This paper investigates the use of conversational agents to scaffold on-line collaborative learning discussions through an approach called Academically Productive Talk (APT). In contrast to past work on dynamic support for collaborative learning, where agents were used to elevate conceptual depth by leading students through directed lines of…

The features of a concept or principle an individual chooses to highlight in an explanation or description may be related to the medium of communication used. Different aspects of understanding can be revealed through words and through drawings. This two-part exploratory study examined the differences between explanations of physical and chemical…

The recent revisions to the advanced placement (AP) chemistry curriculum promote deep conceptual understanding of chemistry content over more rote memorization of facts and algorithmic problem solving. For many teachers, this will mean moving away from traditional worksheets and verification lab activities that they have used to address the vast…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of the type of exploratory strategy and level of prior knowledge on middle school students' performance and motivation in learning chemical formulas via a 3D role-playing game (RPG). Two types of exploratory strategies-RPG exploratory with worked-example and RPG exploratory without…

This study investigates the effects of prompting on secondary students' written peer feedback in chemistry investigation reports. In particular, we examined students' feedback features in relation to the use of criteria, feedback specificity, and feedback levels. A quasi-experimental pre-test post-test design was adopted. Reviewers in…

A case study approach was used to examine the potential knowledge-transforming role of writing with 27, Year 12 chemistry students'. The study was prompted by changes to external chemistry examinations that required students to write connected discourse, and supported by the chemistry teacher's belief in the instructional value of…

Context-based curriculum reforms in chemistry education are thought to bring greater diversity to the ways in which chemistry teachers organize their teaching. First and foremost, students are expected to perceive this diversity. However, empirical research on how students perceive their teacher's teaching in context-based chemistry classrooms,…

Freshmen with declared life-science majors typically matriculate with a determination to succeed. However, inadequately-prepared students are easily overwhelmed and at risk of abandoning their aspirations for a STEM career. The investigator designed and taught weekly recitations for approximately 850 students during a five-year span, and…

This study investigate the effectiveness of adding an "explicit general problem solving teaching strategy" (EGPS) to guided inquiry (GI) on pre-service elementary school teachers' ability to solve heat transfer problems. The pre-service elementary teachers in this study were enrolled in two sections of a chemistry course for pre-service…

Being able to distinguish between physical and chemical changes of matter is a foundational chemistry concept that at first seems like a simple elementary concept to teach, but students often have misconceptions that hinder their understanding. These misconceptions are seen among elementary students, but these ideas are perpetuated throughout…

Collaboration between the chemistry and computing services departments was undertaken to create an online booking system to be used as a learning and teaching aid in an undergraduate chemistry lab course. The system helped promote personalization of study and could be easily adapted to any department within the university. The system was…

Learning the symbolic language of chemistry is a difficult task that can be frustrating for students. This article introduces a game, ChemOkey, that can help students learn the names and symbols of common ions and their compounds in a fun environment. ChemOkey, a game similar to Rummikub, is played with a set of 106 plastic or wooden tiles. The…

Suzuki couplings are powerful chemical reactions commonly employed in academic and industrial research settings to generate functionalized biaryls. We have developed and implemented a discovery-based, microscale experiment for the undergraduate organic chemistry laboratory that explores green Suzuki coupling using water as the primary solvent.…

This laboratory experiment introduces rocket science from a chemistry perspective. The focus is set on chemical propulsion, including its environmental impact and future development. By combining lecture-based teaching with practical, theoretical, and computational exercises, the students get to evaluate different propellant alternatives. To…

In an effort to make absorption spectrophotometry available to high school chemistry and physics classes, we have designed an inexpensive visible light absorption spectrophotometer. The spectrophotometer was constructed using LEGO blocks, a light emitting diode, optical elements (including a lens), a slide-mounted diffraction grating, and a…