We compared the effectiveness of and preference for different feedback strategies when training six special education teachers during a 5-day summer training program. In Experiment 1, teachers received written or vocal feedback while learning to implement two different types of preference assessments. In Experiment 2, we compared either written or…

Experiments in pubs? Teaching chemical associations between beer and cola and arousing interest in science? Such a thing is possible in a place that at first sight seems very unorthodox as an out-of-school learning and teaching location. With the innovative scientific communication format "PubScience--The Long Night of Experiments",…

This paper examines the effectiveness of adding an online component to the general chemistry laboratory in which students view prelaboratory instructional materials through online videos prior to completing general chemistry laboratory activities. Using a quasi-experimental design, we compared the performance of 1089 general chemistry students who…

The monitoring of metals in commercial products is essential for protecting public health against the hazards of metal toxicity. This article presents a guided inquiry (GI) experimental lab approach in a quantitative analysis lab class that enabled students' to determine the levels of aluminum in deodorant brands. The utility of a GI experimental…

This dissertation examines the thesis that implicit learning plays a role in learning about scientific phenomena, and subsequently, in conceptual change. Decades of research in learning science demonstrate that a primary challenge of science education is overcoming prior, naive knowledge of natural phenomena in order to gain scientific…

The aim of this research was to explore the effect of a Technology-enhanced Metacognitive Learning Platform (TeMLP) on student's monitoring accuracy and understanding of electricity. An interactive TeMLP was prepared on the electricity unit covering the topics of static and current electricityfor 7th graders; the platform contained computer…

The aim of the research is to assess the effectiveness of Virtual Lab (experimental group) compared to Physical Lab (control group) in the level of Science Process Skill mastery of topic salt experiment. This research also was done to compare the students' level of Science Process Skill mastery by gender and to find interaction effect between…

Providing a project-based experience in an undergraduate biochemistry laboratory class can be complex with large class sizes and limited resources. We have designed a 6-week curriculum during which students purify and characterize the enzymes invertase and phosphatase from bakers yeast. Purification is performed in two stages via ethanol…

A laboratory experiment for undergraduate students who are studying homogeneous and heterogeneous electron-transfer reactions is described. Heterogeneous or electrode reaction kinetics can be examined by using the electrochemical reduction of three Fe[superscript III]/Fe[superscript II] redox couples at platinum and glassy carbon disk electrodes.…

A modern apparatus for performing flash chromatography using commercially available, prepacked silica cartridges has been developed. The key advantage of this system, when compared to traditional flash chromatography, is its use of commercially available silica cartridges, which obviates the need for students to handle silica gel. The apparatus…

Experiments are described that introduce students to the important concepts of host-guest chemistry and size exclusion in porous metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). The experiment has been successfully carried out in both introductory and advanced-level inorganic chemistry laboratories. Students synthesized the porous MOF, alpha-Mg[subscript…

This laboratory exercise demonstrates three different analytical forms of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) that allow students to genotype themselves at four different loci. Here, we present protocols to allow students to a) genotype a non-coding polymorphic Variable Number of Tandem Repeat (VNTR) locus on human chromosome 5 using conventional…

A fluorescence spectroscopy experiment is described where students integrated biochemistry and instrumental analysis, while characterizing the green fluorescent protein excitation and emission spectra in terms of its phenolic and phenolate chromophores. Students studied the combined effect of pH and temperature on the protein's fluorescence,…

We describe a laboratory experiment that employs the Nanoceria Reducing Antioxidant Capacity (or NanoCerac) Assay to introduce students to portable nanoparticle-based paper sensors for rapid analysis and field detection of polyphenol antioxidants. The experiment gives students a hands-on opportunity to utilize nanoparticle chemistry to develop…

Two gas phase deuterium/hydrogen exchange reactions are described utilizing a simple inexpensive glass catalyst tube containing 0.5% Pd on alumina through which gas mixtures can be passed and products collected for analysis. The first of these exchange reactions involves H[subscript 2] + D[subscript 2], which proceeds at temperatures as low as 77…