We present an experiment designed to hone the decision-making skills of (undergraduate) chemistry students by using aqueous crossed aldol reactions. Here, we present two simple crossed aldol reactions based on inexpensive and readily available materials: The condensation of vanillin and cinnamaldehyde with acetone. The procedure uses the variation…

MEMs gyros, such as those in smartphones allow the angular velocity of pendulums to be precisely measured at large angles, and phase plots of the angular acceleration versus the angular displacement confirm that [double dot][phi] = -[omega][superscript 2][subscript o] sin[phi] even for the non-sinusoidal motion at amplitude [phi][subscript o]…

The topic of electric and magnetic fields is fundamental to the physics curriculum in both high school and college. The applied aspect of this topic has triggered the rapid development of modern technology in this era. This paper reported a remote data acquisition system developed for experiments with magnetic fields by coils to support…

A set of web-based stereochemistry tools which help students use virtual 3D models to translate Newman projections and chair conformations and assign "R/S" labels to stereocenters from 2D dashed-wedged structures is described. These tools are unique in the way they link 2D dashed-wedged structures to 3D models to help students develop…

Whether students view intelligence as a fixed or malleable trait (i.e., their "mindset") has significant implications for their responses to failure and academic outcomes. Despite a long history of research on mindset and its growing popularity, recent meta-analyses suggest that mindset does a poor job of predicting academic outcomes for…

Women and African Americans are disproportionately underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields, starting in high school and continuing through selection of college majors and eventual participation as workers (Upton & Tanenbaum, 2014). Diekman's "Goal Congruity Model," in particular, offers a brief…

Students come to science class with many ideas of how the natural world works, some of which do not match the consensus of the scientific community and can lead to misunderstandings. Because a growing body of educational research indicates that these misconceptions can serve as resources for learning, we developed a four-point plan to leverage…

This paper focuses on examining the effectiveness of three-dimensional (3D) computer models on student teachers' academic achievement, mental model construction, and spatial ability used in learning the "atomic models" topic in this study. The students were randomly assigned into two groups: the treatment group (TG) where 3D computer…

Rapid advances in the quality and accessibility of immersive virtual reality (IVR) have brought about intense interest in applications of the technology within higher education, including STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) teaching and learning. However, evidence is mixed on the effectiveness of IVR for STEM teaching and…

The COVID-19 pandemic has made conducting in-person research a health risk for interviewers and participants. Near the start of the pandemic, many universities pivoted to emergency remote teaching where courses were delivered remotely in observance of safety guidelines. The safety guidelines also necessitated that research be done remotely. We…

Despite the growing presence of students as partners (SAP) in education research and the overlap of goals with learning assistant (LA) programs, there is little research done on pedagogy- and curriculum-focused student partnerships that involve LAs. LAs have expertise as both teachers and learners, so why not leverage this expertise to improve the…

The purpose of this randomized experimental study is to apply two socio-cognitive models to understand possible ways to improve students' learning outcomes in an online introductory chemistry learning environment. Specifically, the social presence theory suggested that students' sense of relatedness and learning motivation can be increased by a…

A service learning course has been developed through which undergraduate science students create problem-based learning materials for use in high school science classes. Undergraduate students research active learning pedagogies with a specific focus on problem-based learning, create original materials to be used in grades 11 and 12 chemistry and…

In response to the coronavirus pandemic in the fall of 2020, we created hybrid-virtual or fully virtual field trips to replace in-person field trips in two courses. For an introductory soil science course with 178 students enrolled, we used a narrative format supported by 360° ground-level and drone photos, newspaper articles, videos, websites,…

Science is all about how and why. India is a land of diversity and having an equally diverse education system. In a diverse classroom, it is important for the teacher to impart knowledge in such a way that it kindles curiosity in the learner. The best way to communicate science is 'learning by doing'. This requires great skill and apt teaching…