An experiment in teaching students to use the literature to devise and defend a plan for novel research is presented as part of a graduate-level course in heterocyclic chemistry. Students in three successive iterations of the course completed an assignment during which they were assigned novel heterocyclic cores that were selected by varying or…

Chemistry laboratory experiments are invaluable to students' acquisition of necessary synthetic, analytical, and instrumental skills during their undergraduate studies. However, the COVID-19 pandemic rendered face-to-face (f2f), in-person teaching laboratory experiences impossible from late 2019-2020 and forced educators to rapidly develop new…

Supporting students in building well-grounded explanations plays a crucial role in scientific practice. Research in organic chemistry education on students' mechanistic explanations, however, has revealed various challenges. When solving mechanistic tasks, students experience difficulties when (I) deriving implicit properties from structural…

The need for changing how science is taught and the expansion of undergraduate research experiences is essential to foster critical thinking in the Natural Sciences. Most faculty research programs only involve a small number of upper-level undergraduate students each semester. The course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) model enables…

Science faculty are being asked to create active learning experiences that engage students in core concepts and science practices. This article describes an approach to developing active learning lessons from authentic science research projects using the 5E lesson format. Included is a description of the 5Es and a template for creating a 5E…

We analyze how participating in undergraduate research experiences (UREs) influenced physics students' trajectories of participation within the community of practice of physics researchers. Students in the study participated in an elective seminar in which they were paired with graduate student and faculty mentors on physics research projects and…

Information literacy is of paramount importance to any successful research program. Information techniques and skills should be infused throughout a student's undergraduate curriculum rather than being the focus of a single course. To this end, we have created several courses, beginning in the first year, where students review current scientific…

The purpose of the current study employing the survey method is to determine the pre-service science teachers' perceptions of the principles of scientific research and to investigate the effects of gender, grade level and the state of following scientific publications on their perceptions. The sampling of the current research is comprised of 125…

The advanced interdisciplinary research laboratory (AIRLab) represents a novel, effective, and motivational course designed from the interdisciplinary research interests of chemistry, physics, biology, and education development faculty members as an alternative to the independent thesis project experience. Student teams are assembled to work…

Non-major students taking science courses to fulfill degree requirements may show low interest in traditional lecture-based classrooms. While professors may try to incorporate hands-on activities to the classroom to foster enthusiasm, the development of a low-cost, low-hazard scienitfic activity that engages students can be challenging. Moreover,…

Journal clubs have been used to advance students' scientific skills beyond basic knowledge and comprehension, but students often view the traditional format of analyzing reported data and experimental design as laborious and intimidating. As such, the traditional approach can diminish student engagement and enthusiasm for the value of scientific…

The CREATE (Consider Read, Elucidate the hypotheses, Analyze and interpret the data, and Think of the next Experiment) strategy aims to demystify scientific research and scientists while building critical thinking, reading/analytical skills, and improved science attitudes through intensive analysis of primary literature. CREATE was developed and…

We present a simplified human alcohol metabolism model for a mass balance team project. Students explore aspects of engineering in biotechnology: designing/modeling biological systems, testing the design/model, evaluating new conditions, and exploring cutting-edge "lab-on-a-chip" research. This project highlights chemical engineering's impact on…

Research experiences for teachers (RET) programs report benefits to teachers and students. RET programs aim to give teachers authentic science research experiences based on the premise that these experiences will improve science instruction. Specifically, many programs require teacher development of lessons and units to help translate the…

Professionals in the environmental domain require cognitive interdisciplinary skills to be able to develop sustainable solutions to environmental problems. We demonstrate that education in environmental systems analysis allows for the development of these skills. We identify three components of cognitive interdisciplinary skills: (1) the ability…