This study summarizes the comparison of interactive lecturing and technology-supported student-centered pedagogy across six semesters of an introductory physical geology course. A multiple linear regression analysis of 967 student scores shows that absent raw exam scores, homework, and in-class attendance, performance on the first exam (score…

Although many undergraduates begin college as STEM majors, attrition rates from the field are high and numerous reports suggest that evidence-based teaching methods are critical for retention. Despite educators' research and near consensus that active learning is more effective than lecture, there are many types of active learning and the…

We developed an advanced, year-long course sequence in eukaryotic cell and molecular biology in order to increase conceptual understanding. Three years of historical data from a one semester, traditional-lecture, senior cell and molecular biology course (n = 237) were compared with 3 years of data collected from the year-long course sequence (n =…

Many biology students struggle to learn about the process of meiosis and have particular difficulty understanding the molecular basis of crossing over and the importance of homologous pairing for proper segregation. To help students overcome these challenges, we designed an activity that uses a newly developed Chromosome Connections Kit® from 3-D…

An active-learning concurrent preparatory general chemistry course was adopted to replace a prerequisite course that lacked effectiveness in improving student outcomes. Our previous study showed that the concurrent course increased final exam performance and retention in a cohort of students. This paper studies the course modality impact of the…

This quantitative, nonexperimental research study focused on discovering the impact of inquiry-based instruction on the science achievement of rural Georgia fifth-grade students as measured by the Georgia Milestones Assessment System (GMAS), a criterion referenced test. Inquiry-based instruction is a teaching method that combines the natural…

This exploratory paper highlights how problem-based learning (PBL) provided the pedagogical framework used to design and interpret learning analytics from "Crystal Island: EcoJourneys," a collaborative game-based learning environment centred on supporting science inquiry. In "Crystal Island: EcoJourneys," students work in teams…

Education research has repeatedly shown that active learning in physics is pedagogically more efficient than traditional lecture courses. Widespread application of the active learning is slowed down by the lack of data on the performance of the active learning in widely varying circumstances of different educational systems. We measured the level…

Implementation of active-learning practices into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses has been shown to increase student learning and performance, improve retention of material, and reduce achievement gaps among different student populations when compared to lecture-based approaches. To this end, we transformed two…

Evolution by natural selection is key to understanding life and of considerable practical importance in public health, medicine, biotechnology, and agriculture. "The Next Generation Science Standards" (NGSS) include natural selection among several evolutionary concepts that all third-graders should know. This article explores a novel…

This paper reports on our use of a fine-grained learning progression to assess secondary students' reasoning through carbon-transforming processes (photosynthesis, respiration, biosynthesis). Based on previous studies, we developed a learning progression with four progress variables: explaining mass changes, explaining energy transformations,…

Instructional support is fundamental to successful implementation of Inquiry-Based Learning (IBL) in various educational settings. Although research indicates that instructional support can lead to learning gain and achievement of inquiry strategies, it does not explain why the same level of guidance for students with relatively the same level of…

Allied health professionals concur that a sound knowledge of practical gross anatomy is vital for the clinician, however, human anatomy courses in allied health programs have been identified as high-risk for attrition and failure. While anatomists and clinicians agree that learning anatomy via human cadaveric instruction is the preferred method,…

The essence of molecular biology education lies in understanding of gene expression, with subtopics including the central dogma processes, such as transcription and translation. While these concepts are core to the discipline, they are also notoriously difficult for students to learn, probably because they cannot be directly observed. While nearly…

Physical sciences teachers in low-quintile South African schools avoid the use of inquiry on the grounds of inefficiency and ineffectiveness for test preparation. This avoidance is consistent with the view that the high cognitive load inquiry offers to extreme novices such as these learners may be prohibitive. Given the purported benefits of…