Non-major Science Courses Research Articles

Connecting Scientists With Students Using Social Media in an Undergraduate Science Course

Social media tools like Twitter allow scientists and other technical subject area experts to interact with the public in previously-unimaginable ways. Here we present a lesson plan in which undergraduates in a non-majors science course (introduction to marine biology) are asked to follow experts on Twitter from a carefully curated list and then complete a series of follow-up activities and reflections. This assignment is not only popular with students, but also supplemented their formal learning, allowed students to engage more deeply with subjects of personal interest, and has created life-long learning opportunities while improving science literacy. The lesson plan guidelines shared here can be adapted to other branches of science.

Use of a Simple Homemade Apparatus to Teach Basic Thermal Concepts – Six Qualitative Demonstrations/Experiments

Understanding thermal concepts constitutes one of the most important challenges in teaching science as these concepts are central to the principals of science and allow students to build connections among scientific disciplines. From an early age, students’ interaction with daily phenomena and real situations comes to shape their conceptions of thermal concepts, which continues to guide them throughout their education. Conceptions that are sometimes different from the scientific norm. This article presents six qualitative experiments/demonstrations using a low-cost, easy to make apparatus that introduces students to thermal concepts such as heat conduction in solid bodies and thermal expansion. These are appropriate for high school or college students enrolled in non-major science courses (e.g., departments of primary education) and can easily be performed by elementary or middle school students, but care must be taken when dealing with tealight candle flames.

Implementing Cognitive Science and Discipline-Based Education Research in the Undergraduate Science Classroom.

Cognitive science research on learning and instruction is often not directly connected to discipline-based research. In an effort to narrow this gap, this essay integrates research from both fields on five learning and instruction strategies: active retrieval, distributed (spaced) learning, dual coding, concrete examples, and feedback and assessment. These strategies can significantly enhance the effectiveness of science instruction, but they typically do not find their way into the undergraduate classroom. The implementation of these strategies is illustrated through an undergraduate science course for nonmajors called Science in Our Lives. This course provides students with opportunities to use scientific information to solve real-world problems and view science as part of everyday life.

Improving Student Learning Through an Interdisciplinary Case Study: Exploring Eutrophication in Lake Erie

This pedagogical project examined how embedding an interdisciplinary case study in an undergraduate ecology course impacted student learning outcomes. Specifically, we examined learning outcomes following participation in a group-based case study project, which asked students to adopt the role of an expert phycologist, microbiologist, agronomist, or limnologist in order to jointly investigate the problem of eutrophication in Lake Erie. We examined student learning outcomes on exam questions that tested students’ knowledge of eutrophication compared to their performance on exam questions that tested knowledge of course content taught using traditional lecture-based methods. We also examined how students’ recognition of the value of interdisciplinary approaches to solving science problems changed across the semester, as well as changes in students’ views of the ways in which the skills and knowledge of their major could contribute to solving eutrophication problems and the complex problem of climate change. Results indicated significant increases in student understanding of eutrophication through comparisons of pre- and posttest scores, and dramatic twofold increases in student learning on the eutrophication exam questions relative to the content taught using traditional instructional methods. Interestingly, at the end of the course, the non-science majors in the course were more likely to endorse interdisciplinary approaches for solving complex science problems than were the science majors in the course. Implications for educational practices for both major and nonmajor science courses are discussed.

Lost in translation: quantifying the overlap of popular media and non-majors science course assessment vocabulary

Earth's climate is rapidly changing, and citizens of the 21st century will need to act based on informed decisions about climate change. A liberal education should contribute to an informed and responsible citizenry who can think independently, reason analytically, and communicate effectively. Following college graduation, typical Americans will gain most of their science information through the media. How well are students prepared to be effective, critical consumers of media-reported science? We broach this subject by comparing the climate change vocabulary of undergraduate science courses for non-science majors with multiple popular media sources. Using PASW Text Analytics for Surveys, we objectively identified key terms from both classroom and media sources, and grouped these terms into major reservoirs and fluxes of the carbon cycle. Our classroom data include exams and quizzes from biology and physical science courses taught at a large, research intensive university. Media reports were collected the week before, after, and during COP15 from daily, weekly, and monthly media sources. Of the 253 items analyzed (183 media responses, 40 assessment responses), we extracted 310 relevant terms and grouped those into 19 categories based on the carbon cycle. The most frequently used terms in assessments included CO2 and reservoirs such as the atmosphere, ocean, tree, and one flux, photosynthesis. Within the media, the most frequently used terms were socio-political in nature (e.g., country, Obama). Between the media and assessments, seven of the top 20 words overlapped and focused primarily on carbon reservoirs. Media and assessments differ substantially in the usage of terms associated with carbon fluxes. Many courses for non-science majors have a goal to improve students' abilities to apply scientifically sound reasoning and knowledge within their everyday lives. Our analysis reveals a discrepancy between the vocabulary used in media sources and in course assessments surrounding the topic of climate change. We suggest non-major science courses should do more to explicitly tie scientific processes to current political, economic, and social discussions. For many students, these courses represent the only science class they will take. The vocabulary they learn today should prepare them to make informed decisions tomorrow.

The Utility of Writing Assignments in Undergraduate Bioscience

We tested the hypothesis that engagement in a few, brief writing assignments in a nonmajors science course can improve student ability to convey critical thought about science. A sample of three papers written by students (n = 30) was coded for presence and accuracy of elements related to scientific writing. Scores for different aspects of scientific writing were significantly correlated, suggesting that students recognized relationships between components of scientific thought. We found that students' ability to write about science topics and state conclusions based on data improved over the course of three writing assignments, while the abilities to state a hypothesis and draw clear connections between human activities and environmental impacts did not improve. Three writing assignments generated significant change in student ability to write scientifically, although our results suggest that three is an insufficient number to generate complete development of scientific writing skills.

