We present a course-embedded undergraduate research module that involves real-time polymerase chain reaction testing for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in environmental samples. A positive control RNA was constructed and two RNA extraction methods were compared and a range of primers were available to compare. Using a combination of published…

An optional electronic resource (e-resource) that requiring subscription was offered to 2nd year students studying university cell biology. An online survey attitudes identified cost, the relative (lack) ease of use, and a "general preference", as primary reasons for not utilizing the e-resource. The ability to access graphics, videos,…

Previous research on student argumentation in the chemistry laboratory has emphasized the evaluation of argument quality or the characterization of argument structure (i.e., claims, evidence, rationale). In spite of this progress, little is known about the impact of the wide array of factors that impact students' argumentation in the undergraduate…

Physics II is an undergraduate course on basic electromagnetism that I teach for engineers, and it includes topics from optics as a natural application. Among the many challenges of conducting video lectures during the local restrictions of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic was finding demonstration material. In this article, I describe how these…

In this work, we will describe a Peer Project Learning assignment focused on the STEM project-based learning activities where students build a custom board game with a series of constraints that guide them to learn (and later teach) about the main concepts of an electromagnetism physics course for undergraduate students.

The oscillations of one mass "m" suspended between two different springs, assuming a friction force proportional to the velocity [minuscule], have been studied. For this purpose, an assembly for this system has been made. The movement of the mass is recorded with a smartphone and analysed with "Tracker." It is obtained that the…

Enzymes are organic molecules known for their catalytic nature because they accelerate metabolic reactions in organisms. The study of enzyme functions and modes of action is essential to understand Biochemistry. This study aimed to analyse the acetylcholinesterase enzymatic activity, as well as the enzymatic inhibition mechanism in practical…

In a 1993 book review, E. Pearlstein asks, "Why don't textbook authors begin their discussion of magnetism by talking about magnets? That's what students have experience with." A similar question can be asked, "Why don't professors have students measure the force between permanent magnets in introductory physics labs?" The…

The use of clickers in the lecture classroom has increased in recent years. Clickers have been widely used to improve teaching effectiveness in various lecture classroom settings. Most introductory biology courses are taught using direct instruction. One of the ways that students may be engaged in the lecture classrooms is by using a clicker.…

To develop targeted climate change curricula, it is imperative to understand how students perceive and observe the localized effects of climate change. Our work used a quantitatively driven, parallel mixed methods research design to study potential factors that contribute to undergraduate biology students seeing the local effects of climate…

The static equilibrium properties of a spool, resting on an incline and subject to the tension exerted by a string wrapped around the core cylinder, are studied by means of Newtonian mechanics. The overall behaviour of this system is imagined to be similar to that of a doggie kept on a leash. Starting from the well-known mechanical properties of…

Science student development of creative thinking ability is not sufficiently promoted and can even be inadvertently discouraged by current methods of instruction. Aimed at addressing this issue, the present study examined an undergraduate biology course in which scientific content instruction and creative drawing were integrated through use of…

Students possess informal, intuitive ways of reasoning about the world, including biological phenomena. Although useful in some cases, intuitive reasoning can also lead to the development of scientifically inaccurate ideas that conflict with central concepts taught in formal biology education settings, including evolution. Using antibiotic…

This paper seeks to evaluate learning based on the competency approach, taking a didactic experience to evaluate a possible improvement in the ability to solve problems and for autonomous learning in general. For the didactic development, the theme "gases" was taken, which is generally enunciated: Corpuscular kinetic theory of matter;…

As an alternative to the traditional metallocene laboratory targets, students synthesize Cp[subscript 2]TiCl[subscript 2], bis([eta][superscript 5]-cyclopentadienyl)dichloridotitanium(IV), from the mildly moisture-sensitive cis-TiCl[subscript 4](thf)[subscript 2]. Air-free handling techniques are emphasized, but the (mostly) air-stable,…