Bethel College
Bethel's enhancement of their upper-division physics labs with the assistance of the MnSGC has also given students a chance to be involved in real research at the college level. In the past 15 year's, Bethel has been working to improve optical measurement techniques of a variety of properties of materials: surface roughness, strain and temperature, for example. The goal is to produce first-rate physics experiments that can be used in upper-division physics courses at Bethel, which involved working through the experiments and writing the manuals to accompany them. The completed laboratory exercises will be disseminated to other colleges in the near future. Bethel's curriculum development has had great success with the help of the MnSGC and is especially unique in that students work extensively in the lab with the program director to perfect the experiments (see brief write-up under Undergraduate Research Opportunities).

College of St. Catherine
The curriculum in the Physics Department at the College of St. Catherine has seen a revolution in the learning environment. Thanks to expertise acquired at a workshop (travel sponsored by the MnSGC), Terry Flower and others have developed the "Physics Parlor," a non-traditional learning environment integrating the traditional lecture and laboratory into one continuous delivery system. The backbone of the system is made up of computer workstations which integrate all of the functions of problem solving, spreadsheets, MBL sensors for data acquisition, digital video (real time, video disc and VCR sources), graphing packages and equation handlers to make it possible to tackle advanced physics phenomena by beginning students. Students have moved from passive receptors of knowledge to active learners, empowered to control their education. They work in collaborative groups to learn physics interactively. According to Terry Flower, "Ten years ago we would not have dreamed of this kind of classroom. Today we cannot imagine teaching any other way." And, a warm thanks to the MnSGC.

Macalester College
Macalester College has made significant progress in developing a new course in Planetary Geology as part of the ACTC minor and enhancing it's already existing Remote Sensing course. Macalester has purchased a large amount of equipment and computers as a match to the MnSGC funds received to develop these courses. Additionally, Stephanie Grotta, a senior at Macalester, helped develop the Planetary Geology course that was offered for the first time in fall 1994 as part of the ACTC Space Science minor. Her participation in this project included searches of the World Wide Web for information and materials, literature searches and designing and setting up laboratory exercises.

Normandale Community College
Since community colleges prepare many of our nation's adults for their long-term educational careers, the National Space Grant Program has made the inclusion of community colleges in the program a priority for all Consortia in an attempt to ensure that students at these schools will be well prepared to continue at four-year institutions. Two years ago, the MnSGC invited Normandale Community College to join the Consortium to meet that goal. With the help of the MnSGC, Mark Hollabaugh of the Physics Department at Normandale has introduced laboratory manuals and study guides into his physics courses that have substantially improved the learning environment for students at this school. Not only has the Consortium provided funds necessary to cover the time and supplies needed to develop these materials, but has also covered the costs for Mark to travel to the American Association of Physics Teachers to further develop his abilities to improve the physics curriculum at Normandale. This summer, two undergraduate students from Normandale will be working with Mark to design computer simulations for the physics courses, which will be the first of its kind used in the classroom at this college.

University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
Two year's ago, the UM-TC began contributing funds to the required senior-level Capstone Design Courses offered in the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics, and continues to do so each year. With this funding, the AEM Department was able to hire and retain a part-time instructure with expertise in CAD/CAM and other state-of-the-art computer techniques to assist with these courses. The desing courses give students experience and knowledge in the "tools of the trade" that they will encounter immediately upon entering the engineering profession. Students learn about both aerospace and space vehicle design. The design program is co-sponsored by NASA's Advanced Design Program, providing students with additional knowlege of NASA's current space technology programs.