidable. Several of these problems (such as heavy teaching loads) and ways of attacking them are described. (JN)

Discusses: (1) the conflict about the importance of research at predominantly undergraduate schools; (2) sources of funding for undergraduate research (several of which are targeted at predominantly undergraduate institutions); and (3) undergraduate research at doctoral-granting institutions. (JN)

Describes how to create good physics programs in small colleges. (PR)