This quantitative study examines the impact of a three-week online organic preparatory course for chemistry undergraduates that is designed to improve student performance in the subsequent organic chemistry course series (N = 1,289). Organic chemistry often serves as a gatekeeper for students pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering,…

High-impact practices, and other pedagogical advancements, have been successfully used to deepen student engagement with courses over a wide variety of disciplines. Here, we describe the design, implementation, and assessment of a cross-disciplinary, inquiry-based lab course built on the proven success of these deeply engaging principles. This new…

Incorporating research activities at the secondary-school level is an effective method to teach science; however, students and teachers may feel intimidated when trying to identify a suitable research topic. Ideas may be obtained from short articles in periodicals or newspapers to allow students to design their own experiments and interpret data.…

Orchestrating opportunities for students to engage in scientific talk in the classroom is challenging for most teachers and even more so for novice teaching assistants (TAs) who typically instruct introductory science laboratories at the postsecondary level. This study was designed to understand how TA moves are related to instances of scientific…

This quantitative study utilized surveys to explore how science doctoral students receive support from their dissertation advisors and its relationship to graduate student success outcomes. The survey was distributed to active doctoral students majoring in the sciences at one large, public, Southeastern University. Within examining how the support…

Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) have been described in a range of educational contexts. Although various learning objectives, termed anticipated learning outcomes (ALOs) in this project, have been proposed, processes for identifying them may not be rigorous or well-documented, which can lead to inappropriate assessment and…

This article explains how the project-based lab (PJB-Lab) trains critical thinking skills, creative thinking skills, communication skills and collaboration skills (4C Skills) and produces two project products from the application of the fluid concept, namely the application of Archimedes' law on submarine projects and the application of…

The COVID-19 disruption presented considerable challenges for university students, requiring the sudden need for increased engagement in remote learning environments and the ability to cope with academic and familial demands. To examine how students self-regulated their learning during the disruption, we surveyed undergraduates (n = 226) enrolled…

Black holes and the physics behind them is a fascinating topic for students of all levels. The exotic conditions which prevail near a black hole should be discussed and presented to undergraduate students in order to increase their interest in studying physics and to provide useful insights into basic physics concepts, such as non-uniform…

The usage of symbol, unit and formula of some fundamental physical quantities are quite important for science and engineering students regardless of their majors. The purpose of the present research was to examine the students' knowledge regarding the usage of symbol, unit, and formula of the fundamental physical quantities. The opinions of…

Gas-phase nitrogen oxides are important in the formation of tropospheric ozone. NO[subscript x] (NO and NO[subscript 2]) as well as tropospheric ozone have been shown to have negative effects on human health. Therefore, accurately measuring NO[subscript x] concentrations in the atmosphere is important. In this laboratory experience, students…

A clear understanding of climate change and its impacts on society is an integral component of scientific literacy today. However, college students in introductory and lower division science courses often struggle to connect with this material in a meaningful way when they do not see how it is relevant to their daily lives. To address this…

A simple and low-cost, DIY-type, Arduino-driven experiment is presented for the study of friction and measurement of the friction coefficient, using a conductive rubber cord as a force sensor. It is proposed for high-school or college/university-level students. We strongly believe that it is worthwhile planning, designing and performing Arduino…

Le Châtelier's principle is used as a basis to derive an expression to calculate solution pH during titrations that involve only strong acids and strong bases. Central to this model are the reaction quotient and a re-equilibration term that represents the extent of neutralization during a titration. Unlike the method traditionally taught to…

The separation of chamazulene from hydrophilic contaminants present in blue tansy oil provides a visually engaging example of two common techniques: extraction and thin-layer chromatography (TLC). This application uses liquid CO[subscript 2] as a lipophilic solvent to pull a brilliant blue hydrocarbon molecule, chamazulene, out of or through a…