scholarly journals Using Reflection to Facilitate Writing Knowledge Transfer in Upper-Level Materials Science Courses

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Mallette ◽  
Harold Ackler
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Transfer ◽  
Materials Science ◽  
Science Courses ◽  
Upper Level ◽  
Writing Knowledge

scholarly journals Integrating Information Literacy into the Science Curriculum

2002 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 111-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cecelia Brown ◽  
Lee R. Krumholz
Keyword(s):  
Information Literacy ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Science Curriculum ◽  
Science Courses ◽  
University Of Oklahoma ◽  
Survey Results ◽  
Upper Level ◽  
Initial Survey ◽  
Undergraduate Science ◽  
The University

A science librarian and a microbiology professor collaborated to assess information-seeking, evaluating, and usage abilities before, during, and at the end of a senior-level geomicrobiology course. ACRL’s Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education was used as a guide in designing a survey and checklists to measure literacy levels. Following an initial survey of the students’ information literacy level, two instruction sessions were provided in the use of bibliographic finding tools available from the University of Oklahoma Libraries. During each subsequent class meeting, students presented, critiqued, and discussed a referred article. The cycle was repeated, and the survey was administered again at the end of the semester. The survey results indicated an 11 percent increase in information literacy, but no significant improvement in the students’ ability to present, critique, and discuss information. A model for incorporating information literacy into upper-level undergraduate science courses and an instrument for measuring information literacy are proposed.

Teaching Race (Bioculturally) Matters: A Visual Approach for College Biology Courses

2017 ◽  
Vol 79 (7) ◽  
pp. 516-524 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amelia R. Hubbard
Keyword(s):  
The United States ◽  
Race And Racism ◽  
Science Courses ◽  
College Biology ◽  
Sensitive Topics ◽  
Regional University ◽  
The Social ◽  
Visual Approach ◽  
Upper Level ◽  
Biological Race

Race and racism are considered standard subject matter in introductory college courses in the social sciences, but remain relatively absent in biological science courses (Donovan, 2015; Morning, 2011). Given a resurgence of biologically deterministic racial science (e.g., Risch et al., 2002; Shiao et al., 2012) and ongoing racial tensions in the United States, it is imperative that biology professors actively engage students in introductory and upper-level courses. This paper presents a tested approach used in an introductory natural science course (for undergraduate, non-science majors) at a mid-sized regional university. A biocultural focus is advocated for teaching about the fallacies (i.e., biological race concept) and realities of race (i.e., racism) (e.g., see Gravlee, 2009; Thompson, 2006). Further, an emphasis is placed on using a visual approach for relaying these complex and sensitive topics.

scholarly journals Comparison of Views of the Nature of Science between Natural Science and Nonscience Majors

2010 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie C. Desaulniers Miller ◽  
Lisa M. Montplaisir ◽  
Erika G. Offerdahl ◽  
Fu-Chih Cheng ◽  
Gerald L. Ketterling
Keyword(s):  
Nature Of Science ◽  
Scientific Literacy ◽  
Environmental Science ◽  
College Graduates ◽  
Science Majors ◽  
Science Courses ◽  
Nonscience Majors ◽  
Upper Level ◽  
Undergraduate Science ◽  
Science Educators

Science educators have the common goal of helping students develop scientific literacy, including understanding of the nature of science (NOS). University faculties are challenged with the need to develop informed NOS views in several major student subpopulations, including science majors and nonscience majors. Research into NOS views of undergraduates, particularly science majors, has been limited. In this study, NOS views of undergraduates in introductory environmental science and upper-level animal behavior courses were measured using Likert items and open-ended prompts. Analysis revealed similarities in students' views between the two courses; both populations held a mix of naïve, transitional, and moderately informed views. Comparison of pre- and postcourse mean scores revealed significant changes in NOS views only in select aspects of NOS. Student scores on sections addressing six aspects of NOS were significantly different in most cases, showing notably uninformed views of the distinctions between scientific theories and laws. Evidence-based insight into student NOS views can aid in reforming undergraduate science courses and will add to faculty and researcher understanding of the impressions of science held by undergraduates, helping educators improve scientific literacy in future scientists and diverse college graduates.

Using Digital Stories in a College Level Course on Rocks and Minerals

2012 ◽  
pp. 418-437 ◽  
Author(s):  
Prajukti Bhattacharyya
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Digital Storytelling ◽  
Course Design ◽  
College Level ◽  
Educational Benefits ◽  
Science Courses ◽  
University Of Wisconsin ◽  
Digital Stories ◽  
Upper Level ◽  
The University

Digital storytelling juxtaposes the time-honored teaching and learning achievements of storytelling with the modern student’s affinity for technology. Although not commonly used in college science classes, the author incorporated digital storytelling in an upper level undergraduate geology course for majors at the University of Wisconsin, Whitewater. The overarching purpose of this exercise was to integrate the affective domain of learning within the course context. Informal comments from students indicated that this goal was indeed achieved by this exercise. Students identified technological difficulties and the time commitment necessary to create digital stories as the major hurdles they faced during the exercise. In this chapter, the author describes the course design, learning objectives, educational benefits, and strategies to overcome potential challenges of incorporating digital storytelling in college level science courses.

scholarly journals Learning by Doing: Mentoring Group-Based Undergraduate Research Projects in an Upper-Level Political Science Course

2016 ◽  
Vol 49 (01) ◽  
pp. 128-131
Author(s):  
Benjamin R. Knoll
Keyword(s):  
Political Science ◽  
Student Perceptions ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Oral Communication ◽  
Student Learning Outcomes ◽  
Learning By Doing ◽  
Disadvantaged Students ◽  
Science Courses ◽  
Upper Level ◽  
High Impact Practice

ABSTRACTUndergraduate research (UGR) is a “high-impact practice” that has been consistently shown to effectively promote desirable student-learning outcomes (SLOs) including critical thinking, logic, written and oral communication, problem solving, and interpretation of evidence, especially among minority and disadvantaged students. Mentoring quality UGR experiences in regular upper-level political science courses, however, is a difficult and time-consuming activity. This article describes an attempt to provide an intensive, semester-long, and group-based UGR experience in an upper-level American politics course. It discusses how this experience was designed to deliberately foster specific institutional UGR SLOs and summarizes student perceptions of the overall effectiveness of the experience.

A Multi-functional Introductory Materials Science Course: Emphasizing Engineering and Achieving Accreditation Objectives

2002 ◽  
Vol 760 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine C. Chen ◽  
Linda S. Vanasupa ◽  
Timothy T. Orling
Keyword(s):  
Electrical Properties ◽  
Mechanical Strength ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Materials Science ◽  
Learning Objectives ◽  
Science Courses ◽  
Materials Engineering ◽  
Societal Issues ◽  
Science Concepts ◽  
Accreditation Criteria

ABSTRACTIn efforts to serve more engineering students and to achieve accreditation objectives, we have redesigned our introductory materials course to be more engineering-oriented and relevant to other disciplines. The fundamental materials science concepts have been regrouped into five, 2-week sections that emphasize applications: Materials Basics; Mechanical Strength; Thermo-mechanical Treatments; Electrical Properties; and Economic, Environmental and Societal Issues. Although the topics that are covered are similar to those in most introductory materials science courses, the presentation of the topics has been re-arranged to create clearer links between materials science and materials engineering. We have also identified accreditation criteria within each section and have built in mechanisms for providing feedback for accreditation processes. In addition, learning objectives for each section ensure standardization among different sections and instructors. Results on students' performances are reported.

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