Attending to distracting or competing information is typically considered detrimental to learning, but the presence of competing information can also facilitate learning when it is relevant to ongoing task goals. Educational settings often contain contextual elements such as classroom decorations or visual aids to enhance student learning. Despite…

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is crucial for an introductory course in biochemistry to move from in-person instruction to total remote learning. There are four transferable skills in the course: problem-solving, laboratory psychomotor skills, data analysis and interpretation skills, and presentation skills. Since all lab buildings were…

In order to fix some important concepts of Fundamental Physics, either because they are not usually discussed in depth in theoretical classes and much less at laboratories, or because they are not sufficiently developed in textbooks, it is more effective not to tackle them directly, but to propose a mental or practical experiment to attract the…

Electrification by rubbing different materials is a well-known phenomenon with a history that began more than five centuries B.C. ago. However, simple experiments can lead to contradictory or inconsistent results, and the history of this phenomena is plagued with non-intuitive results. For example, triboelectric charging by rubbing identical…

Multistep synthesis is a key capstone experience in organic laboratory instruction. Here, a four-step synthesis of avobenzone, an active component in sunscreens, has been developed that can be completed in two 4 h laboratory periods. This synthesis incorporates green principles and includes an aldol condensation, electrophilic addition of bromine…

While the importance of explicit and reflective NOS instruction is clear in the literature, questions remain about how to enact such instruction. That is, literature is sometimes unclear in defining how to enact explicit and reflective NOS instruction. While some authors recommend using questions (e.g., Clough 2007) to enact effective NOS…

Infrared spectroscopy (IR) is a staple structural elucidation and characterization technique because of its ability to identify functional groups and its ease of use. Interestingly, it allows the capture of electronic effects via their influence on the bond strength of "probes", such as the carbonyl group and also offers a wealth of…

Understanding the physicochemical properties of organic compounds with potential biological uses is central in current research topics. Thus, students must pursue the integration of different fields of chemistry to obtain and understand the physicochemical parameters that characterize the mechanism of action of key organics compounds. This…

We present two simple classroom exercises designed to explain challenging concepts in conformation for students beginning organic chemistry. These macroscopic demonstrations serve as analogies to bridge students' understanding of flat two-dimensional drawings to real three-dimensional molecules. In the first demonstration, an apple is drawn from…

Engaging students in the essential practices of science has been forwarded as an effective means to achieve scientific literacy for all students by promoting the learning of content, procedures, and the epistemology of science concurrently. However, the emphasis on science practices requires teachers not only to develop skills and knowledge…

Augmented reality (AR) technology is increasingly present in chemistry teaching and learning processes. It is seen as an important pedagogical resource that allows enhancing the understanding of complex concepts at most educational levels. However, even though numerous benefits related to AR in education have been reported, no systematic review…

In the context of the current COVID-19 pandemic, we deem of importance the identification of what content is privileged in secondary schools around health and disease. From our point of view, a relevant task is to accompany science teachers in their transit from teaching information to be evoked to teaching knowledge on that content that enables…

The motion equations of a body under gravity and resistance linearly dependent on speed are usually analysed by solving differential equations. In this paper we report a derivation not explicitly involving differential equations but instead based on some elementary mathematical operations. The derivation uses only knowledge covered in a typical…

The typical sound of George Lucas' laser blaster in the "Star Wars" series is well known. What does a laser blaster in "Star Wars" sound like, and why? Here we show a simple way to produce this sound by using low-cost lab material, like a spring or a Slinky. Building on the work of Crawford, who analyzed the sound of a Slinky…

We present a novel method for demonstrating the physical principles of ultrasound imaging at a level suitable for educational programmes up to the university level, using a simple mechanical model that is very inexpensive and accessible to a broad variety of educational institutions. The method revolves around the use of one or two steel springs…