Hands-on activities are considered to be particularly suitable for generating long-term knowledge that increases environmentally friendly behaviour. Appropriate flagship species in a respective curricular context can enable high-quality education. We have developed a teaching concept and material for hands-on activities with bumblebees. This…

This study aims to assess the effect of experiential learning coupled with thinking-based learning (TBL) pedagogy in developing higher-order thinking skills. We utilized OLabs, a virtual lab, as a mode of experiential electronic-learning for the topic "chemical reactions." Online experimental activities, embedded with thinking-based…

Lampworking is a valuable skill for students in Chemistry and others in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) related fields. The activity described here provides instructors the resources to both learn and teach the fundamentals of lampworking. Soft glass, which can be shaped and fused with a Bunsen burner, is used to improve the…

Common objects are made of materials that have obvious physical features which, although readily observable, may be overlooked by children. Helping young children to notice characteristic features -- scientifically referred to as properties -- equips them to discern common and distinct (diagnostic) features. Once children begin to recognise…

Over the last 18 months, the COVID-19 pandemic has meant times have been very uncertain and many schools are still cautious about inviting visitors onto site. On the other hand, it has provided specialists in practical workshops with the opportunity to creatively explore new possibilities in remote communication. In this article, Sarah Sisson from…

The role and efficacy of the laboratory in chemical education have recently been a subject of renewed discussion as researchers are called upon to address the question of whether laboratory education lives up to expectations. The COVID-19 pandemic, which forced most of the global student population to temporarily adopt remote learning, offers an…

The author recently delivered an online professional development session on running STEM clubs as part of a Primary Science Quality Mark (PSQM, www.psqm.org.uk) Teaching and Learning Festival. It is a topic the author is often asked about, and she frequently provides training and advises teachers and external organisations on the what, why, how,…

A fast, operationally simple, and reproducible synthetic protocol for anthraquinone dyes (AQDs), suitable for upper-division undergraduate industrial and organic chemistry laboratory courses, has been developed. This experiment is composed of three stages; the first step deals with the synthesis of AQDs, followed by a purification step, and…

The unforeseen COVID-19 pandemic forced educational institutions to shift to a remote or distance-learning mode. As a result, classes were offered online, and this shift in teaching modality presented great challenges, especially in teaching laboratory courses. While several options are available, we evaluated the use of (i) videos of lab…

Student enrollments in online college courses have grown steadily over the past decade, and college administrators expect this trend to continue or accelerate. Despite the growing popularity of online education, one major critique in the sciences is that students are not trained in the hands-on skills they may need for the workforce, graduate…

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many colleges switched to online or hybrid formats for both lecture and laboratory course delivery. While virtual experiments, that is, "dry lab" experiences, teach students chemical theory, it is essential for students in chemistry laboratories to participate in hands-on laboratory activities. These…

Learning to write chemical formulas of compounds is a basic and indispensable part of understanding and studying chemistry. However, it is hard for students with visual impairment to assess and learn molecular arrangements and formulas. For the convenience of such students with special needs, it is necessary to come up with easy, comprehensive,…

An integrated laboratory experiment was designed for introducing biochemistry students to basic static biochemistry to deepen their understanding on the properties and analysis of biomolecules such as total carbohydrates, lipid, protein, and protein-constituent amino acids. Food represents a very important source of biomolecules of technological…

Integrating scientific investigations into science instruction has been a global phenomenon. Particularly in the US, this emphasis has been suggested by the nation-wide science educational standards over decades. However, the details on how the integration could be carried out remain under discussed. The present study focuses on the integration of…

This study determined the effect of misconceptions intervention on students' conceptual change in the concepts of density and floatation in basic science. The moderating effects of gender and school types on students' conceptual change in the selected concepts were also determined. The misconception interventions in this study are hands-on…