Development and evaluation of a teaching-learning activity in 4th year Forensic Physics course of Degree in Criminology was based on different combinations of a virtual laboratory and a research laboratory as teaching spaces. Students explored in detail the components and functioning of an electron microscope using both an online suite of…

We present our experience with transferring a four-day photometry and dye-adsorption laboratory experiment to the kitchens of students of Applied Thermodynamics from our degree in "Industrial Chemical Process Engineering". The students designed and built a double-beam photometer using their smartphones and household materials, then…

Practical work as observation and experimentation are vital parts of science education. One way to accomplish this is by applying inquiry-based learning in laboratory activities. Inquiry enhances the development of scientific skills as well as the learning of the scientific concepts. In the present article, a laboratory activity was developed to…

Health literacy should be developed from early ages, but students, including preservice teachers, hold misconceptions about micro-organisms. The objective of this study was to analyse the knowledge that a sample of 102 Early Childhood Preservice Teachers (PST) had about micro-organisms and about cystitis. The PSTs performed a series of activities…

This work presents a laboratory to help chemical-engineering students understand the basic concepts of corrosion. This laboratory has been performed since academic year 2011-2012 in the framework of the subject "Design of equipment and installations" for the third year of the Chemical Engineering Degree of the University of Castilla-La…

Bias assessment (systematic errors) is fundamental in industry and service laboratories, where reliable results must be obtained to give correct answers to specific problems. Therefore, knowledge and practice in quality methodologies is of fundamental importance for students. Unfortunately, laboratory lessons often focus on connecting theory and…

Apart from the evident tragedy that the COVID-19 outbreak has meant regarding both personal and economic costs, the normal functioning of the academic year has been drastically altered at all educational levels. Regarding Spain, the state of alert implemented by the government from mid-March to June has affected traditional face-to-face sessions…

Online and virtual teaching-learning has been a panacea that most educational institutions adopted from the dire need created by COVID-19. We provide a comprehensive bibliometric study of 9523 publications on virtual laboratories in higher education covering the years 1991 to 2021. Influential bibliometrics such as publications and citations,…

The aim of this research was to assess students' ability to explain scientific phenomena by means of a POE pedagogical tool. To achieve this aim, we conducted home experiments in a digital environment. In this qualitative and transversal ex-post-facto research, 775 pupils (aged 13-18 years) enrolled in compulsory secondary education from the…

Historically, traditional laboratory experiments have been given a central and distinctive role in science education. However, virtual laboratories have received considerable attention over the past several years in different areas of knowledge. The main aim of this study is to analyse the impact of the use of both traditional and virtual…

A high variety of experimental model organisms have been used in developmental biology practical lectures. The work with developing embryos is crucial to make students aware of the multiple biological phenomena underlying normal animal embryogenesis and morphogenesis and represent a unique experimental platform to analyze the impact of molecular…

We designed and evaluated a student laboratory workshop on plant-based vaccines against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The workshop focused on hands-on laboratory techniques, including DNA extraction from rice seeds, where the recombinant protein was produced, detection of the transgene, and basic concepts on how vaccines work in the human body to offer…

We present a practical activity focusing on two main goals: to give learners the opportunity to experience how the scientific method works and to increase their knowledge about enzymes in everyday situations. The exercise consists of determining the amylase activity of commercial detergents. The methodology is based on a qualitative assay using a…

Universities play an important role in society. On the other hand, more and more governments and international organizations are concerned about the environment. Thus, both in their educational programs and research, as well as in the case of public exhibitions, universities are increasingly including subjects related to the environment and its…

The introduction of electric circuit simulation software for undergraduate students in a general physics course is proposed in order to contribute to the constructive learning of electric circuit theory. This work focuses on the lab exercises based on dc, transient and ac analysis in electric circuits found in introductory physics courses, and…