This case study outlines the process of designing and implementing a professional development program that is inclusive of VITAL faculty within the College of Science and Mathematics at Kennesaw State University. We begin by providing background about the institution and developments that precipitated the creation of the 2022 Faculty Learning…

The evolution of learning design continues, focusing on blended laboratory approaches incorporating technology. The Sophisticated Thinking Laboratory (STB-LAB) and Gather Town are key tools in implementing collaborative learning in this context. This study assesses the effectiveness of blended laboratory implementation using STB-LAB and Gather…

[This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Instructional labs: Improving traditions and new directions.] We present the pedagogical design and implementation of "ESSENCe": Experimental problem solving using Staging, Scaffolding, Embedded information sources, iNstruments, and Collaboration. Research in experimental physics requires…

Responsive teaching is an approach to instruction that foregrounds listening for, attending to and engaging with student disciplinary thinking and ideas in the classroom. This style of teaching differs from how many traditional STEM classes are taught, especially at the college level. Entry-level college science courses that are taught by graduate…

This article describes the implementation of alternative grading (AG) strategies in an upper-division kinesiology and functional human anatomy course. Traditional point-based grading systems can negatively impact student mental health, decrease intrinsic motivation, and hinder learning. To address these issues, a proficiency-based grading approach…

Canada's research policy over the past three decades has steered national science toward industrial innovation. Yet, the outcomes of this policy orientation are debatable. Macro-level indicators continue to show weak performance in firm innovation, and there is also evidence that this policy stance has had material effects on science at the meso…

The goal of undergraduate chemistry laboratories is to allow students to learn about chemical systems and key laboratory skills. They should then apply this knowledge to solve problems and connect macroscopic observations in the laboratory with those occurring at the submicroscopic level. Unfortunately, these needs are not met through traditional…

In large, introductory courses, instructors and teaching assistants often struggle to provide detailed feedback on student homework in a timely manner. Here we describe a peer-reviewed homework system that provides quick turnaround while offering flexibility in the construction of homework problems. Homework is administered through a cycle, which…

This paper describes the adaptation of an upper-division undergraduate seminar course taught at the University of Missouri in Columbia (MU) to the Summer School Program of the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing (UCAS). The course "Scientific Writing in Chemistry" addresses an essential need for science students across…

In 1996, the Chemistry Department at Norwich University converted its two-semester General Chemistry course from a traditional lecture to a Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) classroom. The change to POGIL teaching in Norwich General Chemistry classes was brought about by a steady decline in student performance, as demonstrated by…

Calls for educational reform in undergraduate STEM education have become more prominent in recent years, particularly in introductory/foundational courses. Such reform efforts were initiated 10 years ago in the general chemistry program at the University of Arizona. In this contribution, we describe the major successes and challenges encountered…

A growing body of research suggests that student-centered teaching methods are associated with positive learning outcomes for undergraduate students. Yet, the extent of their use and factors leading to their adoption in fields, such as chemistry, continue to be under-explored. Utilizing survey data collected during 2015, we begin to fill this gap,…

San José State University, in partnership with California State University-Los Angeles and Cal Poly Pomona, was awarded a prestigious 2015 First in the World grant, sponsored by the Department of Education. The multi-campus effort is focused on bringing the flipped classroom model to seven STEM gateway courses over three years that have high…

Cognitive science research on learning and instruction is often not directly connected to discipline-based research. In an effort to narrow this gap, this essay integrates research from both fields on five learning and instruction strategies: active retrieval, distributed (spaced) learning, dual coding, concrete examples, and feedback and…

In this paper we put forward a proposal for the design and evaluation of teaching and learning sequences in upper secondary school and university. We will connect our proposal with relevant contributions on the design of teaching sequences, ground it on the design-based research methodology, and discuss how teaching and learning sequences designed…