In an attempt to increase writing center attendance and overall retention, a social media strategy was put into place in the Spring 2019 semester at Edward Waters College, an HBCU in Jacksonville, FL, and continued through the summer. In this case study, the choice of social media platforms is considered, including what platforms the Writing…

Analogies are useful tools instructors can use to help make challenging concepts less abstract by drawing connections to familiar contexts. In this paper we provide an overview of the various analogies published in the education literature that are situated in the context of enzyme kinetics, including narrative-based analogies (analogies intended…

An experiment for the calculation of the degree of double bond conversion, after a polymerization reaction, of photopolymerizable liquid monomers using FTIR-ATR spectroscopy is reported. The experiment was successfully conducted with undergraduate students in materials engineering during the Fundamentals of Polymeric Material course. Students…

In many parts of the world, governments are building new platforms, methods, and innovative experimental spaces to better respond to current complex problems. Laboratories in the public sector have emerged as experimental spaces that incorporate co-creation approaches to promote public innovation and social transformation. Although there is…

Polymer chemistry lab experiments present a unique opportunity to allow students to experience the consequences of reaction mechanisms on the properties of the resulting product. In this organic chemistry experiment, students prepared a polyamide by three different reaction mechanisms that represent step-growth and chain-growth methods of…

In this paper, we present a demonstration of Ohm's law on a spreadsheet. Students can perform an experiment of Ohm's law like they perform in laboratories. The only difference is that the apparatus is virtual. The students record readings of current through the circuit and potential difference across a resistor. A graph is drawn between I and V to…

Until now, the concept of metal (0) atomic quantum clusters or nanoclusters (NCs) and their increasing role in nanotechnology due to their novel and exceptional properties in important industrial fields (such as catalysis) has not been included at the education level. Here, syntheses of both metal nanoparticles (NPs) and metal nanoclusters (with…

A low-cost and easy-to-use water recirculation system for a condenser apparatus was designed and installed in an organic chemistry teaching laboratory. Relying on gravity and a small pump for water circulation, it supplies four stations simultaneously. The water recirculation system works very well with condensers used for distillation and reflux…

The enzymatic determination of glucose in soft drinks, based on the glucose concentration measurement by means of the coupled reactions of glucose oxidase and peroxidase, has been implemented at the University of Malaga and optimized according to the Biochemistry and Chemistry undergraduate students' results and feedback throughout the last few…

A green laboratory experiment has been developed in which students perform an aqueous oxidation/cycloaddition reaction to convert salicyl alcohol into a pentacyclic diepoxydione that is readily isolated by filtration. Drawing on their knowledge of periodate-mediated 1,2-diol cleavage, students propose a mechanism for the oxidation of salicyl…

We herein report an efficient aerobic oxidative cleavage of meso-hydrobenzoin to benzaldehyde using a heterogeneous earth-abundant metal oxide catalyst. The reaction can be carried out at 70 °C in ethanol and uses a balloon filled with O2 as oxidant. Reagents are simple and have long shelf lives, and the whole laboratory exercise can be done in…

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many universities have switched to online learning platforms, which inhibits engineering students from completing formative hands-on experiments. To address this, we developed at-home experiments for an undergraduate biomaterials course. These inquiry-based learning experiments were well received by students and…

Universities are recognizing the need to prepare graduates to think conceptually and have the ability to take on complex, real-world problems. Strategies to assess conceptual knowledge are limited and often require more time and effort to complete than is accessible for most undergraduate courses. Card sorting is a very broad technique for…

Students are introduced to the term wavelength in optics at school level. In this paper, we present an inexpensive and simple method to measure the wavelength of the light of a light emitting diode using a light depending resistor. This experimental set-up is developed at Science Laboratory, Nehru Planetarium (Mumbai), India. It is useful as an…

The advancement of breakthrough concepts in science and their implementation in society can only be achieved by starting early with the education of new generations of scientists. The concept of 'Replacement, Reduction and Refinement' (the 3Rs) in regards to animal use was first described by Russell and Burch in 1959. The 3Rs have nowadays a…