We present the development and evaluation of "da Vinci's Curse", a chemistry escape room experience designed to consolidate laboratory skills in a fun and interactive setting. Inspired by the maestro, Leonardo da Vinci, the escape room challenges students to complete a series of puzzles in teams to escape "da Vinci's Curse".…

Descriptive statistics involves summarizing and organizing data so that they can be easily understood. Even though these are basic and simple concepts, many applied science students have misconceptions about their use in applied experiments in the laboratory. Students usually receive limited or no training in how to understand the meaning of the…

Undergraduate laboratory courses can provide opportunities for students to participate in science practices. This requires rethinking both curricula and instruction. Science practice--based courses require students to be positioned as epistemic agents, implying a shift in instructor role. Teaching assistants (TAs) are the primary instructors for…

The COVID-19 outbreak represented a remarkable challenge in universities and colleges since it forced the transition from a face-to-face model in classrooms and laboratories to a remote, online model using computers, tablets, and cell phones. In Mexico and other Latin American countries, the return to educational activities was a slow-paced…

Laboratory classes effectively enhance student understanding and appreciation of course concepts. With course delivery suddenly shifted into the online format due to the COVID-19 pandemic, four laboratory exercises in each of two introductory-level soil science courses were converted into virtual sessions delivered in the form of…

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…

A national survey of chemists (n = 174) explored the self-reported format and focus of postsecondary inorganic chemistry instructional laboratory curricula. Multiple instructional laboratory course formats were observed, including stand-alone inorganic chemistry instructional laboratory courses, inorganic chemistry laboratory instruction as a…

Triboluminescence is a fascinating phenomenon that can engage students' interest in chemistry. However, safe, cost-effective, and accessible laboratory experiments featuring highly triboluminescent substances are limited. To bridge this gap, we present a simple, rapid, semimicro test tube preparation of the visually engaging manganese complex…

Nitrate is a crucial parameter for assessing water quality, owing to its dual function in ecological systems. These functions can be beneficial or detrimental depending on whether nitrate concentrations are low or high, respectively. The ultraviolet spectrophotometric method (standard as 4500-NO[subscript 3]--B) is a classic method for determining…

This study is the result of a quantitative analysis of the previous paper reporting on four cases in which an LED is turned on by charge transfer occurring during the electrostatic induction process in a conductor connected to the LED. We were able to measure the charge transfer by using charge sensors and analyze experimental results by applying…

The study aimed to determine the effects of students teams achievement divisions (STAD) and reading-writing-application (RWA) methods on teacher candidates' academic achievements, laboratory attitudes, cooperative work, laboratory safety and scientific process skills in science teaching laboratory practice-I courses. In the research, a…

Many undergraduate chemistry and biochemistry students pursue careers in healthcare. Biomaterials, designed to harmonize with the complexity of the human body, have become increasingly significant in medicine as implants, drug delivery vehicles and tissue scaffolds. We believe it is essential that undergraduates are exposed to biomaterial…

Teaching the tools and concepts associated with modern physics can often be a daunting and difficult task for secondary science teachers. Classical physics is often perceived as intimidating and complex in its own right. Modern physics addressing quantum phenomena where Newtonian laws break down is even more abstract for learners. However,…

Inquiry-based learning can be an effective approach when students are provided with sufficient guidance. However, there is an ongoing debate among practitioners about the nature, type, and level of such guidance. This study investigated the effects on middle school students' (N = 116) conceptual knowledge and inquiry skills acquisition of…

A physics laboratory instructor used action research to effectively implement a 5E instructional approach, which incorporated scientific practices. The instructor explored how to integrate the instructional approach into practice, challenges present in the implementation, and students' learning experiences. The data were collected during three…