Getting More Out of The Classroom

How should universities teach science, and what should undergraduates know when they leave? These questions loom large for the tens of millions of students around the world and their governments, which expect this talent pool to be sufficiently techno-savvy to propel their 21st century economies. Although students enter the scientific pipeline at a young age, it's not until college that science majors wrestle with whether they have the right stuff. That's the point at which an encouraging word from a mentor, or the harsh judgment of a martinet, can make or break a career. For nonscience majors, an undergraduate course can lead to a lifelong interest or the fervent hope to avoid the subject forever upon graduation.