Interactive-engagement (IE) techniques consistently enhance conceptual learning gains relative to traditional-lecture courses, but attitudinal gains typically emerge only in small, inquiry-based curricula. The current study evaluated whether a "scalable IE" curriculum-a curriculum used in a large course (∼130 students per section) and likely adoptable by a wide range of physics departments-could produce significant attitudinal benefits relative to a traditional-lecture curriculum. This study included data across three years, 10 instructors, over 30 sections, and over 1100 students, and our analytic strategy allowed us to isolate the effects that were due to the curriculum itself rather than other potential factors such as instructor differences or preexisting differences among students. Results revealed that our Active-Physics curriculum, which is based on Moore's Six Ideas That Shaped Physics, produced significant attitudinal and conceptuallearning benefits relative to our traditional-lecture physics curriculum. Further, the Active-Physics curriculum, for the most part, benefitted males and females equally, and relative to the Fall semester alone, the benefits of Active Physics became more robust when viewed across the entire two-semester sequence of introductory physics. Our data highlight that some (though not all) of the attitudinal benefits of small, inquiry-based courses may be achievable in larger course with scalable IE curricula that can potentially reach a large proportion of introductory physics students.

Project-based science (PBS) aligns with national standards that assert children should learn science by actively engaging in the practices of science. Understanding and implementing PBS requires a shift in teaching practices away from one that covers primarily content to one that prompts children to conduct investigations. A common challenge to PBS implementation is a misunderstanding of the elements of PBS. Identification of these misunderstandings as well as implementation challenges could inform professional development. This case study examined 24 teachers' understanding and implementation of PBS during participation in a consecutive three-year, comprehensive professional development program. Results provide insight as to the process they followed in the transition to implementing PBS. Measures included classroom observations, reflective interviews, and attitudinal surveys. Results showed that teachers developed the knowledge, confidence, and understanding to implement PBS but in most cases it took at least two to three years for positive results to become evident. Teachers struggled to develop adequate driving questions that provided projectfocused lessons. Other obstacles included teacher resistance to student-directed instruction, confusing inquiry-based instruction with hands-on activities, and inability to motivate students to work in collaborative teams. While challenging, over time the teachers developed the knowledge, desire, and skills to implement PBS.

We developed a novel variation on classroom data collection by having students conduct a national research project. Students at 20 different colleges and universities measured "school spirit" at their institutions according to several operational criteria (school apparel wearing, car stickers, alumni donation rate, ratings by a major sports publication, and questionnaire measures). Instructors then combined this information into one large dataset, allowing students to analyze and compare trends measured at their school with those measured at other schools. We discuss the process of organizing a national study (recruitment of faculty participants, dissemination of instruments, compilation of data), aspects of the project that instructors thought were most educationally valuable, and substantive results of the study (how well the different measures of school spirit correlated).

These strategies and tools can help students make sense of the value of U.S. coins.

Lisa Brooks, Texas A&M University Lisa Brooks is a graduate student of Science Education at Texas A&M University. She holds an M.Ag. degree in Entomology from Texas A&M University and a B.S. degree in Animal Science from Rutgers University. She specializes in research focusing on the design of learning environment that support transfer of learning to practical situations.