This paper highlights the design process and implementation for an "all majors" undergraduate course that allows students a chance to reconnect with the natural world. During this course students explore a wide range of biological and physical science based topics that seek to highlight human intervention and our impacts on the planet.…

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…

In this article, the author describes two lessons in which students applied the scientific knowledge learned from studying offshore oil drilling to construct a fact-based argument on the topic and then communicate it to their policy makers, since public commentary was solicited. The students practiced using their scientific knowledge to…

The most challenging global problems of our age involve coupled human--environmental systems within the Food-Energy-Water Nexus. The undergraduate students currently in our classrooms will be tomorrow's global citizens, each of whom must be prepared to understand and reason about these challenges and ultimately make decisions about them in a…

In 2013, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its fifth report, attributing 95% of "all" climate warming--from the 1950s through today--to humans. Not only did the report--like previous IPCC reports dating back to 1990--accredit global warming to anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions, but over time the vast…

The time students spend using mobile devices is making an impact on the reading experience both inside and outside the classroom. The authors--a doctoral student and a fourth-grade language arts and science teacher--designed and implemented a unit on landforms that included nonfiction reading, with both traditional print books and eBooks on iPads,…

Inquiry-based teaching helps students develop a deep, applied understanding of human-environmental connections, but most high school curricula do not use inquiry-based methods. Soil science topics, which are also generally lacking from curricula, can provide hands-on model systems for learning inquiry skills. We report on the implementation of a…

A teacher and a college student explore experimental science and its history by reading historical texts, and responding with replications and experiments of their own. A curriculum of ever-widening possibilities evolves in their ongoing interactions with each other, history, and such materials as pendulums, flame, and resonant singing tubes.…

Most biology teachers implement animal dissection (real or virtual) and often lead discussions on research involving animal subjects. Such activities provide excellent opportunities to explore ideas about ethical conduct in the care and use of animals. The challenge for teachers is to present information about animal care and use that enables…