Electron configuration provides insight into the chemical behaviors of elements and is an important concept for students to master in introductory chemistry. To better strengthen undergraduate students' mastery of electron configurations of atoms and ions, we designed a novel, interactive chemistry game called ChemisTree that uses active-learning…

This study sought to develop and evaluate an online module based on inquiry learning with digital laboratories, which was intended to address students' misconceptions in a science domain. In a quasi-experimental design, 171 first-year students in a higher education introductory physics course on circular motion were as their existing groups…

Online laboratories can be an effective way to introduce students to lab concepts while providing flexibility, increased access, and reduced costs. However, online labs might lack the authentic research experience that can be gained by doing hands-on lab work. This study explores student perceptions of an online, inquiry-based introductory biology…

In pursuit of active learning and fostering conceptual understanding, educators and researchers have tirelessly endeavored to reshape the perception of chemistry, transcending its apparent barriers of technical jargon, semantics, and symbolism. One innovative approach that aligns with this mission is the integration of narratives into chemical…

Primary literature searching and the utility of research articles in chemistry teaching and instructions provide connections between conceptual understanding and the application of chemical knowledge. Article citation tracking, an often-neglected dimension in literature exploration, expands information seeking and provides opportunities to track…

Protein translation is a fundamental biological process taught in introductory general biology classes at the undergraduate level. This core scientific topic is often hard for students to understand as it involves several key players and piecing together of information learned in multiple lectures. The current study examines the effectiveness of…

Student awareness and selection of learning strategies are predictors of academic success. Yet, little is known about learning strategies of students in university preparation science courses, who are frequently mature-aged or underrepresented students. This lack of knowledge potentially hinders tailoring reflective learning experiences, specific…

A central goal of introductory physics for the life sciences (IPLS) is to prepare students to use physics to model and analyze biological situations, a skill of increasing importance for their future studies and careers. Here we report our findings on life science students' ability to carry out a sophisticated biological modeling task at the end…

Many introductory astronomy courses include concepts related to basic stellar properties. In general, these are concepts that originate from the human perception of starlight. This observational aspect is not easy to incorporate in the classroom. We explore if these concepts could be developed using the built-in data in a planetarium software.…

For many students biochemistry is a demanding course because they are expected to apply previously learned foundational concepts to new biological contexts. These foundational concepts serve as a scaffold onto which to build threshold concepts such as the physical basis of interactions. Unfortunately, many students possess misconceptions or gaps…

Whereas extensive studies have examined the effectiveness of inquiry-based learning in chemistry education, few have tracked undergraduate performance throughout the college chemistry curricula. In this study, we describe an instructional model of conceptual learning and inquiry-based practices (CLIP) and assess students' transformation of…

Previous studies have found that students' concept-building approaches, identified a priori with a cognitive psychology laboratory task, are associated with student exam performances in chemistry classes. Abstraction learners (those who extract the principles underlying related examples) performed better than exemplar learners (those who focus on…

A multioutcome, guided inquiry-based liquid--liquid extraction (LLE) experiment has been designed for introductory organic chemistry. Multiple outcomes were established by identifying a series of red and blue dyes that are (1) soluble in organic solvent, (2) soluble in aqueous solution, or (3) soluble in either the organic or aqueous layers by…

This study investigated the effects of Discovery Learning Scientific Community Laboratories (DL-SCL) and traditional non-DLSCL laboratories on students' conceptual understanding in a Physics-1 lab. At many universities, physics programs use a traditional lab style, despite research on the benefits for reform-oriented physics labs. This DL-SCL…

In the Australian state of Victoria, the city of Melbourne endured the world's longest number of lockdown days, with severe government health orders and travel restrictions in place for extended periods of 2020 and 2021. In common with others, we found the provision of field teaching in introductory geology, structural geology, and volcanology,…