Teaching methods that are often recommended to improve the learning environment in college science courses include cooperative learning, adding inquiry-based activities to traditional lectures, and engaging students in projects or investigations. Two questions often surround these efforts: 1) can these methods be used in large classes; and 2) how do we know that they are increasing student learning? ... Full description.

This article describes an interactive game that can be used in conjunction with traditional laboratory work, group discussions, student presentations, and writing exercises. It provides an enjoyable and motivating dimension to a university seminar/lab course in Historical Geology and Paleontology. A simple spelling-bee-type game evolves over ten weeks into a room-sized board game based on the geologic ... Full description.

The exercises presented in this paper are part of a "minds on" rather than a "hands on" approach. They are intended to complement "hands on" activities and introduce students to another aspect of scientific inquiry. The exercises require students to analyze large sets of real data, to evaluate the data critically, to observe patterns and anomalies, to make inferences and predictions based on the data, ... Full description.