Inquiry skills are one of the skills that students need to master in learning biological concepts. Inquiry skills are influenced by many factors, one of which is the lesson plan. This study aims to examine the effect of inquiry lab and STEM models on inquiry skills progression. The research design used was a quasi-experiment non-randomized control…

An inquiry-based learning approach was implemented into comprehensive organic chemistry experiments focusing on the formation process of N-phenylbenzamide from the reaction between N-benzylideneaniline and benzoyl peroxide in commercial dimethyl sulfoxide. Students conducted comparative experiments using alternative reagents or reaction conditions…

A community-engaged learning experiment was developed for an introductory analytical chemistry course at the University of Toronto Scarborough in collaboration with Campus Farm. The experiment introduced students to the application of analytical techniques to studying environmental samples. More specifically, students investigated the potential of…

A comparative study on the performance and on the perception of two groups of students involved in a peer review activity on the writing of chemical laboratory reports is reported. The first group participated in a compulsory activity, while the second one participated on a voluntary basis. This study was aimed at determining whether the overall…

Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) are a pedagogical model where a traditional undergraduate course is transformed into a research-intensive course, offering an alternative pathway to research for undergraduate students. Given the novel learning context of CUREs, there is a need to understand the learning that occurs and the…

Given the growing prevalence of computational methods in chemistry, it is essential that undergraduate curricula introduce students to these approaches. One such area is the application of machine learning (ML) techniques to chemistry. Here we describe a new activity that applies ML regression analysis to the common physical chemistry laboratory…

In case-based learning, students develop and apply course knowledge to solve tangible and "real life" problems. This practice can enhance student motivation and engagement in the analytical laboratory. In this application of case-based learning students analyze commercially available oils for CBD content. In the state of Texas anyone can…

Phenomena-based approaches have become popular for elementary school teachers to engage children's innate curiosity in the natural world. However, integrating such phenomena-based approaches in existing science courses within teacher education programs present potential challenges for both preservice elementary teachers (PSETs) and for laboratory…

The cognitive and performance benefits of group work in undergraduate courses depend on understanding how to structure groups to promote communication and comfort while also promoting diversity and reducing conflict. The current study utilized social network analysis combined with self-reported survey data from 555 students in 155 groups to…

This paper examines the findings obtained in a chemistry laboratory course provided through online hands-on activities during the pandemic. Case study design, one of the qualitative research methods, was used. The data collection period was 8 weeks. The study was carried out with 16 third-year pre-service science teachers within the scope of a…

Moving to remote, online learning to meet health guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic posed a challenge for college science courses due to the interactive nature of laboratories. We developed and implemented a remote/in-person lab partner model where in-person students were paired with remote students in natural science courses during the…

There have been growing calls for inquiry, a practice-oriented way of engaging students in authentic scientific work, yet research has shown some challenges that might impede inquiry practices in educational settings. In this study, we proposed an approach that blends educational gaming with physical experiments. We developed an educational game,…

Science communication skills are increasingly emphasized as an important skill for undergraduate STEM students. In our science communication podcast project, students use the fundamentals of science communication to research a topic related to their inquiry-based lab project. Groups then create a podcast that presents the current science to a…

This paper describes the design, implementation, and evaluation of an inquiry-based laboratory for sophomore-level organic chemistry into a mostly cookbook, existing laboratory curriculum. For the laboratory, students were required to generate their own procedures and use their own recorded data from prior laboratory assignments to identify an…

Column chromatography of photosynthetic plant pigments is a common experiment in introductory laboratory courses for science majors and nonscience majors alike. We report a simple, rapid, reproducible, and small-scale solid--liquid extraction of photosynthetic pigments from inexpensive, store-bought dried herbs that affords a dark-green extract…