This paper presents an integrated research and teaching model that has resulted from an NSF-funded effort to introduce results of current Machine Learning research into the engineering and computer science curriculum at the University of Central Florida (UCF). While in-depth exposure to current topics in Machine Learning has traditionally occurred…

In the United States and around the world, calls for educational reform stress the need for a scientifically literate population, prepared for the twenty-first century workforce. These calls have translated into new curricula, which in isolation, are not enough? Teachers play an essential role in the development of scientifically literate…

One-size-fits-all educational innovations do not work because they ignore contextual factors that determine an intervention's efficacy in a particular local situation. This paper presents a framework on how to design educational innovations for scalability through enhancing their adaptability for effective usage in a wide variety of settings. The…

At the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, we have undertaken a program to integrate the study of bioinformatics across the undergraduate life science curricula. Our efforts have included incorporating bioinformatics exercises into courses in the biology, microbiology, and chemistry departments, as well as coordinating the efforts of faculty within…

Identifying students' interests in biology can play an important role in improving existing curricula to meet their needs. An analysis of 1,751 self-generated biological questions raised by children, adolescents, and adults yielded data regarding the different age groups' interests in biology. Research limitations and applications for teaching are…

The research reported in this study consisted of an investigation of student learning experiences in Thai chemistry laboratories using the Jigsaw IV method. A hands-on experiment based on the Jigsaw IV method using a real life example based on green tea beverage was designed to improve student affective variables for studying topics related to…

The aim of this study was to determine the elementary teachers' knowledge about air pollution. Ozone depletion, global warming, acid rain, and renewable energy were also addressed in this study to get holistic picture about air pollution. A total of 183 teachers from the 91 schools in Ankara participated to the study. The data obtained were…

Laboratory and practical courses, where students become familiar with experimental techniques and learn to interpret data and relate them to appropriate theory, play a vital role in chemical education. In the large panoply of currently available techniques, it is difficult to find a rational and easy way to classify the techniques in relation to…

Assessment of and for learning has occupied center stage in education reform, especially with the advent of the No Child Left Behind Federal legislation. This study examined the formative function of assessment--assessment for learning--recognizing that such assessment needs to be aligned, at least in part, with the summative function of…

Reforms such as technology-enhanced instruction require principal leadership. Yet, many principals report that they need help to guide implementation of science and technology reforms. We identify strategies for helping principals provide this leadership. A two-phase design is employed. In the first phase we elicit principals' varied ideas about…

The rapid growth of biotechnology knowledge during the past decades has made it necessary to rethink the contents of the school curriculum and has provoked a consideration of the ethical and social issues related to the use of biotechnological applications. With the financial assistance of the European Union, the European Initiative for…

Educational efforts to incorporate ethical decision-making in science classrooms about current science and technology issues have met with great challenges. Some research suggests that the inherent complexity in both the subject matter content and the structure and dynamics of classrooms contribute to this challenge. This study seeks to…

While it is well known which curricular practices can improve student performance on measures of conceptual understanding, the sustaining of these practices and the role of faculty members in implementing these practices are less well understood. We present a study of the hand-off of "Tutorials in Introductory Physics" [McDermott and Schaffer…

The advent of the global information society and a myriad of other rapidly changing variables are presenting many new and unique challenges for the twenty-first century workforce, and perhaps the most pressing of these challenges is actually meeting the needs for qualified workers to fill the positions in emerging and growing fields. One such…

The authors engaged in an education experiment to determine if the integration of lab and lecture activities in zoology and botany proved beneficial to student learning and motivation toward biology. Their results revealed that this strategy positively influenced students' academic achievement, conceptual understanding, and ability to apply…