This article describes a study in which a university course that is divided into many sections was evaluated for grading congruence and teaching conformity to determine the effectiveness of weekly teaching team meetings and a comprehensive instructors' teaching guide. Three grading variables, a semester project, laboratory reports, and examination scores, were studied over a five-semester period and ... Full description.

This article describes the use of the mastery learning approach for two large enrollment introductory level courses. Students were required to complete a minimum number of assignments, and were then given the option to complete additional work that could be substituted for other completed assignments. In general, student perception of these grading systems was favorable; however, students did not ... Full description.

This article describes the benefits of research partnerships to scientists, students, and teachers. There is growing awareness that the way science is experienced in the K-16 classroom deviates greatly from the experiences of practicing researchers. Whereas researchers are immersed in more open-ended observation and inquiry, many K-16 students find themselves cramming to memorize core scientific content ... Full description.

This paper discusses the use of a strategy called an academic controversy to facilitate critical thinking about, and deeper understanding of, natural resource issues. A format is given for conducting an academic controversy in the classroom along with suggestions for timing of the strategy. Instructors have observed that students stay more focused on the problem being discussed than when the material ... Full description.

This is an overview of a field-based research experience in Earth Science teacher education program that was conducted for secondary science teachers from Prince George's County, Maryland. The goal of the program was to produce well-prepared, scientifically and technologically literate Earth Science teachers through a teaching- and research-oriented partnership between in-service teachers and a university ... Full description.

This article discusses the need for environmental education (EE) among diverse (i.e non-white, non-hispanic) urban youth. Major points include the large proportion of these youths who live in urban settings far removed from nature, and three factors that converge to make EE for this group a priority. These are: 1) the greatest opportunities to understand about the environment exist at elementary levels; ... Full description.

Instructing university-level Earth history to future teachers is made all the more difficult when it is being done in an urban environment devoid of any local rock outcroppings. At the University of South Alabama, which is located along the rock-free central Gulf Coast, researchers have attempted to improve Earth history instruction to education majors. This paper describes their approach. The authors ... Full description.

The objective of this article is to describe how faculty members in the Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management at Iowa State University have begun making the transition from teaching-centered to learning-centered classrooms. Specifically, it outlines the coordinated approach that has been taken to incorporating active and collaborative learning strategies in a group of six integrated ... Full description.

This article describes the results of an experiment in which high school graduates were enrolled in two summer science courses with extremely high goals. Rationale for this study was partly to evaluate the reasons for student attrition in physical sciences and partly to test the idea that setting high expectations results in better outcomes. In one instance, some of the students who attended a field ... Full description.

During the summer of 1999, a new type of field course was taught in five of eastern Utah's National Parks and Monuments. It targeted a combination of university undergraduates and K-12 teachers, emphasized development of participants' problem-solving skills, and assessed the effectiveness of several non-traditional teaching methods. The course's primary goal was to teach participants to develop and ... Full description.