This Innovative Practices piece details the design of a scaffolded project in a public health course that paired a narrative inquiry assignment with an empirical health literature review assignment to highlight both the positivist and constructivist epistemologies of critical health research in public health. The authors discuss and reflect on the…

High-Impact Educational Practices (HEPs) are a set of specific teaching and learning approaches proven effective in university education. This paper focuses on the benefits derived from utilizing three particular HEPs (inquiry-based collaborative activities, undergraduate research, and experiential learning) while teaching a snow and ice field…

This study reports on a case study-based curricular intervention designed to help undergraduate engineering students make connections between geoscience and its applications. Teaching through case studies resulted in a measurable and significant improvement in the confidence that students had in their ability to apply geoscience concepts in an…

In response to calls for reform in undergraduate biology education, we conducted research examining how varying active-learning strategies impacted students' conceptual understanding, attitudes, and motivation in two sections of a large-lecture introductory cell and molecular biology course. Using a quasi-experimental design, we collected…

We examined the effects of documenting observations with digital imaging versus hand drawing in inquiry-based college biodiversity labs. Plant biodiversity labs were divided into two treatments, digital imaging (N = 221) and hand drawing (N = 238). Graduate-student teaching assistants (N = 24) taught one class in each treatment. Assessments…

This study uses survey and focus group methods to explore attitudes toward and experiences of nature among millennial-aged students in northern Colorado. First, results confirm that young people possess a strong interest in the outdoors yet time, transportation, and new technologies hamper their ability to visit public lands and outdoor spaces.…

Over the course of four years, we have researched and transformed a key course in the career of an undergraduate physics major--junior-level electricity and magnetism. With the aim of educating our majors based on a more complete understanding of the cognitive and conceptual challenges of upper-division courses, we used principles of active…

The purpose of this study was not only to report the development process of the studio model, but also to determine the students' perceptions about the studio model. This model retains the large lecture component but combines recitation and laboratory instruction into studio model. This research was based on qualitative analysis. The data of the…

The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) documents dimensions of quality in undergraduate education and provides information and assistance to colleges, universities, and other organizations to improve student learning. Its primary activity is annually surveying college students to assess the extent to which they engage in educational…

Interviews with students at an alternative high school for at-risk students in Estes Park, Colorado, reveal their attitudes toward learning, the instructional program, and the learning environment. Finds, for example, that students value teachers who care and hands-on learning experiences. (PKP)