Quantitative reasoning is a critical skill in biology and has been highlighted as a core competency by "Vision and Change." Despite its importance, students often struggle to apply mathematical skills in new contexts in biology, a process called transfer of knowledge. However, the supports and barriers that students perceive for this…

In this article, we describe writing center clients' "idea" of the writing center based on interviews with 26 writing center users and qualitative coding of interview transcripts. Participants' constructs of the writing center provide a lens to better understand how they perceive writing as an activity, the "writing culture" of…

Reflecting on experiences with two Afghan students writing in response to events following the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, this essay challenges traditional writing center practices in response to the evolving and urgent writing needs of diverse (international) student populations. Focusing on the intersectional identities of student…

Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI), such as ChatGPT, is reshaping educational paradigms by offering unparalleled benefits and introducing challenges, particularly academic integrity. This study investigates teaching laboratory practices (traditional, recorded, remote, simulation and virtual), considered an academic safe haven due to its…

Human anatomy dissection serves as a cornerstone of medical education, fostering not only anatomical knowledge but also teamwork and professionalism. Given the considerable intellectual, physical, and emotional demands of dissection, effective team dynamics are essential for student success. To enhance learning experiences and academic outcomes,…

Learning analytics, referring to the measurement, collection, analysis, and reporting of data about learners and their contexts in order to optimize learning and the environments in which it occurs, is proving to be a powerful approach for understanding and improving science learning. However, few studies focused on leveraging learning analytics…

Interdisciplinary collaborations between different academic disciplines can create knowledge and solutions to challenges that are beyond the scope of what a single discipline can achieve. However, little is known about how interdisciplinary teams of faculty and graduate students function as a whole and the processes that guide them as they work on…

Over the past several decades, writing center scholarship has evolved to include multiple theories and pedagogies that led to widely used best practices. As is the case in many disciplines, often writing centers at large, research PWIs are most often cited and highlighted within the scholarship. While many of those readings do offer helpful…

A robust laboratory protocol for the three-step synthesis of "p"-tolyl 2,3,4,6-tetra-"O"-benzoyl-1-thio-[beta]-d-glucopyranoside from commercial glucose pentaacetate is reported. The previously reported procedures have been modified to accommodate laboratories and students without proper training or equipment needed to conduct…

This paper investigates whether voice assistants can play a useful role in the specialized work-life of the knowledge worker (in a biology lab). It is motivated both by promising advances in voice-input technology, and a long-standing vision in the community to augment scientific processes with voice-based agents. Through a reflection on our…

Coronavirus (COVID-19) disease is an emerging situation that brought challenges to all sectors, including academia and research. Undergraduate and postgraduate students in biochemistry and molecular biology have been affected significantly due to the recent laboratory closures. Experiments have been suspended for long causing extreme stress to the…

This article describes a straightforward approach to deliver an enzyme assay and kinetics laboratory via online delivery methods in the time of COVID-19.

Single-crystal X-ray structures, melting points, and students' specific rotation results on carvone semicarbazone derivatives are presented with experimental details. Critical parameters are identified to ensure the success of the experiment. Procedures developed here were tested in a laboratory course, consisting of approximately 70 students over…

A recirculating water vacuum pump was constructed from inexpensive materials. The recirculating water vacuum pump has a smaller footprint compared to many commercial models and features a novel, 3D-printed water aspirator pump that also functions with a standard laboratory faucet connection. The performances of both the recirculating water vacuum…

We report a research-enhanced undergraduate laboratory practical in which students synthesize and characterize color-controllable, stable silver nanoparticles for use in a simple catalytic reaction analyzed by UV-vis spectroscopy. The practical has been prepared for students using electronic laboratory notebooks, enables collaborative data…