No abstract

No abstract

College instructors often teach scientific thinking by asking students to review and analyze a primary research article. The main purpose of this study was to explore how classroom response systems (CRS) could help impact the quality of written analysis papers submitted for this assignment by students taking 100-level biology courses at a medium-sized suburban, two-year college in the northeastern United States. Students in all participating course sections received written instructions on five key elements of critical analysis (CA) to include in scientific study analysis papers. Classroom instruction on recognizing these key elements in primary research papers was provided either via CRS or via an instructor-facilitated classroom discussion enhanced by the same PowerPoint presentation. A rubric, designed specifically for this assignment, was validated prior to its use in this study. Fifty students participated in the study, and those who received the CRS intervention achieved significantly higher CA scores for identifying implications of study findings, while the group that received only written instructions achieved significantly higher CA scores for discussing the credibility of the references used by the authors in planning the critiqued study. The implications of this study are discussed along with ideas for future research.

It is a “read”-letter day when storybooks, thinking strategies, and physical materials can use a splash of whimsy and fun to introduce multiplication facts to third graders.

Depending on your climate zone, you may already be enjoying a variety of lilies, gardenias, roses, and tomatoes. Or perhaps you are still taking pleasure in daffodils, tulips, snapdragons, and sweet peas in your late-spring garden. Bring the outdoors into your classroom—better yet, take your students into the outdoors—with this set of problems that are blooming with math.