The increasing and diversifying student enrollments in introductory physics courses make reliable, valid, and usable instruments for measuring student skills and gains ever more important. In introductory physics, in addition to teaching facts about mechanics, we also seek to teach our students the skills of "thinking like a physicist,"…

The question of how to engage undergraduate students in global learning is even more imperative given recent shifts in the global landscape and in higher education. Utilizing the value rubrics established by the American Association of Colleges and Universities, this analysis considers the importance of the humanities in realizing integrative,…

Microcredentials are a promising means for expanding teacher access to high quality professional development. This study examined the effectiveness of online, self-paced microcredential courses designed for teachers working in underserved rural communities. The content of these competency-based microcredentials centered on recommended…

An inquiry-based experiment for the organic chemistry laboratory was developed to provide students with a cognitively rich research experience. Student teams were charged with optimizing the reaction conditions for the Williamson ether synthesis of 2- fluorophenetole from 2-fluorophenol, ethyl bromide, and potassium carbonate in either absolute…

Appreciation of problem structure is critical to successful learning. Two experiments investigated effective ways of communicating problem structure in a computer-based learning environment and tested whether verbal instruction is necessary to specify solution steps, when deep structure is already embellished by instructional examples.…

This article describes how a sixth-grade teacher's "missing word" task uncovered higher-level thinking and engaged her students in the Standards for Mathematical Practice. The role and selection of the task promotes higher-level thinking and connects to the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics. The task required students to apply…

Quantitative reasoning and interdisciplinary skills are central to real-world environmental problem solving. Enhancing those skills for students in environmental programs will help them succeed as future environmental professionals. This paper describes an approach that uses an applied geophysical imaging course to enhance quantitative reasoning…

In an introductory chemical engineering course, the conceptual framework of a holistic problem-solving methodology in conjunction with a problem-based learning approach has been shown to create a learning environment that nurtures deep learning rather than surface learning. Based on exam scores, student grades are either the same or better than…

This research explores solutions and challenges pertaining to a child's development of self-efficacy. After working with fifth grade students in a public education setting, Inoticed an increased reliance on teachers for both creative and procedural directions. This paper explores research of educators who examine the internal and external factors…

Interdisciplinary teaching and interpretation of technology for various applications provides a challenging and engaging environment for students to enhance their creativity, critical thinking and problem-solving skills. This paper presents results of a joint effort between faculty in the Department of Information Sciences and Technology and the…

All teachers must contend with tough cases on occasion: community events in which there are strong emotions that insert themselves so directly into students' consciousness that they must be dealt with. In this article the two authors, a professor and a graduate student co-teaching pre-service teacher candidates, share their journey through the…

In this article, fourth grade Upper Allen Elementary School (Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania) teacher Jeffrey Smith describes his exploration of the Playing Basketball activity. Herein he describes how he found the problem to be an effective way to review concepts associated with the measurement of elapsed time with his students. Additionally, it…

As part of a larger study to understand instructors' considerations regarding the learning and teaching of problem solving in an introductory physics course, we investigated beliefs of first-year graduate teaching assistants (TAs) regarding the use of example solutions in introductory physics. In particular, we examine how the goal of promoting…

We administered the Jefferson Scale of Empathy and the Groningen Reflection Ability Scale to 61 of 64 entering medical students who self-selected a problem-based learning curricular track and to 163 of 198 who self-selected a lecture-based track (response rates of 95.3% and 82.3%, respectively, with no statistically significant differences in mean…

This article describes the use of a progressive paper in a capstone course to develop students' writing skills. A progressive paper is one that students write one section at a time: as they add each new section, they go back and revise the previous parts based on actionable feedback from the instructor. In this course, the progressive paper takes…