Recent examples of high-impact teaching practices in the undergraduate chemistry laboratory that include course-based undergraduate research experiences and inquiry-based experiments require new approaches to assessing individual student learning outcomes. Instructors require tools and strategies that can provide them with insight into individual…

A continuous effort within an undergraduate university setting is to improve students' learning outcomes and thus improve students' attitudes about a particular field of study. This is undoubtedly relevant within a chemistry laboratory. This paper reports the results of an effort to introduce a problem-based learning strategy into the analytical…

In physiological education, blended course formats (integration of face-to-face and online instruction) can facilitate increased student learning, performance, and satisfaction in classroom settings. There is limited evidence on the effectiveness of using blending course formats in laboratory settings. We evaluated the impact of blended learning…

This paper reports on a study of teacher support in a setting where students engaged with computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) in science. The empirical basis is an intervention study where secondary school students and their teacher performed a lab experiment in genetics supported by a digital learning environment. The analytical…

A visual regression analysis using the least absolutes method (LAB) was developed, utilizing an interactive approach of visually minimizing the sum of the absolute deviations (SAB) using a bar graph in Excel; the results agree very well with those obtained from nonvisual LAB using a numerical Solver in Excel. These LAB results were compared with…

Becoming a teacher involves a continual process of identity development and negotiation. Expectations and norms for particular pedagogies impact and inform this development. In inquiry based classes, instructors are expected to act as learning facilitators rather than information providers. For novice inquiry instructors, developing a teacher…

Portions of classic undergraduate quantitative analysis experiments in complexiometric titration and potentiometry are combined with a field-sampling experience to create a two period (2 × 3 h) comparison-based experiment for second-year students. A multifunctional chemical analysis device is used with calcium ion-selective electrode for field…

This laboratory exercise demonstrates the use of an immunoassay for studying kinase enzyme activity in living cells. The advantage over the classical method, in which students have to isolate the enzyme from cell material and measure its activity in vitro, is that enzyme activity is modulated and measured in living cells, providing a more…

A computational experiment investigating the [superscript 1]H and [superscript 13]C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) chemical shifts of molecules with unpaired electrons has been developed and implemented. This experiment is appropriate for an upper-level undergraduate laboratory course in computational, physical, or inorganic chemistry. The…

Mechanochemical syntheses avoid or considerably reduce the use of reaction solvents, thus providing green chemistry synthetic alternatives that are both environmentally friendly and economically advantageous. The increased solid-state reactivity generated by mechanical energy imparted to the reactants by grinding or milling can offer alternative…

Many single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have been identified within the "Caenorhabditis elegans" genome. SNPs present in the genomes of two isogenic "C. elegans" strains have been routinely used as a tool in forward genetics to map a mutation to a particular chromosome. This article describes a laboratory exercise in which…

Stoichiometry has always been a puzzling subject. This may be partially due to the way it is introduced to students, with stoichiometric coefficients usually provided in the reaction. If the stoichiometric coefficients are not given, students find it very difficult to solve problems. This article describes a simple 4-h laboratory experiment for…

When teaching physics, it is often difficult to get biology-oriented students to see the relevance of physics. A complaint often heard is that biology students are required to take physics for the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) as part of a "weeding out" process, but that they don't feel like they need physics for biology. Despite…

The refrigeration process reduces the temperature of a space or a given volume while the power generation process employs a source of thermal energy to generate electrical power. Because of the importance of these two processes, training of engineers in this area is of great interest. In engineering courses it is normally studied the vapor…

The Na[superscript +]-glucose cotransporter is a key transport protein that is responsible for absorbing Na[superscript +] and glucose from the luminal contents of the small intestine and reabsorption by the proximal straight tubule of the nephron. Robert K. Crane originally described the cellular model of absorption of Na[superscript +] and…