This paper explores students' perceptions of faculty-mentored research by drawing on the experiences of final year undergraduates sampled from a public university in Ghana. Embedded in a qualitative approach, the paper employs the cognitive interest and expectancy value theories, which model interests and satisfaction as predictors of affection…

This article presents a SoTL study of students' use of concept maps in my undergraduate class "Women in Christian History," in a mid-semester module called "the Eve project." I present three students' maps to show the different kinds of understandings that students developed in this literacy encounter. I am especially…

The idea of "threshold concepts" has been used to identify discipline-based concepts that are critical to that academic area. Threshold concepts are often difficult for students to assimilate in a meaningful way but, once done, can be powerful for the learner. In general, threshold concepts are 1) transformative to learner thinking; 2)…

The structure and function relationship is a core concept identified by physiology faculty. Prior research has shown this may be a difficult concept for students to understand. Formative written assessments, such as short answer essay questions, allow students to demonstrate their thinking by encouraging students to use their diverse ideas to…

This article explores collaborative pedagogical approaches to museum exhibit design through a partnership between an anthropology class and the Blackwater Draw Museum at Eastern New Mexico University. This collaboration brought together faculty, staff, undergraduate, and graduate students to showcase the regionally relevant issues of water overuse…

Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) integrate active, discovery-based learning into undergraduate curricula, adding tremendous value to Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (BMB) education. There are multiple challenges in transforming a research project into a CURE, such as the readiness of students, the time commitment of the…

Recently debatable arguments have existed regarding the perceived lack of numerical skills among the graduates from the Humanities and Social Sciences. In response to this concern, the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Faculties of Art in national universities in Sri Lanka have taken measures to more opportunities to undergraduates to…

Three real-world datasets are introduced for a petroleum engineering capstone design course, providing detailed problem statements, assessment criteria, team-building practices, and required software packages. Two surveys reveal that students prefer real datasets over synthetic ones, and despite initial challenges, students feel proud of their…

Compelling evidence, from multiple levels of schooling, suggests that teachers' knowledge and beliefs about knowledge, knowing, and learning ("i.e.," epistemologies) play a strong role in shaping their approaches to teaching and learning. Given the importance of epistemologies in science teaching, we as researchers must pay careful…

From a linguistic perspective it seems intuitive that a strong link would exist between the study of linguistics and critical thinking (CT). After all, linguistics is about making sense of language analysis, which contributes to the enhancement of CT while CT, in reciprocation, enables meaningful analysis. Yet this link has virtually never been…

The dominant image of mathematics as an abstract, universal, disinterested, and pure body of knowledge both misrepresents disciplinary practice and alienates many students. Undergraduate proof-based courses such as real analysis, which are supposed to introduce students to contemporary academic mathematics, often contribute to such idealized…

Primarily undergraduate institutions (PUI) often struggle to provide authentic research opportunities that culminate in peer-reviewed publications due to "recipe-driven" lab courses and the comprehensive body of work necessary for traditional scientific publication. However, the advent of short-form, single-figure…

Purpose: This study investigated preferred learning and teaching styles of the "Z"-generation learners using Nigerian universities as a case. Design/methodology/approach: The visual, aural, read/write and kinesthetic (VARK) learning style model and the teaching method instrument were administered to 133 students' from private and public…

Teaching-research nexus has become a hotspot topic of scholarly debates in the higher education field for decades, owing to the contesting views of intellectuals and the polarisation of empirical evidence reported from many higher education spaces. Sadly, previous studies have been mainly conducted in societies with well-developed research culture…

Tertiary mathematics educators have been shifting towards an active learning approach to teaching. Many external factors support or hinder their transition towards evidence-based instructional practices, including, of recent international interest, the physical learning spaces. In this study in the U.S., I observed and interviewed instructors of…