[This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Curriculum Development: Theory into Design.] Fifteen years ago, following recommendations from research on science education for prospective teachers and for students more broadly, "Physics and Everyday Thinking" introduced activities within an inquiry-based undergraduate physics course…

As described by the National Research Council, science practices reflect, in part, the way science is done. When researchers are developing an explanation for a phenomenon, they are using a combination of knowledge and skills reflected in the science practices. Laboratory-based chemistry courses provide the opportunity for students to move beyond…

Integrating faith with academics possesses significant benefits for students, because it connects major disciplines to students' personal values and goals, prepares students to be effective and faithful professionals in their discipline and vocation, and develops students' understanding of the nature of their discipline. However, to…

In the process of working through evaluation of efforts to transform undergraduate laboratory experiences at our institution, we developed a protocol for observing laboratory learning environments that could be used in varying institutional contexts. We began using the Instructional Practices Inventory and found many strengths in this protocol but…

The need for a revised curriculum within the life sciences has been well-established. One strategy to improve student preparation in the life sciences is to redesign introductory courses like biology, chemistry, and physics so that they better reflect their disciplinary interdependence. We describe a medically relevant, context-based approach to…

Curriculum outlines are provided for teaching a two semester organic chemistry course based on scientific principles. Performance objectives for each unit can be developed and an example is described in this article. An attempt is made in this outline to interrelate organic chemistry with other areas of chemistry. (PS)

General biology courses should be planned and taught in colleges according to widely accepted theories and laws of biology. A list of 24 such principles is provided around which general biology courses could be structured. (PS)

Reports concerns of the committee with both science and non-science majors. Scientific literacy, systems approach to instruction, symbolic communications, attitudinal changes, and behavioral objectives are among the topics identified. (TS)

Reviews current research interests in photographic chemistry, involving two proposed models for spectral sensitization of crystal defects and impurities in the photolysis reactivity and the mechanisms of development and complexation. Establishment of photographic chemistry in a chemistry curriculum is recommended. (CC)

Discusses roles played by inelastic molecular collisions in gas molecular theories and suggests the inclusion of inelastic aspects in the freshman chemistry course. (CC)

Describes the collisional properties as a logically essential component of the ideal gas model since an actual intraparticle process cannot support observable anisotropic velocity distributions without collisions taken into account. (CC)

This paper describes the author's experience of designing and teaching an interdisciplinary course titled "Light", in collaboration with a visual artist. The goals of the course, texts used, laboratory work, art studio work, and other course activities are discussed with an emphasis on how light was used as a theme to make connections between…

The first challenge in designing and teaching any course is to decide what to teach. At most colleges and universities, the process of selecting course content is an extremely local enterprise. Sometimes the decisions are made by a small group of faculty members, but most often they are made by a single professor with the responsibility of…