Collaborative learning involves an interdependence between success of the individual and success of the group, requiring both personal preparation and teamwork. Asynchronous work, in combination with group interaction and problem solving, differentiates collaborative learning from other interactive teaching methods. In this study, three professors…

This article describes a quasi-experimental study conducted in two Organic Chemistry I classrooms at a diverse, urban, public university. The treatment group received an exam wrapper intervention, a series of four written exercises administered throughout the semester designed to enhance students' academic self-regulation by promoting…

Fluency in both the construction and interpretation of molecular structures is a critical learning objective in the second-year organic chemistry curriculum. With the introduction of PerkinElmer's ChemDraw structure drawing tool into undergraduate laboratory courses, students are challenged to develop fundamental molecular drawing skills using…

To date, few general chemistry laboratory studies have included affective measures despite calls for more research on aspects of this domain. This shortage of studies may be partially due to the scarcity of affective measures that have been designed for, or tested in, the college laboratory setting. To provide measures for use in this environment,…

As part of a transnational degree programme, students in the UK and China were linked together to carry out group work. This was enabled by having two versions of our FHEQ Level 4 Sustainable Chemistry module; in person for UK students, and by distance learning for Chinese students. Groups were instructed to discuss issues relating to the UN…

Historically, high school chemistry has been the predominate venue for the introduction of food science curriculum to students. With the current decline in chemistry as a required course for graduation, the possibility of exposure to food science in high school could equally decline. The purpose of this research was to determine if high school…

We discuss the use of a simple piece of equipment made of a 50 mL syringe attached to a 2 mL graduated pipet to demonstrate Boyle's law and Charles's law. A plot of the hydrostatic pressure against the reciprocal of the volume of the gas read from the equipment is linear as discussed in the paper and gives the atmospheric pressure at the…

Accumulated evidence indicates that low spatial ability makes a contribution, separate from levels of general or verbal intelligence, to the unlikelihood of students enrolling in, or succeeding in, STEM subjects. Further, there is a tendency for female students not to perform as well as males on some spatial tests, suggesting that this might be…

The 21st century student learns and communicates in the virtual world. In order to meet the individual instructional needs of the students, virtual science laboratories should be researched to accomplish the goal. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a virtual chemistry laboratory in enhancing students' conceptual understanding as a…

Success in undergraduate chemical experiments requires students to develop knowledge and skills of instrumentation, equipment, and chemical techniques. In this technology report, we propose an adaptable and user-focused strategy to improve students' foundational skill and proficiency with chemical laboratory techniques and instrumentation. The…

Acid-base chemistry is a foundational topic that is taught in courses across the chemistry curriculum. Students often have difficulty distinguishing between the different theories of acid-base chemistry--Brønsted-Lowry and Lewis acid-base chemistry--and applying these two definitions correctly in unfamiliar scenarios. To help students learn these…

Retention of knowledge from school courses has long been a concern of educators and administrators. Bahrick (1979) offered the general sentiment that "much of the information acquired in classrooms is lost soon after final examinations" (p. 297). This negative outcome is exhibited in curriculum that feature course sequences, where…

The aim of this research was to examine the effect of students' critical thinking skills using a guided inquiry model with macromedia flash and direct instruction in chemistry learning. The researchers used a quasi-experiment, with post-test only control group design. This research was conducted at SMAN 3 Kota Ternate. The research subjects were…

The enacted curriculum and classroom artifacts of a full unit of instruction from three subject areas (biology, chemistry, and physics) at two levels of instruction (regular and advanced) were analyzed for the presence and degree of mathematics and critical thinking. These characteristics were selected from a review of the literature on college…

Computer-based learning environments (CBLEs) have emerged as powerful tools to support K-12 science learning. The Gas Laws simulation, an interactive, online CBLE, has been empirically demonstrated to support high-school students' understanding of particle theory, generally. However, a sub-analysis of existing data suggested certain embedded…