The use of interlocking toy building blocks (e.g., LEGO) as teaching modules with a focus on the topics in organic chemistry is presented. Interlocking building blocks were assembled on a baseplate to depict chemistry concepts of hydrogenation of alkenes, hydration of alkenes, Markovnikov's rule, cis and trans isomers, hydrogen bonding, optical…

Fluorescence microscopy is a useful tool that allows students to learn the principles of fluorescence visually in chemical and biological fields. However, fluorescence equipment has high purchase and maintenance costs and thus may not be available in educational institutions or insufficiently funded laboratories. In this study, a microscope stage…

Accuracy and precision are measures of experimental error and are fundamental to most chemical analysis laboratory classes. Assessment of accuracy and precision is often based on the comprehension of the results generated by students rather than on the quality of the data generated. This activity focused on developing a chemical analysis…

Case studies are helpful teaching tools that can bring scientific concepts to life. Here, we present a case study related to protein-ligand interactions, amino acids, protein structure, and protein modification. While protein-ligand interaction is a foundational concept within Biochemistry, there are few available case studies that focus on this…

A physical chemistry lab for undergraduate students described in this report is about applying kinetic models to analyze the spread of COVID-19 in the United States and obtain the reproduction numbers. The susceptible-infectious-recovery (SIR) model and the SIR-vaccinated (SIRV) model are explained to the students and are used to analyze the…

The process of method development is at the heart of analytical chemistry, yet direct experimental experience with the process is rarely taught in the undergraduate laboratory. We report here an experiment that uses rapid, safe, and inexpensive paper-based microfluidics with cell phone detection in order to facilitate the development of a…

Simple, often artificial problems are normally preferred for introductory lab courses and are restricted to indoor participation. Microtitrations make it possible to leave the lab and study water chemistry directly in the natural environment. An exemplary outdoor challenge is presented here: travertine formation is context-rich, has to be examined…

The work in this dissertation is presented in two parts. The first part (Chapters 3 and 4) details work relating to students' explanations of reaction mechanisms in organic chemistry. The second part (Chapters 5 and 6) details work relating to the evaluating the uptake of research-based instructional practices in introductory chemistry,…

This study uses two different approaches to examining student outcomes and understanding in the context of aspects of acid-base chemistry. It introduces the use of evidence centered assessment design as a design framework of a multi-dimensional acid-base titration laboratory and as an analysis tool of student performances in a lab setting and in…

Much of the research examining teacher discourse in learning environments has given little focus to teacher discourse while using educational technology such as simulations (Erduran, 2019; Tabak & Kyza, 2018). Research has shown how discourse often contributes to the developmental aspects of the learning environment such as argumentation or…

The lack of time available for staying up to date with the literature is a common issue for scholars and practitioners in many disciplines. A recent challenge issued on Twitter with the goal to read 100 papers in 100 days attracted the attention of several members of the chemistry education research community. In this paper, we report the outcomes…

Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) have beneficial impacts on students and the capacity to provide authentic research experiences that are accessible and beneficial to all students, especially those from Minoritized Groups. CUREs can be presented in a full semester format (cCURE) and shorter modules incorporated into…

The aim of this study is to compare the master's (MA) theses in Türkiye (TR) and Finland (FIN) published between 2015-2019. A total of 765 theses were analysed in terms of year, discipline, methodological approach, research method, didactic foci, data collection tool, target group, and sample size. The results showed that FIN theses grounded on…

This project engaged Ghanaian secondary pupils in authentic science and engineering activities by using model biodigesters that reduce organic waste and produce biogas and fertiliser. The pupils' activities paralleled scientists' activities, such as asking research questions and designing experiments. Our study included two cohorts of Ghanaian…

Mindset (beliefs about the malleability of intelligence) has been studied in a variety of contexts for decades. Recent research highlights the importance of contextual factors in moderating mindset's impact on student outcomes. The commonly-used original mindset measure is context-general. Recently, a mindset measure that is specific to science…