Given biotechnology's emergence as a major competitor in the Pittsburgh region, critically linking education to industry through the Community College of Allegheny County's Biotechnology Workforce Collaborative (BWC) provided a well-trained workforce. The collaborative also sought to increase the number of women in the sciences, specifically…

Lab components of undergraduate science courses typically have students complete highly directed cookbook-like laboratory activities. These experiences rarely engage students in a meaningful manner and do not accurately convey what the work of science entails. With funding from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), we have created more…

Population genetics is fundamental to understanding evolutionary theory, and is taught in most introductory biology/evolution courses. Many students are unaware that understanding this topic requires pertinent knowledge of mathematics and consequently struggle with the subject. As a response to this problem, a virtual tool (Pop!World) was…

The Mayo Innovation Scholars Program introduces undergraduates to technology transfer in biomedical sciences by having teams of students from multiple disciplines (e.g., biology, chemistry, economics, and business) analyze inventions in development at the Mayo Clinic. Over 6 months, teams consult with inventors, intellectual property experts, and…

This paper discusses a novel structure for providing a high-impact, first year experience for science students. ASTER (Access to Science Through Experience in Research) is an extracurricular certification program designed to introduce our students to the research culture via seminar attendance, journal clubs, book clubs, and lab visits.…

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)…

The Index of Learning Styles (ILS) generates reliable data. Its ability to characterize learning preference has been validated. However, the ILS has had very limited application in biology education. In 2009, students in an introductory biology laboratory completed the ILS. Overall academic performance (2009) was negatively associated with…

Today, science teachers continue to seek ways to improve their instruction and become credentialed as "highly qualified" in their field. This paper describes how science and science education faculty at the University of Massachusetts and veteran K-12 science teachers, with funding from the National Science Foundation, designed Science…

Dual-enrollment (DE) science courses offer a way to strengthen the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics pipeline between high school and college. These courses offer high school students the opportunity to experience college science in a more supported environment, allowing them to adjust to the different academic and social demands…

Funding agencies and the science education community at large have pursued strategies for increasing K-12 outreach by scientists and for improving instructional practices in higher education classrooms. However, the simultaneous achievement of both goals is generally not a target for single projects or even single programs. A 4-year project…

A collaborative of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) and education faculty developed a STEM certificate aimed at elementary education majors. A four-phase process model was used to create and evaluate courses. The certificate is comprised of three interdisciplinary, team-taught, lab-based courses: Environmental Biology,…

Science educators are well-positioned to incorporate civic engagement into the classroom by the natural suitability of the subject matter. Civic engagement, or civic education, is a fairly new, multidisciplinary concept that is becoming a requisite for institutions of higher education; it enables students to become actively involved in the…

Reviews events leading to the Congressional controversy of funding the precollege implementation program of the National Science Foundation (NSF) and attempts to identify some issues related to NSF involvement in the implementation of curriculum projects that merit further study by those responsible for developing long-range educational policy.…