Investigating the optical properties of various chemical compounds using UV-vis spectrophotometers is an essential part of education in chemistry. However, commercial spectrophotometers are usually treated as "magic black boxes", where the dominant majority of optical elements are hidden "under the hood". This often limits…

Marble, formed by the metamorphism of limestone, is commonly used in the construction industry and sculpting. The mineral in marble is either calcite [CaCO[subscript 3]] or dolomite [CaMg(CO[subscript 3])[subscript 2]] or sometimes both. The pure white Carrara marble from Italy was made a household name by Michelangelo, the famous sculptor of the…

The focus in teaching and research is shifting from a traditional perspective of information literacy (IL) as a specific set of general, mostly text-based skills to a more comprehensive understanding of the complex aspects that constitute IL as an ongoing, context-specific process. However, there is a need for further insight into the social and…

The ability of students to perform quantitative analysis is a fundamental aspect of analytical chemistry courses and laboratories. In this laboratory experiment, students quantitatively analyze both liquid and solid samples through the use of internal standard calibration and ATR-FTIR spectroscopy. Using a problem-based approach to selecting their…

A classroom based Problem Based Learning (PBL) activity was adapted to run as a remote activity during the COVID-19 pandemic using an approach described as virtual Problem Based Learning (vPBL). vPBL is based on (i) identification of a suitable learning platform that supports collaborative working in a way that mimics the classroom based activity…

Student-centered teaching has become increasingly common in higher education as researchers have demonstrated its efficacy in recent decades. Herein, we hope to establish an efficient problem-based learning (PBL) method, which can help upper-division students learn organic chemistry content by combining teaching materials, experimental literature,…

The problem-based learning (PBL) methodology has been applied in a set of chemistry courses at the University of Barcelona to determine the main factors that are relevant to a satisfactory application of this educational approach in different contexts (from undergraduate to master subjects). The exceptional situation resulting from the COVID-19…

This article examines the intersection of environmental justice and undergraduate chemistry education through a review of existing publications that highlight successful strategies for chemistry educators interested in incorporating environmental justice into their classrooms. It emphasizes the key roles of racial and social justice in the…

With a growing number of global challenges related to the environment, water, public health, and energy, there is an imminent need to teach chemistry in the context of its interconnectedness with other systems. Project- and problem-based learning are student-centered learning approaches which offer educators the opportunity to engage learners in…

This guided-inquiry, upper-division undergraduate organic lab experiment, a hybrid of problem-based learning (PBL); process-oriented, guided-inquiry learning (POGIL); and peer-led team learning (PLTL) has been developed to ease the transition from the undergraduate lab to a research lab environment. The characterization of a mixture of camphor and…

A new method for teaching advanced laboratories at the undergraduate level is presented. The intent of this approach is to get students more engaged in the lab experience and apply critical thinking skills to solve problems. The structure of the lab is problem-based and provides students with a research-like experience. Students read the current…

During problem-based learning sessions, undergraduate students were tasked with answering chemistry-related questions using clicker-handset technology in which the last response made by each handset would override any previous vote. The benefits, if any, of showing cohort responses from clicker questions during versus after polling were explored.…

Chemical engineering is mostly taught using traditional classroom teaching and laboratory experiments when possible. Being a wide discipline encompassing topics such as analytical chemistry, process design, and microbiology, it may be argued that brewing of beer has many relations to chemical engineering topic-wise. This work illustrates how…

This article presents the structure of the organic chemistry laboratory Course "Synthesis and Extraction of Drugs" that is included in Modena University (Italy) in the third year of the five-year "Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Technologies" degree program. This course is unique in its kind, and it aims to provide students with…

An experiment seated in an industrial context can provide an engaging framework and unique learning opportunity for an upper-division physical chemistry laboratory. An experiment that teaches NMR/MRI through a problem-based quality control of citrus products was developed. In this experiment, using a problem-based learning (PBL) approach, students…