The Kicking Mule Brewing Co. at West Point enables members of our chemical engineering club, students, and beer enthusiasts alike to acquire chemical engineering acumen, knowledge, and skills by developing a tangible product. Through a rigorous on-site brewing process with subject matter experts, our goal is enhancement of student chemical…

Although hands-on laboratory experiments are traditionally used in schools, virtual laboratories have entered today's classrooms, due to their specific affordances. In this study, we compared the effect of using hands-on and virtual laboratories in isolation to two different combinations on middle school (7th grade) students' acquisition of…

Categorical perception (CP) effects manifest as faster or more accurate discrimination between objects that come from different categories compared with objects that come from the same category, controlling for the physical differences between the objects. The most popular explanations of CP effects have relied on perceptual warping causing…

This laboratory experiment demonstrates the important utility of transition-metal complexes as catalysts in the addition reaction of carbon tetrabromide (CBr ) to select alkenes. This application offers students the opportunity to understand why transition-metal complexes are worth synthesizing. The experiment builds on fundamental theories…

A five-day discovery-based summer workshop for incoming ninth graders was designed and conducted at the University of Cincinnati (UC). The idea was to have an inquiry-based, research-driven laboratory experience where students were provided with a mentor who encouraged creativity and inquisitiveness. Over a period of three years, 33 students…

A laboratory experiment was developed that connects the interpretation of computer-generated models to the self-assembly of macrocycles. Students compare the reactions of terephthalaldehyde and isophthalaldehyde by reacting each with (R,R)-(-)-1,2-diaminocyclohexane. These isomeric systems serve as the foundation for a discussion about the impact…

This work describes the design, building, and testing of miniature, low-cost LED-LDR colorimeters for absorption-spectrophotometry experiments. It also describes using these colorimeters for simplified context-based-learning (CBL) activities in school teaching laboratories and for public-engagement events. The colorimeters are simple and robust,…

Although often labelled obsolete and ethically dubious, twentieth-century behaviourist principles of learning have been central to the development of instructional technology and the design of modern learning environments. Using Andrew Pickering's philosophy, this article addresses behaviourism as a mangle of practice to highlight the conceptual…

A simple, reliable, and cost-effective experiment is presented in which students synthesized citrate-capped gold nanoparticles (GNPs), functionalized them with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), and transferred the PEG-GNPs from water to the organic phase dichloromethane. The experiment introduces students to nanotechnology with foci on important…

Virtual worlds are a potential medium for teaching college-level chemistry laboratory courses. To determine the feasibility of conducting chemistry experiments in such an environment, undergraduate students performed two experiments in the immersive virtual world of Second Life (SL) as part of their regular General Chemistry 2 laboratory course.…

With the increasing importance in the application of the molecular biological detection technology in the field of food safety, strengthening education in molecular biology experimental techniques is more necessary for the culture of the students in food quality and safety major. However, molecular biology experiments are not always in curricula…

The science laboratory learning environment has been a distinctive area in science education since the 19th century. Unfortunately, students are generally not aware of what science instructors expect from laboratory experiences, and far too often, the undergraduate science laboratory curriculum lacks explicit, well-defined goals. Science…

In 2012, engineering was adopted as a content area in K-12 science education. Yet few science teachers have engineering content or pedagogical content knowledge. Teachers learn how to teach engineering through professional development experiences, for which Darling-Hammond et al. (2017) outline seven characteristics of effectiveness. This…

The rapid transition to remote teaching in the spring of 2020 posed particular challenges for laboratory courses, which often involve students working hands-on with equipment in collaborative environments. Replicating in-person experiments was especially challenging for advanced lab courses that utilize specialized apparatus, which could not be…

While the use of experiments is important for developing students' scientific knowledge and skills, challenges may arise when teachers and students are conducting experiments in class, such as non-reusable experimental resources, safety issues and difficulties simulating some specific effects. Augmented reality (AR) technology affords an…