Introductory science courses play a critical role in the recruitment and retention of undergraduate science majors. In particular, first-year courses are opportunities to engage students in scientific practices and motivate them to consider scientific careers. We developed an introductory course using a semester-long series of established…

Traditional lecturing has been shown again and again to be a less effective teaching method regarding student engagement and promotion in the sciences. Studies that compare different teaching methods often face limitations because, over time, courses are either substantially changed and/or are taught by different instructors. This article presents…

We describe a third-year undergraduate course that focuses on multiscale modeling and protein folding and has as its primary goal the encouragement of students to integrate thinking across and beyond disciplinary boundaries. The ability to perform innovative and successful research work in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics)…

Undergraduate biology lab courses have long been criticized for engaging students in "cookbook" experiences in which students follow a given protocol to collect data that help answer a predetermined question. Recent reform documents in biology education have suggested that students should engage in lab courses that provide more authentic…

Describes an introductory course in geology for nonscience majors that involves students in laboratory exercises related to rock classification. (GS)

"How the World Works" is an interdisciplinary science and mathematics course in which students design and perform their own experiments, analyze the data, and present their results orally and in writing. Evaluations indicate that most students learn how to do science and gain a better appreciation for science as a process. (SAH)

Presents a description of the development of a laboratory-oriented chemistry course and the results noticed when the course was implemented. The syllabus was considered to be highly successful. (EB)

Describes an experimental biochemistry course designed to teach basic biochemical techniques using an unstudied enzyme as the experimental material. Explains the schedule of experiments designed for the course and lists the sources used. (GS)

Presented is a description of a technical laboratory-oriented science course dealing with the science of enology or wine-making. Experiments and the distillation apparatus are described. (SA)

Describes the use of bio-medically significant materials to teach a self-pacing chemistry laboratory course to nursing majors. Indicates that the student can learn from the course to determine values of body fluid constituents, about their variations among healthy populations, and about difficulties inherent in making such measurements. (CC)

Describes the laboratory portion of a biology course which has been changed to incorporate a self-paced concept allowing students to attend the laboratory at their own convenience. (EB)

Describes an undergraduate research program for minority students. The program and eight objectives of the first course of the program, "Introduction to Research," are presented. Some strengths and weaknesses of the course are considered. (YP)