Journal of College Science Teaching articles from January 2008

Journal of College Science Teaching archives from January 2008

Swivel seating in large lecture theaters and its impact on student discussions and learning.
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] This article describes a remodeled, large lecture theater that has swivel seats to facilitate face-to-face peer discussions, and the impact this has on student learning. Well-designed university buildings and...

Teaching critical thinking in an age of political disinformation and perceived anti-intellectualism: helping to build a responsible citizen in a community-college setting.(POINT OF VIEW)
January 1, 2008... Science is not necessarily about absolute truths. It represents our best discernment based on the results of scientific processes applied to quantifiable data. Theories change and evolve over time as our understanding grows, new questions are...

Introducing students to cases.(CASE STUDY)
January 1, 2008... Strategically introducing students to a controversial science case--before they read it, watch it, or listen to it--motivates them to learn from it and paves the way for successful discussion and debate. A strategic introduction also provides...

GeoJourney: a field-based, interdisciplinary approach to teaching geology, Native American cultures, and environmental studies.(Report)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] GeoJourney is an interdisciplinary field trip in geology, Native American studies, and environmental studies designed for introductory-level undergraduates. The program travels 23,345 kilometers by van to national...

Evaluating a new online course in the epidemiology of infectious diseases by studying student learning styles: an online learning framework was designed to deliver a new course in infectious disease epidemiology making it accessible to nonscience majors.
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Never has there been a better time in history to create opportunities for students to study infectious diseases. Seldom has a day passed when issues regarding infectious diseases are not in the press. Regularly...

Integrating a single tablet PC in chemistry, engineering, and physics courses: students report that an instructional model based on a single tablet PC in science and engineering courses enhances classroom dynamics, teaching effectiveness, and student learning.
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Over the past decade, the number and type of instructional opportunities in the college classroom have increased dramatically. This is due to the availability of technology-based teaching tools and the implementation...

Speaker perceptions of communicative effectiveness: conversational analysis of student-teacher talk.
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] We examine verbal behavior in student-teacher talk and alignment of perceptions of communication effectiveness. Heightened awareness of conversational patterns is more productive in the learning environment than the...

Detecting landscape change: the view from above.
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] This article will demonstrate an approach for discovering and assessing local landscape change through the use of remotely sensed images. A brief introduction to remotely sensed imagery is followed by a discussion of...

Scientific observation and the learning cycle: burning the candle at both ends.(FAVORITE DEMONSTRATION)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] This article describes a twist on the basic "Science 101" investigation of having students observe a birthday candle before, during, and after burning. While this investigation may sound like a simple...

Do students' grades in high school biology accurately predict their grades in college biology?(RESEARCH and TEACHING)(Report)
January 1, 2008... Students' increasingly higher grades in high school have often been attributed to grade inflation, which is an increase in students' grades without an accompanying increase in their academic achievement (Bartlett 2003; CBS News 2006; Rutti...

Are students' performances in labs related to their performances in lecture portions of introductory science courses?(RESEARCH and TEACHING)(Report)
January 1, 2008... Virtually all colleges and universities require undergraduates to take at least one laboratory science course so that students can appreciate the roles of science in society and understand how science produces knowledge. The centerpieces of...

Without a net.(Editorial)
January 1, 2008... A few days after finishing my formal education, I climbed aboard a plane with my dad. We were traveling to Europe to visit my adventurous sister who was living in Luxembourg. And although visiting Europe was certainly one of my long-held...

"Darn it, professor. Just tell us what we need to know to pass your course".(SCST: SOCIETY for COLLEGE SCIENCE TEACHERS)
January 1, 2008... The Society of College Science Teachers is an affiliate organization of NSTA with a long history of support for the Journal of College Science Teaching. The journal is proud to host the SCST column in which the leadership of SCST can share...

Rethinking Alzheimer's.(HEADLINE SCIENCE)
January 1, 2008... For 30 years, Bill Klein, a Northwestern University neuroscientist, did not believe that Alzheimer's disease had anything to do with diabetes. But a collaboration with his colleague, Wei-Qin Zhao, showing how brain cells affected by Alzheimer's...

Northwest passage.(HEADLINE SCIENCE)
January 1, 2008... A single population of prehistoric Siberians crossed the Bering Strait into Alaska and subsequently fanned out to populate North and South America, according to a new genetic analysis of present-day indigenous Americans. The study also...