This work reports a rudimentary approach to teach and measure the kinetic friction coefficient using a smartphone that can effectively be employed for teaching purposes. More specifically, the kinetic friction coefficient, which is rather difficult to teach and measure, between various surfaces was determined by two different approaches using the…

This paper describes a faculty development project in which four teacher educators, who were part of a larger Faculty Learning Community, used an innovative model called the Faculty Learning Lab to support each other in critical reflections about their teaching. Within the learning lab, which was guided by Knowles' adult learning theory, each…

Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, supports its undergraduate education experience with the transformative Open Lab Model. The Open Lab seeks to embrace the university-industry partnership as a means for economic and workforce development.

The Kicking Mule Brewing Co. at West Point enables members of our chemical engineering club, students, and beer enthusiasts alike to acquire chemical engineering acumen, knowledge, and skills by developing a tangible product. Through a rigorous on-site brewing process with subject matter experts, our goal is enhancement of student chemical…

Statistical process control (SPC) is used in the chemical industry to monitor manufacturing and laboratory processes to ensure quality and compliance with regulatory requirements. Control charts are a key tool used in this monitoring. Industrial job postings desire experience with SPC. Most undergraduates entering the workforce have no exposure,…

The use of methanol-water mixtures as solvents for sample preparations is common in many instrumental analytical procedures for compound quantification at trace concentration levels. The reliability of the analytical method depends upon several factors including consistency of instrumental setup and calibration, quality of standards used and…

A laboratory experiment was developed that connects the interpretation of computer-generated models to the self-assembly of macrocycles. Students compare the reactions of terephthalaldehyde and isophthalaldehyde by reacting each with (R,R)-(-)-1,2-diaminocyclohexane. These isomeric systems serve as the foundation for a discussion about the impact…

Demonstrating knowledge of major concepts and critical thinking are common learning outcomes for general education courses, especially in the sciences. Although numerous valid and reliable measures of conceptual understanding exist, the determination of critical thinking level is often more difficult, subjective, and domain-specific. This study…

A simple, reliable, and cost-effective experiment is presented in which students synthesized citrate-capped gold nanoparticles (GNPs), functionalized them with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), and transferred the PEG-GNPs from water to the organic phase dichloromethane. The experiment introduces students to nanotechnology with foci on important…

Virtual worlds are a potential medium for teaching college-level chemistry laboratory courses. To determine the feasibility of conducting chemistry experiments in such an environment, undergraduate students performed two experiments in the immersive virtual world of Second Life (SL) as part of their regular General Chemistry 2 laboratory course.…

The science education literature documents the benefits of student engagement with scientific practices. Lab reports could be an opportunity for developing student reasoning, but often prioritize learning terminology and genre-specific writing. There is potential for instructors to give students feedback that helps them to engage with scientific…

Simulation educational technologies provide a convenient way to augment classroom learning in higher education. The University of Colorado Boulder has created many Physics Education Technology (PhET) computer simulations relevant to concepts in Sciences and Mathematics. There is a notable gap in the literature of simulation-based technologies,…

Laboratory pedagogy is moving away from step-by-step instructions and toward inquiry-based learning, but only now developing methods for integrating inquiry-based writing (IBW) practices into the laboratory course. Based on an earlier proposal (Science 2011;332:919), we designed and implemented an IBW sequence in a university bioinformatics…

The science laboratory learning environment has been a distinctive area in science education since the 19th century. Unfortunately, students are generally not aware of what science instructors expect from laboratory experiences, and far too often, the undergraduate science laboratory curriculum lacks explicit, well-defined goals. Science…

The purpose of this study was to determine IT teacher candidates' attitudes, self-efficacy and opinions about educational robotic-based programming education. The participants of this study consisted of 2nd class students in Computer Education and Instructional Technologies department of a university in Turkey. The study group of the research…