Education

K-12 students are literally stepping into learning with ASU's interactive SMALLab. Through advanced technology, students manipulate a multidimensional, multisensory environment in order to learn about everything from physics to oceanography to language arts. --by Sheilah Britton

While America's presidential candidates stump for education reform, some of the nation's most distinguished scholars are developing research-based recommendations to help our country's next leader formulate effective education policies. --by Verina Palmer Martin

Growing up as a Mexican-American youth in El Paso, Miguel Arciniega was taught by his father to be un caballero--a gentleman--who takes care of his family and respects his wife. But his peers encouraged him to be a macho man--sexist, violent and unemotional. Now Arciniega is studying gender roles and values among Mexican American men, and has created an academic scale to define what it means to be a gentleman or a macho man. --by Verina Palmer Martin

We've all heard that playing video games can improve your hand-eye coordination--usually from kids trying to evade mom's order to go play outside. But those kids may be on to something. New research shows that playing a video game on the Nintendo Wii can help medical students become better surgeons by improving hand dexterity. --by Joe Kullman

Kids who participate in ASU's Young Writers Program feel good about what they are doing. They enjoy their success and revel in the positive reinforcement they get for their ideas. They learn that their lives are worth writing about. --by Sheilah Britton

How does a student find a research position? ASU undergraduate researchers offer some advice. --by Linley Erin Hall

Laboratory work shows undergraduates what it's like to work as a researcher, and gives them skills they can't pick up in the classroom. --by Linley Erin Hall

When Karen Chow's cell biology class discussed polymerase chain reaction, she thought, "Hey, I did that just yesterday!" Working in a bioengineering lab reinforces what this ASU undergraduate learns in class. In turn, she has contributed to scientific knowledge that could lead to plants that manufacture protein-based drugs. Part three in a three-part series. --by Linley Erin Hall

James Cronican started his own biotechnology venture. He is building a machine to automate a process involved in protein production. He has submitted a paper to the journal Biochemistry. And he hasn't even gotten his Bachelor's degree yet. The following is part two in our three-part series on undergraduate researchers. --by Linley Erin Hall

1,582. That's how many pieces of broken pottery Caitlin Wichlacz examined under the microscope when she was a senior at ASU. Wichlacz is one of the increasing number of undergraduate students moving beyond the classroom and into the laboratory. Follow Caitlin and some of her fellow students in this three-part series on the next generation of scientists. --by Linley Erin Hall