On March 19, 2020, Argentina's government decided to close academic institutions for an indefinite time in an attempt to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the University established that, when the quarantine ends, 5 weeks will be reserved for face-to-face activities that could not be carried out virtually (laboratory lessons and…

The need to develop clean-energy storage systems, harvesting technologies, and new functional materials are but a few of the many contemporary challenges in the domain of science today. To address these challenges, problem solving has become a key skill of the 21st century. It is generally documented, however, that experts and students differ in…

Poster presentations to communicate scientific knowledge/understanding are a commonly used assessment tool. It can be a challenge for students (and staff!) to deliver clear information with minimal text on the poster. We have found that this format did not encourage imaginative project topics or posters. To enhance communication skills,…

Ensuring undergraduate students become proficient in relating protein structure to biological function has important implications. With current two-dimensional (2D) methods of teaching, students frequently develop misconceptions, including that proteins contain a lot of empty space, that bond angles for different amino acids can rotate equally,…

The theory of evolution is the backbone of the biological sciences. Arguably, this is the reason why evolution education is an extensively investigated issue in several countries around the world. Little is known, however, about the views of university students in Colombia. Here, we report on 7 years of data generated by a three-question anonymous…

The comprehension of the reactivity of the elements is an important goal to be achieved in undergraduate courses in inorganic chemistry. Therefore, at Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCar), the B.Sc. in chemistry has a laboratory course dedicated to the chemistry of the elements. However, we have noticed a decrease in students' interest in…

The aim of this study was to investigate whether and how engaging with a computer-supported collaborative knowledge-building environment helps students to develop a more sophisticated approach to scientific inquiry. A total of 52 undergraduate students took a course entitled "Introduction to Natural Sciences" that was based on…

Novel assessment tools are more often used in class especially after the Bologna Process (Pereira, D.; Flores, M. A.; Niklasson, I. Assess. "Eval. Higher Educ." 2016, 41, (7), 1008-1032, DOI: 10.1080/02602938.2015.1055233) in Europe. "Kahoot" has emerged as an attractive and interactive gaming platform, and considerable…

English language learners are increasingly entering classrooms using student-centered instruction that places a greater emphasis on spoken language. While active learning is beneficial for a range of student outcomes, these practices force language learners to carry a heavy cognitive load in a complex and challenging environment. This experiment…

Authenticity is a term that has become ubiquitous within the field of science education, particularly when it relates to the practices of science. These practices are a key feature of science education reform documents in the US. However, a common definition of just what makes for the authentic doing of science is hard to come by and certainly…

Online formative assessment is still challenging although it is getting an increased attention as a significant tool for diagnosing and analysing students' motivation and achievement in various education domains. This research examines the effects of an online formative assessment tool (OFAT) about science motivation and achievement in second-year…

The flipped classroom is a relatively new active learning pedagogical intervention, gaining popularity as a blended learning methodology. The flipped classroom comprises two distinct parts, directed learning carried out at the student's own pace away from the classroom and an interactive, class-based activity encouraging problem-solving and…

Overwhelming evidence demonstrating the benefits of active-learning pedagogy has led to a shift in teaching that requires students to interact more in the classroom. To date, few studies have assessed whether there are gender-specific differences in participation in active-learning science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses,…

Even among the sciences, physics stands out as an unusually White- and male-dominated field. The American Institute of Physics (AIP) reports that only 19% of physics faculty are women, and less than 6% of physics faculty are African American or Hispanic. Particularly for female students, the transition from high school to a college major in…

Writing is an integral part of the process of science. In the undergraduate physics curriculum, the most common place that students engage with scientific writing is in lab classes, typically through lab notebooks, reports, and proposals. There has not been much research on why and how we include writing in physics lab classes, and instructors may…