Careful consideration of the design of an online laboratory course can lead to an improved laboratory experience for students (Cancilla & Albon, 2008). This dissertation study represents one iteration in a process to improve the online offering of a general biology lecture and laboratory course at Hartnell College. The purpose of this research…

With the rise of online instruction, a better understanding of the factors that contribute to belonging and motivation in these contexts is essential to creating optimal learning environments. Although group work is known to be beneficial to student success, few studies have investigated its role in the context of asynchronous online courses. The…

Immersive technologies have the potential to play unique roles in the collaborative problem-solving process. To advance research in these contexts, new methods of documenting group collaboration with technology are necessary. The goal of this paper is to develop and utilize a coding scheme that enables investigation of the nature of collaborative…

This exploratory study focuses on the use of ChatGPT, a generative artificial intelligence (GAI) tool, by undergraduate engineering students in lab report writing in the major. Literature addressing the impact of ChatGPT and AI on student writing suggests that such technologies can both support and limit students' composing and learning processes.…

It is difficult for students to learn the concepts of chemical laboratory safety education from actual experiences because the traditional teaching model prohibits students from performing dangerous operations. Therefore, this study develops a novel mixed reality-based chemistry experiment learning system (MRCELS) to allow learners to conduct…

An undergraduate-level Computational Chemistry project was incorporated initially into a Physical Chemistry course and then into the laboratory curriculum in the subsequent application. Before the introduction of the project, the lectures covered quantum chemistry, spectroscopy, and kinetics while simultaneously including computational chemistry…

Emory University has had a long relationship with His Holiness the Dalai Lama through the Emory-Tibet Science Initiative. Recently the Tenzin Gyatso Science Scholars, who are Tibetan Buddhist monastics that reside and take courses on Emory's campus, were enrolled in a novel science research course designed and taught by undergraduate students at…

This technology report presents the main features of a free digital educational tool which aims to introduce middle school level students to the comprehension of the particulate nature of matter in the three states (i.e., solid, liquid, and gas) and during phase transitions. This digital tool is available and is freely accessible online. Its…

Coursework that is dependent on experiential learning, such as that offered in the laboratory-based sciences, can present barriers for a variety of students. These barriers can be magnified for students who experience disabilities that impact their access to the full depth of the course content and materials. Our unique perspective was formed…

After the COVID-19 pandemic, there was an increasing demand for remote learning and an expansion in the substitution of traditional practical sessions with lab-based virtual tools. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of virtual labs in practicing biochemical experiments and to examine the student's feedback regarding this tool. Virtual…

Due to the necessity to continue learning even during the pandemic, schools opened utilizing distance learning modalities. However, there is a dearth of evidence on the effectivity of this modalities in physics. In this study, we investigated the effects of three physics distance learning modes; the module-only (MO), virtual lab plus module (VLM),…

Integrating authentic research practices into introductory laboratory courses to prepare tomorrow's scientists has become increasingly prevalent over the past decade. However, an incomplete understanding of the nature of science (NOS) and authentic scientific inquiry (SI) precludes higher-level learning in undergraduate research experiences. In…

The COVID-19 pandemic has constituted a sudden educational transformation around the world. It has disrupted instructors, including physics educators, forcing them to adjust to remote teaching. The hands-on laboratory, one of the components of physics instruction, has also had to rapidly go online in all branches of this science, including nuclear…

[This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Instructional labs: Improving traditions and new directions.] National organizations set goals of engaging students in experimentation and authentic scientific reasoning while developing normative concepts to help them develop essential skills and competencies necessary to succeed in our rapidly…

Approaches toward engaging undergraduates in scientific research have included research experiences based in faculty laboratories (FLREs), course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs), and courses rooted in primary research literature that may be precursors to research experiences. We examined outcomes for undergraduate biology students…