Antioxidants are additives largely used in industry for delaying, retarding, or preventing the development of oxidative deterioration. Propyl gallate (E310) is a phenolic antioxidant extensively used in the food, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical industries. A series of lab experiments have been developed to teach students about the importance and…

A laboratory course on the theory, fabrication, and characterization of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices for a multidisciplinary audience of graduate students at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, has been developed. Hands-on experience in the cleanroom has attracted graduate students from across the university's engineering…

Evaluating the strength of evidence in noisy data is a critical step in scientific thinking that typically relies on statistics. Students without statistical training will benefit from heuristic models that highlight the logic of statistical analysis. The likelihood associated with various coin-tossing outcomes gives students such a model. There…

This paper describes a new educational power electronics laboratory that was developed primarily to reinforce experimentally the fundamental concepts presented in a power electronics course. The developed laboratory combines theoretical design, simulation studies, digital control, fabrication, and verification of power-electronic circuits based on…

An inexpensive and robust optical trap system can be built from off-the-shelf optical and opto-mechanical components or acquired as a kit to be assembled in a laboratory. The primary advantages of such a trap, besides being significantly more affordable, are its flexibility, and ease of modification and upgrade. In this paper, we consider several…

Coupled oscillators are an example of resonant energy exchange that is an interesting topic for many students in various majors, such as physics, chemistry, and electrical and mechanical engineering. However, this subject matter is considered too advanced for freshmen and sophomores, usually because of the level of mathematics involved.…

Nearly two centuries ago, Fourier discovered that any periodic function of period T can be presented as a sum of sine waveforms of frequencies equal to an integer times the fundamental frequency [omega] = 2[pi]/T (Fourier's series). It is impossible to overestimate the importance of Fourier's discovery, and all physics or engineering students…

Taking a dispositional view of transfer and applying Joanne Lobato's "actor-oriented transfer perspective," we analyze student perceptions of writing center visits at three very different institutions. We find that, as a nonevaluative space where university students can develop metacognitive awareness across disciplines and over time,…

This paper presents several methods for motivating students taking a power system protection (PSP) course. The paper reviews the laboratory activities developed for the PSP course at Curtin University, Australia; these methods are applicable and can be used for PSP course instruction at any institution. These activities were developed to improve…

Calls to bring interdisciplinary content and examples into introductory science courses have increased, yet strategies that involve course restructuring often suffer from the need for a significant faculty commitment to motivate change. Minimizing the need for dramatic course reorganization, the structure, reactivity, and chemical biology…

Vision and Change [AAAS, 2011] outlines a blueprint for modernizing biology education by addressing conceptual understanding of key concepts, such as the relationship between structure and function. The document also highlights skills necessary for student success in 21st century Biology, such as the use of modeling and simulation. Here we…

Physiology instructors often are faced with the challenge of providing informative and educationally stimulating laboratories while trying to design them in such a way that encourages students to be actively involved in their own learning. With many laboratory experiments designed with simplicity and efficiency as the primary focus, it is…

Factors such as innovations brought in by the developing technology, also rapidly changing social structures casted various roles to both the student and the teacher. Therefore, it is necessary to associate such knowledge acquired in courses with implications of the knowledge in our real lives and to constantly enrich course contents, namely to…

While many faculty seek to use student-centered, inquiry-based approaches in teaching laboratories, transitioning from traditional to inquiry instruction can be logistically challenging. This paper outlines use of a laboratory notebook and report writing-to-learn method that emphasizes student self-explanations of procedures and outcomes,…

Many biochemistry laboratory courses expose students to laboratory techniques through pre-determined experiments in which students follow stepwise protocols provided by the instructor. This approach fails to provide students with sufficient opportunities to practice experimental design and critical thinking. Ten inquiry modules were created for a…