The Society for College Science Teaching

Leading the way in college science education

News

Congrats, Jason R. Wiles!

Congratulations to the 2026 Outstanding Undergraduate Science Teacher Award (OUSTA) winner, Dr. Jason R. Wiles, from Syracuse University!

Dr. Wiles gave the Marjorie Gardner Lecture, Motivations for Enacting Values-Based Undergraduate Science Teaching: How Much is This Worth?, at the 2026 SCST Virtual Poster Symposium on April 30, 2026.

More OUSTA Winner Info

Call for SCST at NABT 2026 Session Proposals

Proposal Deadline: July 15, 2026

SCST will host presentations at the 2026 NABT Professional Development Conference in Dallas, TX, on Thursday, October 29, 2026.

Complete NABT Conference Oct 29-31, (closing session at 11 am)

Although NABT is the National Association of Biology Teachers, they are excited for SCST to bring college science teaching ideas from all subjects. SCST and NABT invite everyone to present and attend.

SCST member benefits

You do NOT need to be an NABT member to attend the conference
Register at NABT member rates
More information: 2026 NABT Professional Development Conference

Submit your talk proposals using the button below. Remember, your topic does NOT have to focus on biology.

Submit an SCST at NABT proposal

Join us for the 2026 SCST Virtual Poster Session

April 30, 2026, 7-8:30 pm CDT

Join SCST online this Thursday, 4/30 from 7-8:30 pm CDT for the 2026 SCST Virtual Poster Symposium using the button below. Preview the program.

Free! No registration or SCST membership requirements. Faculty, students, and other interested parties welcome.

Use a computer rather than a phone. Chrome browser preferred. Jump right in or or view this quick Getting Started with Gather in video or written format. Information about office work isn’t relevant for this event, but how you move and interact in the world applies.

Just in case

A/V Troubleshooting Guide

Gather Help Center

Join SCST at the 2026 NSTA National Conference

April 15-18, 2026, in Anaheim, CA

——

SCST Social: Friday (4/17), 5:30 pm

Anaheim Marriott, nFuse Lounge

Free food and appetizers. Bring your college science teaching friends!

——

SCST Presentations: Saturday (4/18), 11:40 am – 12:40 pm

Anaheim Marriott, OC Ballroom Salon 1

SCST is co-hosting a session with the NSTA Post-Secondary Teaching Committee.

NSTA Post-Secondary Teaching Committee and Society for College Science Teaching (SCST) Present: Strategies for Effective College Science Teaching

Use the search word SCST in the NSTA program to find our sessions, or use the button below for a detailed, SCST-specific program.

SCST at NSTA 2026 Program

Sign up for our email list

Keep up with SCST news and college science teaching-related opportunities. We email judiciously; so, you won't be adding to your daily email load. Please add webmaster@thescst.org and scst@thescst.org or the domain thescst.org to your contacts, whitelist, or allowlist. Many schools and institutions filter emails stringently, and we'd hate for you to miss anything!

Why Grading is More Important than Teaching

At one time or another, most of us have quietly uttered the sentiment, “teaching would be great if only I didn’t have to do all of this grading.” Giving a great lecture is energizing: Grading a giant batch of student work is exhausting. Each and every day...

A Collection of Great College Science Teaching Ideas from the Society of College Science Teachers Blog

A collection of great college science teaching ideas from the Society of College Science Teachers blog The Society of College Science Teachers, an interdisciplinary affiliate of the National Science Teachers Association, is a membership-driven society of passionate...

Posing Questions for Class Discussion

The key feature of any modern teaching approach is to ask questions. To be sure, a pointed suggestion of asking some questions during a lecture might seem a tad silly. However, the number of professors who actually pose non-rhetorical questions during their lecture...

Using Science Fiction to Teach Science

Have you been mulling over the idea of using science fiction films in your classes? Science fiction in college STEM teaching seems like a natural fit—many students and professors enjoy modern science fiction films, contemporary special effects-laden action...

Teaching Science to American Students

Confused about what works teaching American college students? If you didn’t grow up in the U.S.—or go to an American-style university yourself—you might be deeply surprised at what today’s American students expect. Alternatively, if you are teaching science at a...

How to Increase Your SOTL Publication Citation Rates

In the not so distant past, the guaranteed pathway to promotion and tenure at colleges and universities world-wide was to publish a long series of refereed journal articles. This is especially true for faculty who have primary responsibilities in the domain...

How Much Math Should I Use in My Science 101 Course?

Many professors assigned to teach introductory science classes have some experience, or considerable experience, teaching introductory courses for majors. If you are one of those few lucky scientists who are assigned to teach the general survey course for non-majors,...

Best Practices for Teaching with Images in Class

Sharing beautiful pictures of nature with your students is key to helping students understand the aesthetic wonder of science, but just how does one make the best use of these gripping visual resources as possible? As a first step toward using images most effectively...

Finding the Best Images for My PPT-based Lectures

Aren't you abundantly thankful—fellow science professor--that you don’t teach accounting or finance classes? Those are fine disciplines, we’re sure. However, they don’t have nearly the array of inspiring nature-based images available for teaching that we have in...

Is it Possible to Motivate Non-Science College Students?

Although we all wish it were otherwise, your students have every reason to assume you’re not really coming to class each day to help them learn or that you will actually follow an obviously organized pathway to get them there. This is due in part to students having...



thescst.org@gmail.com

Join SCST Today!

