The 2011 "Vision & Change" report outlined several recommendations for transforming undergraduate biology education, sparking multiple pedagogical reform efforts. Among these was the Promoting Active Learning and Mentoring (PALM) network, an NSF-funded program that provided mentorship and training to instructors on implementing…

Supporting student participation and learning in STEM involves motivating students to engage in the most effective learning activities. In this article, we study how student motivation interacts with learning activities, and we pay special attention to active learning and the Scandinavian context where participation in learning activities is…

Future needs and challenges, especially in complex real-world problem-solving, require education to equip individuals with quality skills. Inquiry-based learning that integrates socio-scientific issues (SSI) can significantly develop students' problem-solving skills. This study aims to test the effects of the Socio-Scientific Real-world Inquiry…

Anaerobic respiration reactions are of fundamental importance to global biogeochemical cycling of elements. Yet, the idea that cellular respiration can occur not only in the absence of oxygen but also involve the oxidation of inorganic substrates (e.g., AsO[subscript 3 superscript 3-], Fe[superscript 2+], H[subscript 2], H[subscript 2]S,…

The laboratory plays a crucial role in science education. However, teacher education for pre-service teachers' design performance in the laboratory is still challenging. This study paved the way for redesigning traditional laboratory teaching into a student-centered approach: inquiry-based design thinking (IBDT). To investigate the impact of the…

Argumentation skills are important for students to analyze and evaluate critical information, especially in complex science issues. Socio-Scientific Real-world Inquiry [SSRI] learning helps students develop deep scientific understanding and the ability to build evidence-based arguments in a real context. This study aimed to examine the…

This study is a follow-up to the analysis of an inquiry-based learning activity applied to students in a public university in Brazil. We advocate that an effective education in immunology must incorporate elements that are essential to research in the area, such as generating and analysing data. These elements would empower students to apply…

Electron configuration provides insight into the chemical behaviors of elements and is an important concept for students to master in introductory chemistry. To better strengthen undergraduate students' mastery of electron configurations of atoms and ions, we designed a novel, interactive chemistry game called ChemisTree that uses active-learning…

In the study, repair activities were planned with prospective science teachers (f=24) using broken household appliances and it was aimed to establish a relationship between such practices and science teaching during the activities. The activities, which were carried out as a single group, were carried out in collaborative groups of four. Case…

In 2017, the Department of Biology at Virginia Wesleyan University modified its two-course introductory sequence in response to high DFW rates (>50% scoring a D, F, or withdrawing) in the first semester. The revised curriculum created a new third course and moved content that many students struggled with from the first semester to the third…

In today's world shaped by technology and the natural sciences, knowledge and skills related to experimentation are crucial, especially given growing public debates about science-related topics. Despite a strong emphasis on experimentation in science curricula worldwide, learners still encounter diverse challenges when experimenting. This paper…

Contributions to conservation biology research are traditionally approached from an ecology and evolutionary biology perspective, but education research can be equally valuable. Population genetics research can inform management decision-making while education research can improve how we teach conservation. My dissertation tackles conservation…

One of the objectives of science teaching and learning is to achieve quality science education, which involves improving initial teacher training. The use of methodologies that promote learning in science, such as the enquiry-based learning strategy, are encouraged. It is also necessary to provide appropriate contexts that give meaning to the…

The interdisciplinary nature of food makes it an effective teaching vehicle in many fields. This article shows specifically how flavor and food fermentation, two topics not usually featured in the undergraduate STEM curriculum, can inspire a powerful interdisciplinary learning experience. Importantly, because of their accessible nature and…

Small group interactions and interactions with near-peer instructors such as learning assistants serve as fertile opportunities for student learning in undergraduate active learning classrooms. To understand what students take away from these interactions, we need to understand how and what they learn during the moment of their interaction. This…