Book Review of Environmental Chemistry in Society, 1st Edition

Book Review of Environmental Chemistry in Society, 1st Edition

An introduction to computer science for non-majors using principles of computation

In this paper, the design and implementation of a novel introductory computer science course for non-majors is presented. This course focuses on the major contributions in computer science from the perspective of the process of computation. This course differs from most introductory courses in computer science in that it does not include programming using a computer programming language. Students focus on algorithms and the principle of computational thinking, and use a flowchart simulator to experiment with various short algorithms and build simple computer games without dealing with programming language syntax. Steadily increasing enrollments and interest from various departments on campus indicate that this course has become a successful addition to our introductory CS offerings.

Software product proposals in a computer science course for non-majors

Proposals for software products can be used to structure and motivate a variety of topics in an introductory computer science course for non-majors. This concept was inspired by the author's experi...

Content and laboratories of a computing science course for non-majors in the 21st Century

The field of computer science evolves very quickly, and courses in computer science must evolve to keep up. Our Villanova University computer science courses for non-computer majors teach the theor...

Portraying science in the classroom: The manifestation of scientists' beliefs in classroom practice

AbstractIf the goals of science education reform are to be realized, science instruction must change across the academic spectrum, including at the collegiate level. This study examines the beliefs and teaching practices of three scientists as they designed and implemented an integrated science course for nonmajors that was designed to emphasize the nature of science. Our results indicated that, like public school teachers, scientists' beliefs about the nature of science are manifested in their enactment of curriculum—although this manifestation is clearly not a straightforward or simplistic one. Personal beliefs about the nature of science can differ from those of the course, thus resulting in an enactment that differs from original conceptions. Even when personal beliefs match those of the course, sophisticated understandings of the nature of science are not enough to ensure the straightforward translation of beliefs into practice. Mitigating factors included limited pedagogical content knowledge, difficulty in achieving integration of the scientific disciplines, and lack of opportunity and scaffolding to forge true consensus between the participating scientists. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 40: 669–691, 2003

Hands-on labs without computers

Often in teaching an introductory computer science course for non-majors, a primary focus on building programming skills is neither practical nor effective. Many instructors choose a breadth-first approach focusing on building problem solving skills and surveying computer science. This paper argues that conducting hands-on labs where students work together to physically implement algorithms is an effective supplement for programming labs on the computer. We present lab examples and summarize our experiences.

History of Science - With Labs

We describe here an interdisciplinary lab science course for non-majors using the history of science as a curricular guide. Our experience with diverse instructors underscores the importance of the teachers and classroom dynamics, beyond the curriculum. Moreover, the institutional political context is central: are courses for non-majors valued and is support given to instructors to innovate? Two sample projects are profiled.

Memory, Learning, and the Brain: A Science Course for Nonmajors

Teaching nonscience majors poses a significant prob lem for science teachers because many of these students come to science classes equipped primarily with emotional and intellectual liabilities. The affective response of these students to a biology, chemistry, or physics course is fear and trembling. Given the deficien cies of many nonscience majors, in terms of science backgrounds, the trauma is understandable. As univer sities re-adopt core curricula, this situation grows more important. If a university has no required science course for the nonmajor, or if the requirement is loosely de fined, the nonmajor can slip through with no science courses or with ones so simplified that they barely re semble science courses. But if a university produces a core curriculum and if the core contains a laboratory-based science course in biology, chemistry, or physics, the concerns of the non science major must be dealt with. If they are ignored, the science segment of the core could produce academic disaster. Does a solution exist for this problem? The answer is ' 'affirmative if science can be taught in a manner that makes it accessible to the nonmajor. Such an approach would allow the student to reduce, and possibly elimi

A model introductory course for the life sciences

AbstractThe introductory science course for nonmajors can prepare students to make informed decisions about the significant biological events in their lives.

An introductory computer science course for non-majors

This paper describes an approach to an introductory computer science course designed especially for students who are not specifically required to take a computer course and thus ordinarily receive no appreciation for computers or computing. This is the third semester this course has been offered. Student enrollment has been 31, 46 and 41 respectively. We anticipate higher enrollment figures next semester as more advisors are becoming aware of the course. In a typical semester students majoring in such disciplines as English, advertising, nursing, psychology, sports administration, sociology, broadcasting and communication, music, elementary education, art and anthropology have enrolled. This course is ideal for those majoring in mathematics education as one day they may be teaching such a course to high school students. To encourage this group of students to enroll in the course, we restricted students from engineering and physical sciences and business disciplines from attending. They are required to take a different computer course. We have observed that most students not required to take a computer course desire to learn something about computers, and because of the above restriction are less hesitant to enroll.

An approach to the introductory computer science course for non-majors

The course described in this paper is intended for students who are not majoring in computer science or mathematics. In a typical semester students majoring in such diverse fields as dietetics, sociology, psychology, elementary education, accounting, broadcasting, physical education, music, industrial technology, english, business administration, chemistry and secretarial science are enrolled in the course. Virtually the only common element in the background of the students enrolled in the course is their lack of a previous university course in either mathematics or computer science. The highest level of mathematical education that may be expected is first year high school algebra; occasionally even that expectation is too high. 4 For students with this background many of the available textbooks are not satisfactory. This paper will attempt to further clarify the nature of the course by stating its objectives, by discussing the choice of a language for the course, by discussing what topics normally included in available textbooks are not desirable, and finally by suggesting topics which are desirable in an introductory course for non majors.