Chemical reactions that mimic the function of ATP hydrolysis in biochemistry are of current interest in nonequilibrium systems chemistry. The formation of transient bonds from these reactions can drive molecular machines or generate materials with time-dependent properties. While the behavior of these systems can be complicated, the underlying…

Virtual experiments offer opportunities for students to engage in the scientific process and observe scientific phenomena. However, virtual experiments are not always effective for learning. The current study examined how two small manipulations might support better learning from virtual experiments and the extent to which this varied across…

Many departments in colleges and universities require a capstone course that involves the students conducting a research project. This author has had over 20 years of experience teaching such a capstone course and describes a flexible research method for student research projects -- the vignette study (an experiment embedded in a survey). She also…

Calculating analytical uncertainties as a part of method validation is a relevant aspect of field and laboratory practices in instrumental analytical chemistry subjects, which usually require complex algorithms. This work describes the development and didactic use of an automatic and straightforward informatics tool, implemented in an Excel macro,…

Active learning provides students with meaningful and introspective roles in education. However, active learning is difficult to achieve in online class settings, particularly for biology laboratories initially designed to offer direct interactions with live organisms. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a transition to online learning was required in…

Molecular biology, broadly defined as the investigation of complex biomolecules in the laboratory, is a rapidly advancing field and as such the technologies available to investigators are constantly evolving. This constant advancement has obvious advantages because it allows students and researchers to perform more complex experiments in shorter…

Education in biochemistry teaching laboratories focus primarily on applying biochemical techniques to understanding human disease, biochemistry, and biotechnology. With anthropogenic climate change, there is a renewed interest in quantifying biodiversity, especially with the use of molecular-based approaches such as DNA barcoding. This 3-week…

This qualitative study compares the views about nature of science (NOS) between students enrolled in a traditional lecture and laboratory course and students in an inquiry-based class to the view of the scientists who taught the course. We administered the Views of Nature of Science Form C (VNOS-C) to identify students' views after partaking in…

Digital learning environments such as virtual laboratories have been proposed to augment or even replace conventional forms of teaching in recent years. While there is some evidence on comparable learning outcomes between real and virtual labs, empirical evidence on the effectiveness of virtual labs as compared to conventional face-to-face…

The analysis of spontaneous tail coiling (STC) in zebrafish embryos is a functional parameter that allows the study of motor development. It has recently gained relevance as a biomarker to assess the neurotoxicity of environmental substances. Its practicability in the laboratory makes it an excellent pedagogical tool for promoting students'…

Supplemental instruction (SI) confers student success, as represented by grades, knowledge retention, and student engagement. However, studies often report professional, not undergraduate, program findings. To measure these effects, students studying human anatomy at a university in Ontario, Canada, attended structured (peer-assisted) or…

The two-semester General Chemistry laboratory sequence for nonchemistry majors at James Madison University has recently made the transition from expository, confirmation experiments to project-based (first semester) and research-based (second semester) curricula; this narrative will describe the development and current state of the Brewing Science…

Chemical spillage has been measured for undergraduate students undertaking a laboratory practical designed to help develop their chemical handling skills. There was a low correlation found between the amount of chemical spilled and the ability to accurately carry out the primary goal of the experiment, which was to measure the concentrations of…

Professionalism is a required curricular component in accredited medical laboratory science (MLS) programs in the United States and is a critical element for career success and optimal patient care. A standardized definition of professionalism in MLS, however, has yet to be established. This poses a challenge to MLS programs when pertaining to…

Recent emphasis on learning biology through scientific investigations has focused instruction on understanding and using scientific evidence. To unpack the complexities of evidentiary reasoning, here we present a novel laboratory investigation for teaching the Hardy Weinberg Equilibrium (HWE) in an introductory biology laboratory course that was…