Background: Dataset skills are used in STEM fields from astronomy to zoology. Few fields explicitly teach students the skills to analyze datasets, and yet the increasing push for authentic science implies these skills should be taught. Purpose: The overarching motivation of this work is to understand authentic science learning of STEM dataset…

Scientific computing and computer literacy are increasingly important skills for chemistry students to learn, but despite this need, there is an absence of chemistry-specific texts available for teaching the subject. This article introduces a freely available textbook released under a Creative Commons license for use in an undergraduate scientific…

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of course modality on the academic achievement of students enrolled in majors and nonmajors biology courses at an open-enrollment community college in the Southeastern United States. Results from a Kruskal Wallis H test indicated a significant difference in final grades between face-to-face,…

Every year we join in on the celebration of high school students all over the country graduating and preparing for the next phase of their adult life, whether starting their careers or entering college. Some students who choose to continue their educational journeys by enrolling in college are shocked to discover that they are not as prepared as…

Distributed peer mentoring networks are a valuable and cost-effective way to support isolated faculty. Our National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded eAlliance project supports 12 such networks for women physics faculty at all ranks and across varied institutions. We discuss how they function for the participants, particularly the advantages of…

This thesis contains two areas of research. The first part contributes to the field of engineering mechanics. This research investigates the thermomechanical shape memory behavior of shape memory alloy (SMA) springs. As SMA springs undergo stress- and/or temperature-induced phase transformation, they experience varying combinations of axial,…

The study aimed to identify the attitudes of the students toward physics and its relation to some variables such as sex, cumulative average, and University level at three national Palestinian universities. The study sample consisted of 134 students of the Faculty of Science at the Islamic University, Al-Aqsa University and Al-Azhar University. The…

The present study explores students' understanding of calculus-based kinematics (henceforth, CBK), in which argumentation is taken as the sequence of the modes of fostering reasoning and problem-solving. The investigation stresses the importance of arguments students bring to the learning situation of CBK and recognizes the active construction of…

A service-learning project was completed in both a senior and sophomore-level analytical chemistry course. Both projects took place at a local wetland managed by a nonprofit volunteer group. The two classes performed an in-depth water quality analysis and soil/sediment extractions examining the spatial variation of nutrients. The senior-level…

The redesign of an advanced analytical and physical chemistry practical module for senior undergraduates is described in this report. The underpinning rationale for the changes is to use cooperative learning groups placed in situations beyond their previous experience to increase the student experience of Kolb's Learning Cycle to a level greater…

In this work, we present the results of an undergrad student from the perspective of its first approach as a principal researcher in a project. In order to gain practical experience, one of the options for students that have interest in pursuing a postgraduate program corresponds to a research stay in a laboratory of their selected field…

Protein structure, function, and signaling are a large portion of biochemistry. Because of this, proteins are often used as model systems in biochemistry laboratory courses, where a course-long project might comprise protein expression, purification, and characterization. Two common protein expression methods are isopropyl…

The fundamental structure of a typical mainstream two-semester organic chemistry course, populated mostly by life science majors and taught at universities throughout the United States, has changed little since the 1970s. However, much of the research on learning in organic chemistry has been devoted to characterizing student difficulties of…

A photochemical reactor was tested in an undergraduate teaching laboratory through the environmentally friendly aromatization of a 1,4-dihydropyridine, successfully using air as an oxidant, organic dye fluorescein as a photosensitizer, and sodium carbonate as a base. This experiment allowed students to be taught key concepts of photochemistry,…

An instructional research-like multiweek laboratory project for a second-semester introductory general chemistry laboratory course has been developed. The ultrasonic-assisted synthesis method using low cost commercial ultrasonic cleaners has the convenience of running multiple students' reactions simultaneously. Taking advantage of short reaction…