In this paper, a problem set activity focused on understanding and applying unsupervised and supervised chemometric methods for the analysis of biodiesel-diesel blended fuels is described. This problem set was utilized in two upper-level analytical elective courses aimed for junior and senior level students. The data set consists of peak areas…

More and more teachers create video explanations for their instruction. Whether or not they are effective for learning depends on the videos' instructional quality. Reliable measures to assess the quality of video explanations, however, are still rare, especially for videos created by (preservice) teachers. We developed such a measure in a…

Apparatus catalogues of the first half of the 20th century contain a number of clever and simple devices for measuring the index of refraction of a liquid. In some cases students can put together one of these pieces of apparatus and then make their own measurements. The Gilley board was one of the devices that caught my eye, and I would like to…

Several properties of Earth's magnetic field (field vectors, time dependence) are measured in various locations using a smartphone/tablet magnetic sensor. To enable a proper use of the magnetic sensor as a classroom tool, the exact location of the sensor in the device and its resolution must be identified in a first step. Then, students may…

Measuring permeability in a high school physics course has long been a hard task. However, with the advent of using smartphones in the classroom, it is not only possible but even easily done. This paper offers detailed instructions on how to measure permeability using a smartphone's magnetometer, starting with experimentally discovering the…

This article reports on a new device, called a geyser guide, that allows for quantitative measurements of both bubble sizes and kinetics of foam production in the so-called Diet Coke and Mentos experiment. The device is easily constructed, is made using readily available materials, and allows the experiment to be carried out indoors with no mess.…

Two well-regarded measurements for the expansion rate of the universe disagree, leaving cosmologists very puzzled. It may be that something large has been overlooked in our theory of the Big Bang. This discrepancy is called the Hubble tension and it has led to a very interesting conversation within the cosmology community.

Although major advances have been made in research on language learning strategies (LLS), there are some areas that have been somewhat surprisingly neglected by specialists. This applies without doubt to the strategies that learners draw on to better understand and learn grammar rules but also to employ grammar structures in real-time processing,…

Children develop and learn within dynamic contexts, yet the simplifying assumptions of common statistical methods often relegate such complexity to unexplained error. This chapter discusses ideas from the dynamic systems literature, which focuses on the interplay within and between components of complex systems, such as individuals and their…

Traditionally, the key principle of assessment was based on the depth and intensity of the knowledge taught in class. In our modern state, the notion of assessment is more about learning and less about whether it is deep or surface learning. This could be attributed to challenges facing higher education, such as marketisation, massification,…

In this paper I present various equatorial sundial designs that use diffraction on a CD to display time. The designs described in the paper include a transparent CD sundial equipped with a small terrestrial globe. This sundial is compact, pedagogically useful, can be used throughout the year, and provides the user with a wealth of information.

The use of smartphones is increasingly gaining popularity in education. Students and teachers can determine scientific concepts using smartphones equipped with sensors such as Global Positioning System (GPS -- a navigation system that provides location information) and orientation (a device to measure coordinates according to a reference frame).…

In this paper, we present a novel dynamical approach to teach circular motion. According to the principle of inertia, objects without external influences move in a uniform and straight way. With a kick, one can turn the motion towards one side. By successively continuing these turns, a complete circle can be reached. With the help of standard…

In all areas of human activity, decision-making based on data analysis is very important. As the availability of data grows, it becomes critical to educate not only traditional students but also those individuals who are now in the workforce, as many of them are expected to manage the complex data streams and to provide evidence and guidance for…

This work focuses on the experimental demonstration of the hydrostatic paradox using simple tools in the form of plastic bottles and plastic syringes with a thread. For the evaluation of the results obtained the data logger Lab Quest Vernier was used. The construction of the device is presented in the first part of this paper. The second part…