Inquiry-based course experiences provide a scalable and equitable way to engage students in research. In this study, we describe how we introduced inquiry-based experiences to ten lower-division and upper-division courses across the biology curriculum at a regionally comprehensive public university serving the diverse population in a major…

Acknowledgement of the limited learning outcomes in our first-year physics lab course, strikingly similar to the observed and reported issues in literature, incited renewal of the course with a focus on developing students' ability to engage in experimental physics research. The "procedural and conceptual knowledge (PACKS)…

Widely used in research laboratories, immunohistochemistry (IHC) is a transferable skill that prepares undergraduate students for a variety of careers in the biomedical field. We have developed an inquiry-based learning IHC laboratory exercise, which introduces students to the theory, procedure, and data interpretation of antibody staining.…

This study investigated whether participation in a 1-semester science course for college students who are not majoring in the natural sciences could increase their scientific literacy, confidence in doing science and improve their perception of science and scientists. The study was conducted at a small, 4-year, liberal arts institution in Portland…

Previous research has shown that in prehigher education stages, inquiry-based teaching is not sufficient for forming a mature understanding of the nature of science (NOS). However, there is relatively little research conducted on colleges. Inquiry-based teaching should not overlook cognitive frameworks, as students' limited scientific reasoning…

Written as a letter to Galileo, an education graduate student narrates from course experiences that deepened her understandings of Galileo and natural and intellectual properties underlying his works. Having taken the Galileo-themed course with Elizabeth Cavicchi at MIT's Edgerton Center in three prior terms, on taking it a fourth time, this…

An inquiry-based learning approach was implemented into comprehensive organic chemistry experiments focusing on the formation process of N-phenylbenzamide from the reaction between N-benzylideneaniline and benzoyl peroxide in commercial dimethyl sulfoxide. Students conducted comparative experiments using alternative reagents or reaction conditions…

Research has shown significant relationships between students' epistemological beliefs and their approaches to learning. This study aimed to investigate the relationships between the scientific epistemological beliefs, science learning approaches, and the scientific inquiry skills of undergraduate students who took science courses by expanding the…

Abstract Targeted metagenomics is a rapidly expanding technology to analyze complex biological samples and genetic monitoring of environmental samples. In this research field, data analytical aspects play a crucial role. In order to teach targeted metagenomics data analysis, we developed a 4-week inquiry-driven modular course-based undergraduate…

A practical focusing on the synthesis, isolation, and hydrolysis of ammonia borane (AB), H[subscript 3]N·BH[subscript 3], was developed for first-year undergraduate students. By requiring students to propose their own experimental setup to measure the amount of gas produced upon hydrolysis, experimental design skills were introduced and developed…

This article describes a laboratory course designed for nonmajors with a focus on food chemistry. The course can be delivered in a traditional format or in a fully remote, asynchronous format. The course is designed for students to develop an understanding of how chemists view the world and how chemists generate knowledge. Food chemistry was…

Acid-base titration laboratories are perennially offered to general chemistry students in preparation for summative assessments of their hands-on and quantitative skills in the field. Here, we present a guided inquiry-based activity focused on total titratable acidity (TTA) as alternative to standard "cookbook" titration laboratory work.…

Process oriented guided inquiry learning (POGIL) is a specific type of active learning centered on a learning cycle where students first explore a concept through scientific models, followed by a concept invention, and finally a concept application phase. In spite of POGIL's research-based design and the many studies showing it increases learning…

Inorganic Chemistry teaches students the concept that modifications to ligand structures, especially the donor properties, can have a drastic impact on the reactivity and stability of the metal complexes. Experiments described here reinforce this concept through the investigation of two tetradentate ligands derived from…

This study focused on exploring and evaluating students' views of the Nature of Science in the context of undergraduate chemistry laboratory. Thirty-six undergraduate students doing a laboratory course in upper division physical chemistry were assessed using an open-ended instrument and assessment criteria that categorise them in three levels of…