In our upper-level undergraduate laboratory course in organic chemistry we focus on a research-oriented task in a context-based and problem-based learning approach. The course starts with a preliminary training period where the students learn how to safely and independently perform synthesis and purification procedures and to operate the most…

An earlier investigation found that the performance of advanced students in a quantum mechanics course did not automatically improve from midterm to final exam on identical problems even when they were provided the correct solutions and their own graded exams. Here, we describe a study, which extended over four years, in which upper-level…

In this article, the authors describe a set of activities performed in south Brazil that are aligned with the objectives of PhUn Week and promote the integration between universities and public schools and the dissemination of knowledge of physiology. To achieve this goal, the authors adopted a program in which undergraduate physiology students…

This article describes the integration of a cocurricular "Community" into a first-year undergraduate chemistry course at the University of Toronto. The Community has been in existence since 2006, with over 700 students being involved. Its broad objectives have been three-fold: to inform course members about departmental resources and…

The role of motivation and emotions in learning has been extensively studied in recent years; however, research on the role of the physical environment still remains scarce. This study examined the role of the physical environment in the learning process from the perspective of basic psychological needs. Although self-determination theory stresses…

The laboratory experiment challenges students to determine 6-propyl-2-thiouracil (PTU) based on Prussian blue complex formation. Prussian blue is formed by ferricyanide and Fe(II) ions which are generated in situ from Fe(III) ions reduced by PTU. The absorbance of this product was measured at a wavelength of 840 nm, after a reaction time of 30…

A guided-inquiry project designed to teach students the basics of spectrophotometric instrumentation at the second year level is presented. Students design, build, program, and test their own single-wavelength, submersible photometer using low-cost light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and inexpensive household items. A series of structured prelaboratory…

A wide body of literature has highlighted how high achievement in mathematics in secondary school does not necessarily motivate students to both choose and succeed on mathematically demanding programmes at post-compulsory level. The recent Enterprising Science project [Archer et al. (2015, "J. Res. Sci. Teach.," 52, 922-948)] and before…

The article substantiates the necessity of studying the peculiarities of color vision of human in the course "Biophysics" that have been integrated into many types of higher education institutions. It describes the experience of teaching this discipline in a pedagogical higher education institution. The article presents a brief review of…

This article describes a community mentoring model for UREs that avoids some of the common pitfalls of the traditional paradigm while harnessing the power of learning communities to provide young scholars a stimulating collaborative STEM research experience.

This paper explores students and researchers drawings of white blood cell recruitment. The data combines interviews with exhibit of review-type academic images and analyses of student model-drawings. The analysis focuses on the material aspects of bioscientific data-making and we use the literature of concrete bioscience modelling to differentiate…

Biology faculty at San José State University developed, piloted, implemented, and assessed a freshmen course sequence based on the macro-to micro-teaching approach that was team-taught, and organized around unifying themes. Content learning assessment drove the conceptual framework of our course sequence. Content student learning increased…

University students often struggle to understand the role of water in plant cells. In particular, osmosis and plasmolysis appear to be challenging topics. This study attempted to identify student difficulties (including misconceptions) concerning osmosis and plasmolysis and examined to what extent the difficulties could be revised during a plant…

Students who lack academic maturity can sometimes feel overwhelmed in a fully flipped classroom. Here an alternative, the Semi-Flipped method, is discussed. Rural students, who face unique challenges in transitioning from high school learning to college-level learning, can particularly profit from the use of the Semi-Flipped method in the General…

Employers are increasingly requiring a range of "soft" skills from chemistry graduates, including the ability to search for and critically evaluate information. This paper discusses the issues around encouraging chemistry students to engage with information skills and suggests curricular changes which may help to "drip-feed"…