Here, we present a 10-week project-oriented laboratory module designed to provide a course-based undergraduate research experience in biochemistry that emphasizes the importance of biomolecular structure and dynamics in enzyme function. This module explores the impact of mutagenesis on an important active site loop for a biomedically-relevant…

Medical, industrial, and basic research relies heavily on the use of viruses and vectors. Therefore, it is important that bioscience undergraduates learn the practicalities of handling viruses. Teaching practical virology in a student laboratory setup presents safety challenges, however. The aim of this article is to describe the design and…

Virtual microscopy (VM) has been utilized to improve students' learning experience in microscope laboratory sessions, but minimal attention has been given to determining how to use VM more effectively. The study examined the influence of VM on academic performance and teacher and student perceptions and compared laboratory test scores before and…

Due to the coronavirus lockdown, home experiments were devised for our first-year physics lab course. In this practitioner contribution we elaborate on the guided inquiries that were set up. Students could carry out the experiments with standard tools available at home, including sensors mobile phones are equipped with. Various design principles…

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are a family of synthetic chemicals consisting of carbon, hydrogen, and chlorine atoms. PCBs have been produced commercially since 1929 in hundreds of industrial applications. Their continued production in the United States was phased out in the late 1970s, and strict disposal guidelines were regulated as adverse…

This research aimed to explore the effects of a virtual lab (VL) and a Microcomputer-based Lab (MBL) on students' performance in scientific modeling. A web-based virtual lab and a low-cost MBL were proposed to help first-year engineering students build scientific models. Empirical research was done in a slope motion experiment. The participants…

The aim of this study is to investigate the impacts of nature education on the affective tendencies and science curiosities of students. In this study, one group pretest-posttest test design was used. The study group consists of 30 seventh grade students studying in Istanbul, Turkey. In the study, nature education implementations were carried out…

Recently, virtual and remote labs (VRLs) have been developed to support students in conducting experiments in engineering and science education. However, little is known about the students' intentions to continue using VRLs and their satisfaction with the experience. This study proposed an extended model embedded within the expectation…

This account reports building a community of practice for organic chemistry instructors. With support from Chemistry Collaborations, Workshops, and Communities of Scholars (cCWCS), a group of organic chemistry faculty facilitated multiple workshops to introduce active learning techniques to their colleagues across the country. A Web site,…

An experiment for teaching mixing intensification in reaction engineering is described. For this, a simple tubular reactor was constructed; helical static mixer elements were fabricated from stainless steel strips and inserted into the reactor. With and without the internals, the equipment operates as a static mixer reactor or a laminar flow…

Nanoscience and nanotechnology have reached the syllabi of many upper-division undergraduate and master level courses all over the world. There is therefore a growing need for practical exercises that illustrate the fabrication, characterization, properties, and applications of nanomaterials. Here we describe an advanced-level laboratory…

A series of undergraduate laboratory experiments that utilize reversed-phase HPLC separation, inductively coupled plasma spectroscopy (ICP), and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) are described for the analysis of commercial sunscreens. The active ingredients of many sunscreen brands include zinc or titanium…

A student laboratory experiment to investigate the intrinsic and extrinsic bandgaps, dopant materials, and diode design in light-emitting diodes (LEDs) is presented. The LED intrinsic bandgap is determined by passing a small constant current through the diode and recording the junction voltage variation with temperature. A second visible…

As part of the celebration of the international year of light and light-based technologies, this article presents an activity involving boiling water, sharp knives, gelatin powder, and a laser pointer. Students are instructed never look directly at a laser pointer because it can damage the eyes, and to make sure a responsible adult is present at…

Over the last decade, course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) have been recognized as a way to improve undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education by engaging students in authentic discovery. CUREs have been shown to have positive benefits similar to traditional undergraduate research experiences;…