The geological sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics (geo-STEM) have the capacity to investigate and address geological and environmental challenges. Many of these challenges (e.g., pollution, flooding, and slope failure) unjustly impact lower socio-economic communities in urban and rural settings where there is limited access to…

Programming is an important skill for different areas of knowledge. While in the past, programming skills were much more related to fields of computer sciences and engineering, today, professionals from different areas benefit from the ability to write codes for different applications. Furthermore, programming stimulates logical thinking, which…

An authentic, interdisciplinary, research and problem-based integrated science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) project may be ideal for encouraging scientific inquiry and developing teamwork among undergraduate students, but it also presents challenges. The authors describe how two interdisciplinary teams (n=6) of undergraduate…

This paper examines the impact of a structured, multi-dimensional reflection track of a 16-week pilot programme in experimental pedagogics (XP) in The Netherlands. XP is an elective undergraduate programme in which students investigate socially relevant educational problems in local communities and design educational interventions to address these…

The overall purpose of this study is to prefigure the feasibility of Problem Based Learning (PBL) for building research and employability capacity of MA-students in the context of Gulu University. Following a description of the basic tenets of PBL, we explain how PBL was used in experimental community outreach workshops for MA-students between…

In this study, a problem-based capstone course was designed to assess the University of Wyoming Microbiology Program's skill-based and process-based student learning objectives. Students partnered with a local farm, a community garden, and a free downtown clinic in order to conceptualize, propose, perform, and present studies addressing problems…

Thirty-four undergraduate public relations majors participating in a problem-based service-learning project at a Hispanic-Serving Institution executed an event that attracted more than 100 low-income Hispanic families to campus. The purpose was to help parents prepare their children for college. From primary and secondary research, the students…

We investigated and compared the learning environment perceptions of students, teachers and guides who participated in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)-based outreach activities in secondary education. In outreach activities, schools and teachers work together with companies and other external institutions in learning…

College student persistence continues to pose challenges for higher education institutions, despite over 40 years of research. Although persistence is studied from many different angles, the majority of studies examining the causes of and cures for students' departure from college reflect the importance of engagement in the higher education…

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to report on student perceptions of 24 graduate student internships funded in 2007-2008 by York University's Knowledge Mobilization (KMb) Unit. These internships provided opportunities for students to engage in research with community agencies around real world problems. Design/methodology/approach: The principal…

This paper presents preliminary results from a five year longitudinal study on the efficacy of integrating museum resources into elementary and middle school curricula through educational outreach activities, over the Internet and in the classroom. From 1997 to 2003, museum educators at the University of Illinois' Spurlock Museum have explored how…

A survey of graduates (n=87) of the University of New Mexico's conventional medical program and its parallel problem-based curriculum (n=33) found graduates of the latter much more likely to work in medically underserved areas and publicly funded health care settings, care for nonpaying patients, and identify patient problems and curiosity as…