This article describes a simple way to demonstrate powder diffraction in a classroom setting using a dry film of spherical colloids on a glass substrate. Use of transparent, elastomeric poly(dimethylsiloxane) as a supporting substrate for the spheres rather than glass enables demonstration of the reciprocal lattice effect. (Contains 4 figures and…

Chemical reactions induced by light have been utilized for synthesizing highly strained, thermodynamically unstable compounds, which are inaccessible through non-photochemical methods. Photochemical cycloaddition reactions, especially those leading to the formation of four-membered rings, constitute a convenient route to compounds that are…

Primary literature is an underutilized learning resource for undergraduate courses in crop science. Reading assignments from scientific journals were utilized in an undergraduate University of Minnesota crop physiology course at Southwest Minnesota State University from 2002 to 2004. The subjects of the articles corresponded to the lecture topics.…

A new program, On Recent Discoveries by Emory Researchers (ORDER), has been developed as a bridge across the ever-widening gap between graduate and undergraduate education in the sciences. This bridge is created by merging the needs of graduate/postdoctoral students to educate more interdisciplinary scholars about their research discoveries with…

To promote student engagement, professors must actively seek to create the conditions that foster engagement. Chickering and Gamson (1987) suggest that good practices in undergraduate education are ones that: encourage student-faculty contact, develop reciprocity and cooperation among students, encourage active learning, provide students with…

Choice of institution and field of study for a bachelor's degree in Israel was found essentially meritocratic although influenced by socioeconomic status (SES) as well. As expected, students of higher ability attend universities and those of lower apply to academic colleges. However, among students of higher ability, those of higher SES opt for…

Increased focus on assessment of student learning in the accreditation of higher education institutions offers new, challenging opportunities for institutional researchers. This article explores how institutional researchers can maximize these opportunities by offering methodological guidance in the assessment process and by designing new studies…

Canadian universities are struggling to address seemingly contradictory challenges pertaining to undergraduate education: high demand and underfunding. A number of instruments, including the National Survey of Student Engagement (National Survey of Student Engagement, n.d.), have led to greater priority being placed on the undergraduate…

The Genome Consortium for Active Teaching (GCAT) facilitates the use of modern genomics methods in undergraduate education. Initially focused on microarray technology, but with an eye toward diversification, GCAT is a community working to improve the education of tomorrow's life science professionals. GCAT participants have access to affordable…

This article describes how early childhood teacher education faculty at one university responded in the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita and used the disaster to enhance their undergraduate and graduate programs. They explain how they modeled developmentally appropriate practices while responding to community needs. Four companion articles…

This qualitative study of a community college--university partnership employs network embeddedness theory to examine the processes involved in creating and sustaining partnerships to enhance transfer and baccalaureate attainment. In particular, this article describes the challenges inherent in partnership management and governance, the importance…

The rapidly growing older population has generated the need for more gerontological or geriatric care professionals. This study evaluated the undergraduate programs offered by the departments of medicine, nursing studies and social work at a university in Hong Kong, based on the data of a recent alumni survey. It also identified factors that…

In this article, we share our challenges and positive experiences of using feminist pedagogy to teach an undergraduate course on gender development. We use a developmental contextual, feminist perspective to address issues related to (a) internalized sexism, (b) contrasts in students religious beliefs and sexism, (c) students' developmental level,…

Within undergraduate psychology courses, students often have significant levels of anxiety and negative attitudes toward the statistical element. This has been attributed to poor interaction with teachers, fears about mathematical abilities, and simply being unaware of that portion of the course or its relevance to psychology. To address this, 196…

This study explored relations between students' motivational and cognitive orientations as assessed by the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ), and their attitudes and choices relating to online lecture viewing. Examination performance was also assessed to determine if there were particular affinities between certain…