We designed the Integrated Sciences First-Year Program (ISFP) to introduce students to the nature and process of science early in their academic career, help them develop skills and competencies, and create an intellectual community of learners to foster belonging within science. Using their inherent curiosity, we designed active learning…

Undergraduate students are increasingly aware of complex global challenges and have a strong desire to take action and create change. Course-based undergraduate research experiences can offer a wide range of students the opportunity to gain skills needed to address these challenges. At a small liberal arts college in New England, we developed the…

STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education is a national instructional priority. As part of Southeastern Louisiana University's STEM Outreach Initiative, funded by a Shell Oil Company Foundation grant to raise interest in STEM-related activities, teacher candidates were given the opportunity to leave their classroom to…

The authors have developed a successful approach to teaching and inspiring undergraduate science and nonscience majors to complete creditable, semester-long, hands-on science research projects. This approach utilizes a carefully developed scaffolding consisting of in-class exercises and discussions, preparatory homework and lab events, and three…

Describes a project using a multidisciplinary approach for the simultaneous integration of a theme into several disciplines in which participating students apply techniques they learned during the semester and report their findings with a poster presentation. (YDS)

Introduces a semester-long project approach for science or mathematics nonmajor students and lists the objectives of the project. Lists criteria for student evaluation and provides examples of students' creative final projects. (Contains 18 references.) (YDS)

Describes the rationale for and objectives of a strategy in which students display projects in lieu of a final examination. Although no grading is attached to the "walk-through," participation is required for the course grade. Sample student projects reflecting the variety of display formats are also described. (JN)

Describes an SOS project, "Arsenic in Waters, Soils, Biota, and Wastes of Chautauqua County, New York," sponsored by the National Science Foundation. (CS)

The progress of the study of the National Science Foundation to analyze their peer review procedures is discussed. The results of the first part of the study, published in 1978, are given and questions are posed that are the focus of the second phase of the study. (SA)

Science as a Way of Knowing is a project being developed by the American Society of Zoologists' education committee. The project, co-sponsored by several professional organizations, seeks to increase the effectiveness of college-level biology. A report on the project's goals, symposia, publications, reprints, and sponsorship needs is presented.…

As an alternative to traditional science projects, students in introductory organic and inorganic chemistry were given the opportunity to produce an "audiovisual" term paper. Rationale for the project, responses from student self-evaluation questionnaires, and comments on implementing the project (including cost and time factors) are…

Provides insights for college-level teachers beginning their tasks of directing student research. (PR)

Describes the use of "contracting" as a method to remind students of the importance of independent investigations. The contract is an agreement for learning between the student and professor. (PR)

Presents an experimental design for feeding experiments requiring minimal equipment, small numbers of animals, and limited expenses. These projects provide insights into animal nutrition, food selection, animal behavior and animal husbandry. (Author/GS)

Describes a course which focuses student activities on the preparation of an environmental impact statement. The course provides undergraduate/graduate students with an intensive field ecology experience which exposes them to scientific principles of biology, environmental analysis, and quantitative sampling methods. Includes course format,…