This paper describes an Online Teaching Lab model that incorporates elements of lesson study and studio model for teacher learning. We focus on changes in design and facilitation decisions of two specific Online Teaching Labs and study differences in teachers' verbal and written responses to better understand how the process supports teacher…

The Many-Facet Rasch model is frequently used to analyse and minimize disparities in rater (judge) severity in performance evaluations, in which raters assign scores to test-takers' performances. In this research, the aim of the present study was to analyse science teacher candidates' laboratory activities by using the Many-facet Rasch model.…

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Computer Science and STEM-related fields were among the most resistant to online courses. This is because of a perception of the need for more hands-on instruction with labs, clinicals, field studies, etc. Additionally, many STEM students had perceptions based on limited experience of an online STEM course.…

The pendulum has a great relevance in physics and it has been explored in educational papers from many theoretical or experimental points of view (see, for example, Refs. 1-12 and references therein). Here a method for the measurement of the gravitational acceleration with a large number of trials is presented; we assume that the systematic errors…

When developing effective training programs, it is important to know students' expectations of laboratory classes. The authors collected 170 surveys from students in one laboratory class to investigate the underlying dimensions of their expectations of training. Factor analysis identified the following six dimensions of students' expectations:…

Information literacy refers to a set of skills that allow its user to find appropriate resources and use them to develop, define and defend arguments. In many undergraduate programms, including biology and STEM related fields, students are expected to utilise these skills in writing lab reports, paper analyses, and in developing testable…

Imagination is necessary for scientific practice, yet there are no in vivo sociological studies on the ways that imagination is taught, thought of, or evaluated by scientists. This article begins to remedy this by presenting the results of a qualitative study performed on two systems biology laboratories. I found that the more advanced a…

A method for the synthesis of flufenamic acid, a nonstereoidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) of the anthranilate family (fenams), is described as an experiment for the upper-division undergraduate organic chemistry laboratory. The key step is the formation of the diarylamine moiety of flufenamic acid by a novel reaction consisting of the coupling…

Analysis of collisions is standardly included in the introductory physics course. In one dimension (1D), there do not seem to be any unusual issues: Typically, the initial velocities of the two colliding objects are specified, and the problem is to find the final velocities. In 1D there are therefore two unknown variables. One can write the…

An upper-division undergraduate- or graduate-level laboratory experiment, challenging students to identify bovine serum albumin, equine myoglobin, bovine calmodulin, and bovine cytochrome c, uses four methods of matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS): linear positive, in-source decay, peptide…

X-ray fluorescence is subject to significant matrix effects, which must be corrected in order to obtain accurate quantitative results. These are due to both absorption and enhancement effects, which are a consequence of the fact that both the analyte and the matrix absorb and fluoresce in the X-ray region, and this affects the magnitude of the…

Although kinetics forms a foundational part of the chemical curriculum, laboratory experiences with the subject are often limited and lack relevance to the actual practice of chemistry. Presented is an inquiry-based lab focused on Michaelis-Menten kinetics, implemented in an upper-level, university physical chemistry laboratory. Student learning…

The Leidenfrost nanochemistry synthesis of gold colloids was introduced in this "Journal" as an advanced method to synthesize gold nanoparticles during an undergraduate nanochemistry research project. When trying to repeat these experiments in the laboratory, we experienced difficulties in the synthesis of the gold nanoparticles since…

Cell migration, a fundamental process in development, wound healing, and immune function, is a common topic in undergraduate cell biology courses. We developed laboratory exercises with an inquiry-based learning (IBL) approach in which cell migration could be examined with the scratch assay, adapted from the primary literature. A narrow scratch…

Digitally simulated laboratory assessments (DSLAs) may be used to measure competencies such as problem solving and scientific inquiry because they provide an environment that allows the process of learning to be captured. These assessments provide many benefits that are superior to traditional hands-on laboratory tasks; as such, it is important to…