Journal of College Science Teaching articles from September 2008

Journal of College Science Teaching archives from September 2008

Science education--the times they are a-changin'.(A message from the NSTA president)(National Science Teachers Association)
September 1, 2008... This year, the concept of "change" seems to be everywhere, including my NSTA presidential theme "From Transition to Transformation--Striving for a Science-Literate Nation." My favorite Bob Dylan song of 1964, "The Times They Are A Changin',"...

Virus battle.(HEADLINE SCIENCE)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Last year, researchers at Rockefeller University and the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center brought an ancient retrovirus back to life and showed it could reproduce and infect human cells. Now, the same scientists have looked at the human side...

Quake history.(HEADLINE SCIENCE)
September 1, 2008... Carbon isotopes trapped for thousands of years in coral skeletons could and the South Pacific, and perhaps enable these events to be forecasted. Geoscientists have used corals before to look at earthquake history, by studying the terraced...

The scientific method and school science.(POINT OF VIEW)(Report)
September 1, 2008... Can we assume that science teachers and graduates understand the scientific method and the meaning of key terms such as theory, law, and fact? Selby (2006) notes that the "current debate about teaching Intelligent Design in science classes is...

Using natural history interpretation as an authentic assessment tool: natural history interpretation is an exemplary authentic assessment tool for the interdisciplinary college science classroom, requiring real-world application of observation, presentation, and collaboration skills.(Report)
September 1, 2008... On a desert trail heading to a palm oasis in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in California, four environmental studies college students begin a presentation about hummingbirds--their behavior, habits, and connections to the Sonoran Desert...

Science 101: an integrated, inquiry-oriented science course for education majors.(Report)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Traditional science education has long been criticized for being teacher centered and focused on lecture, with assessments largely based on disconnected facts and theories and cookbook labs (National Science...

A simple activity to facilitate proportional reasoning in the contexts of density, dissolving, and nanoparticles.(Report)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Proportional thinking is a powerful mathematical tool; in this hands-one activity, students generate data by building cubes of various sizes, and the math acquires a sense of concreteness that makes it become a...

Transforming the teaching of science graduate students through reflection.(Report)
September 1, 2008... A biology education seminar incorporating written and verbal reflective activities helped seven science graduate students transform and expand their ideas about personal teaching practices and the value of reflection. At many universities,...

Student evaluations that generate more questions than answers: end-of-semester student evaluations from two different groups of students that were physically combined into one classroom show significant differences between them.(Case study)
September 1, 2008... Student evaluations of courses and instructors are standard procedures in almost all classrooms at institutions of higher education, a practice commonly performed in the United States by the late 1960s. Reactions to this adopted method soon...

An evaluation of the efficacy of a laboratory exercise on cellular respiration.(FAVORITE DEMONSTRATION)(Report)
September 1, 2008... This study is an analysis of the effectiveness of a faculty-designed laboratory experience about a difficult topic, cellular respiration. The activity involves a hands on model of the cellular-respiration process, making use of wooden...

To boldly go ... or not.(CASE STUDY)(Conference notes)
September 1, 2008... The following is a transcript of a conference held at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), in Pasadena, California, which was attended by NASA officials, space scientists, aerospace engineers, space enthusiasts, ardent NASA supporters, and...

Characterizing the level of inquiry in the undergraduate laboratory: discrepancies abound in use of the word "inquiry." We propose a quantitative rubric to characterize inquiry in undergraduate laboratories.(RESEARCH AND TEACHING)(Report)
September 1, 2008... A common goal for science educators is to engage students in inquiry; however, many factors complicate the completion of such a task. A primary problem encountered by faculty facing this challenge is that the word "inquiry" is used ubiquitously...

A teaching intervention to increase achievement of Hispanic nonscience majors taking physical science courses.(RESEARCH AND TEACHING)(Report)
September 1, 2008... This quasi-experimental pilot study of nonscience majors taking a physical science course at a university in South Texas applied attribution theory as a teaching intervention to improve test scores. That the treatment group outperformed the...

Face value.(Editorial)
September 1, 2008... Nikki sat in the second row. She never missed a class, but I was always surprised to see her. Nikki always looked sad. And not just sad, but discouraged, disappointed, and--I couldn't help but see it--disengaged. I expected her to drop the...

We know how to improve science understanding in students, so why aren't college professors embracing it?(SCST: SOCIETY FOR COLLEGE SCIENCE TEACHERS)
September 1, 2008... I've really got to talk to the science professor teaching in the lecture hall near my office. I can hear his general biology students heading to class quite a distance down the hallway. They act more like they're going to a social event than a...

Uneasy lies the head (editorial, May/June 2008).(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
September 1, 2008... I enjoyed reading Ann Cutler's editorial, "Uneasy Lies the Head," in the May/June 2008 issue of JCST. Although I am a high school science chair I found myself identifying with much of what was said--and I loved the opening salvo. It worked...

Development of a laboratory course in nonmajors general biology for distance education (May/June 2008).(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
September 1, 2008... Based on our article "Development of a Laboratory Course in Nonmajors General Biology for Distance Education" published in the May/June 2008 issue of JCST, some issues regarding safety were brought to our attention. We would like to address and...