Our favorite demonstration for sound waves is to set up a compressional pulse on a horizontally stretched Slinky[TM]. One can easily watch the pulse move back and forth at a speed of the order of one meter per second. Watching this demonstration, it occurred to us that the same thing might happen in a steel pipe if you hit the end of the pipe with…

This paper describes a course aimed at developing understanding of measurement and uncertainty in the introductory physics laboratory. The course materials, in the form of a student workbook, are based on the probabilistic framework for measurement as recommended by the International Organization for Standardization in their publication "Guide to…

This demonstration, if done in the original way, can lead to fires in waste containers (sometimes in the middle of the night after the experiment has been conducted), because pyrophoric zinc is generated by suspending powdered zinc in hot sodium hydroxide. This is avoided by using hot ZnSO[subscript 4].

In the described experiment, the regiochemical outcome of the addition of "HOBr" to [alpha]-methylstyrene is investigated. Although both "classic" qualitative analysis and instrumental techniques are described, the emphasis of this experiment is on the utilization [to the thirteenth power]C and DEPT-135 NMR spectroscopy to determine the…

The linear molecule N[subscript 2]O is presented as an alternative gas-phase species for the ubiquitous undergraduate physical chemistry rotation-vibration spectroscopy experiment. Utilizing a 0.5 cm[superscript -1] resolution teaching grade FTIR spectrometer, 15 vibrational bands, corresponding to 1229 rotation-vibration transitions, have been…

As a dental student 35 years ago, Leo E. Rouse and his Howard University classmates learned to fill cavities and cap teeth by crowding around one faculty member and angling for a clear view of the day's demonstration. Today students at Howard's College of Dentistry, where Dr. Rouse is now the dean, get an unobstructed view of dental procedures…

Conditioned defeat is a model wherein hamsters that have previously experienced a single social defeat subsequently exhibit heightened levels of avoidance and submission in response to a smaller, non-aggressive intruder. While we have previously demonstrated the critical involvement of the basolateral and central nuclei of the amygdala in the…

Analysis of single-nucleotide polymorphisms and their association with diseases and nondisease phenotypes is of growing importance in human biology studies. In this laboratory exercise, students determine the genetic basis for their ABO blood type; however, no blood is drawn. Students isolate genomic DNA from buccal mucosa cells that are present…

The Children's Center, located in Honolulu, offers a full-day child care and preschool program for up to 125 children, ages two through five in one of seven classrooms. As part of the University community, the Children's Center is a site for students, faculty, and the community members to observe good practice in early childhood education and…

Both researchers and practitioners need to know more about how laboratory treatment protocols translate to real-world practice settings and how clinical innovations can be systematically tested and communicated to a skeptical scientific community. The single-case time-series study is well suited to opening a productive discourse between practice…

Teacher professional development is one of the most powerful influences on student achievement, and professional learning communities can be an excellent vehicle for high-quality PD. Mindich and Lieberman examine ways to implement effective PLCs. Education research has found that collegial work is connected to teachers' professional growth and…

Given the emphasis on community engagement in higher education, academic departments need to become more involved in the community. This paper discusses a number of outreach activities undertaken by the chemistry department at Rhodes University, South Africa. The activities range from service learning to community engagement with teachers and…

Increasing emphasis on leadership in medical education has created a need for developing accurate evaluations of team leaders. Our study aimed to compare the accuracy of self- and peer evaluation of student leaders in the first-year Human Structure block (integrated gross anatomy, embryology, and radiology). Forty-nine first-year medical students…

From October 2003 to April 2008 a systemic reform of the Mechanical Engineering program at The City College of New York was undertaken with the goal of incorporating emerging technologies (such as nanotechnology, biotechnology, Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS), intelligent systems) and new teaching methodologies (such as project based…

A comprehensive survey on the Internet based virtualisation of experiments is presented, covering several individual as well as collaborative efforts in various engineering disciplines. From this survey it could be concluded that there is a pressing need to develop full-fledged remote laboratory experiments for integrated directly into engineering…