Owing to the global spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), education has shifted to distance online learning, whereas some face-to-face courses have been resumed with the improvement of the outbreak prevention and management situation, including a laboratory course for senior undergraduate students in chemical biology. Here, we present…

A computational experiment investigating common organic chemistry mechanisms has been developed and implemented in a junior/senior-level physical chemistry laboratory course at two institutions. Students investigated various reactions that proceed via S[subscript N]1, S[subscript N]2, E1, and E2 mechanisms using hybrid Density Functional Theory…

An ICP-MS simulation was developed to support the teaching of inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. The app enables students to conduct the quantification of selenium in a nutritional supplement, monitor the uptake of metallodrugs by cells, and perform qualitative analysis of gunshot residue. The experiments teach a range of analytical…

In research, and in daily life, the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic was a disruption. For qualitative research projects that were occurring, the COVID-19 pandemic was an example of contemporary history, or current events, threatening research trustworthiness. Trustworthiness was defined Glaser and Strauss (1967) as a measure for believability of the…

For the past decade, the College of Chemistry at UC Berkeley has iteratively redesigned general chemistry laboratory courses to introduce students to green chemistry concepts, while simultaneously using green chemistry as a relevant context to learn chemistry. To investigate the effectiveness of this curriculum we developed approaches to…

The literature on scientific modelling practices in science education has provided a fruitful discussion on how learners tend to view models vs. how and what they should think about them. One approach is to teach students that models are abstractions so that they do not view them as a copy of phenomena they represent. Although teaching students…

A survey of 722 physics faculty conducted in 2008 found that many physics instructors had knowledge of research-based instructional strategies (RBISs), were interested in using more, but often discontinued use after trying. Considerable effort has been made during the decade following 2008 to develop and disseminate RBISs in physics as well as…

This article presents a comprehensive exploration of ipsative and sociomaterial assessment methodologies, dissecting their theoretical frameworks, practical implementations, and the resultant effects on educational paradigms. The purpose of this article is to introduce a combined ipsative-sociomaterial assessment framework for science education at…

Heterocycles, more specifically those containing nitrogen, make up a family of molecules with great pharmaceutical potential. Many approved drugs, notably anticancer drugs, contain a nitrogen-based heterocycle. To expose students to this class of molecules, we used the Paal--Knorr reaction for the synthesis of edaravone, a pyrazolone derivative.…

This paper presents an analysis of the use of multimedia and hands-on models on university students' understanding of stereochemistry. The relationship between students' scientific reasoning skills and their understanding of stereochemistry was also determined. Two groups of second-year chemistry students from the State University of Malang taking…

Physics experts and students commonly use a variety of representations when working with partial derivatives, including symbols, graphs, and words. One especially powerful representation is the contour graph. In open-ended problem-solving interviews with nine upper-division physics students, we asked students to determine derivatives from contour…

Transition from high school to higher education poses a significant challenge for students, particularly in chemistry, where students' prior laboratory experience is varied. Traditional laboratory education, focusing on chemical knowledge, scientific methodology, and practical skills, does not focus on the development of translational skills and…

The crystalline sponge method allows for direct and precise molecular structure determination of liquid and gaseous targets and thus has been recognized as a revolutionary breakthrough in crystallography. To expose undergraduates to this cutting-edge technique, we have developed a comprehensive laboratory experiment with reaction conditions and…

LGBTQ+ individuals face discrimination and stigma in academic biology. These challenges are likely magnified for graduate students. However, there have been no studies documenting the experiences of LGBTQ+ life sciences graduate students. To address this gap, we conducted an interview study of 22 biology PhD students from 13 universities across…

Bias assessment (systematic errors) is fundamental in industry and service laboratories, where reliable results must be obtained to give correct answers to specific problems. Therefore, knowledge and practice in quality methodologies is of fundamental importance for students. Unfortunately, laboratory lessons often focus on connecting theory and…