It's common for college professors to require students to complete a reading from the textbook prior to coming to class. Most professors who maintain syllabi for their courses list the chapters or page numbers that class members should read ahead of time. But studies indicate that students rarely read the information ahead of time (Marbach-Ad and…

The reaction time of a group of students majoring in physics is reported here. Strong correlation between fatigue, reaction time and performance has been observed and may be useful for academicians and administrators responsible for working out timetables, course structures, student counsellings, etc. (Contains 5 figures, 1 table, and 1 footnote.)

Have you ever thought about which pigments are found in tattoos and how laser treatment eliminates the pigmentation? In pursuit of losing weight, have you considered why artificial sweeteners are advertised as low calorie? During a four-week South Carolina Governor's School course, "Got Bio?", high school students were introduced to the…

The informal activities of cooperative learning and short periods of lecturing has been combined and used in the university teaching of biochemistry as part of the first year course of Optics and Optometry in the academic years 2004-2005 and 2005-2006. The lessons were previously elaborated by the teacher and included all that is necessary to…

In this study, the effects of teacher-directed and self-directed problem-solving strategies on students' attitudes toward physics were explored. Problem-solving strategies were used with the experimental group, while the control group was instructed using traditional teaching methods. The study was conducted with 270 students at various high…

Creativity, which has now entered the discourse in higher education alongside other agenda items such as enterprise, entrepreneurship and innovation, is an elusive and complex notion. It may evade the sort of definition, categorisation and compartmentalisation required to integrate it fully into the curriculum frameworks and assessment regimes…

Despite years of formal education, approximately one-third of all undergraduate students still cannot explain the causes of the seasons. Student manipulation of a handheld model is one approach to teaching this concept; however, the large number of students in many introductory classes can dissuade instructors from utilizing this teaching…

Podcasting is used commonly recreationally and is now increasingly used in education. The technology for podcasting is readily available, easy to use and inexpensive, making it an attractive option for providing additional flexible learning resources for students. However, little is known about how podcasts are used by students and the…

The lecture content of a Plant Biology class for non-majors was transformed from a traditional on-campus lecture to an asynchronous website for use both as a stand-alone internet-based course and as an adjunct to the on-campus course. Additional information and examples of the online interactive activities included in PLB 108, Concepts in Plant…

This study investigated the possible connection between effective laboratory activities and student performance on lecture exams. In a traditional undergraduate organic chemistry course for non-science majors, students could predict the products of organic reactions, but struggled to provide reaction mechanisms for those same reactions, despite…

A tablet PC is a versatile computer that combines the computing power of a notebook with the pen functionality of a PDA (Cox and Rogers 2005b). The authors adopted tablet PC technology in order to improve the process and product of the lecture format in their chemistry, engineering, and physics courses. In this high-tech model, a single tablet PC…

A large enrollment, instructor-centered chemistry course taught with science demonstrations was transformed into one that was more student-centered. Course survey and examination results revealed more positive perceptions of the benefits of demonstrations and greater content mastery for students in the modified course than for those in the…

In this article we describe a case study of interactive lecture experiments in a large introductory physics course. The impact of this pedagogy on student learning and motivation is also discussed. (Contains 1 table and 3 figures.)

This study is an experimental introduction of web-based lecture delivery into a majors-level introductory biology course. Web-based delivery, achieved through the use of prerecorded Voice-Over PowerPoint video lectures, was introduced on a limited basis to an experimental section while a control group, with the same instructor, received standard…

A peer mentoring program was added to an introductory chemistry course at a large university. The introductory chemistry course prepares students with little or no previous chemistry background to enter the mainstream general chemistry sequence and is part lecture and part small-group problem-solving. Faculty instructors are responsible for the…