This is a conceptual paper aimed at chemistry educators. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the use of the semantic code of Legitimation Code Theory in chemistry teaching. Chemistry is an abstract subject which many students struggle to grasp. Legitimation Code Theory provides a way of separating out abstraction from complexity both of…

Terms to be familiar with before you start to solve the test: Southern blotting, Western blotting, restriction endonucleases, agarose gel electrophoresis, nitrocellulose filter, molecular hybridization, polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, proto-oncogene, c-abl, Src-homology domains, tyrosine protein kinase, nuclear localization signal, cDNA,…

The traditional assignment of oxidation states to organic molecules is problematic. Accordingly, in 1999, Calzaferri proposed a simple and elegant solution that is based on the similar electronegativities of carbon and hydrogen: hydrogen would be assigned an oxidation state of zero when bonded to carbon. Here, we show that X-ray photoelectron…

This "Science note" teaching lesson explores the possible reaction between the ions in a reaction mixture consisting of iron(II) iodide and potassium dichromate(VI) in acidified aqueous solution. The electrode potentials will be used to deduce any spontaneous reactions under standard thermodynamic conditions (298 K, 1 bar (approximately…

The goal of this study was to investigate the timing of online homework completion and its effects on student performance. Data was collected from two large, first-semester general chemistry sections at a southwestern university. Specifically, this study aims to explore the link between when students complete their homework relative to the date…

The aim of this study is to establish an empirically substantiated professional development programme for teachers to become lead teachers who are able to support professional development of peers in times of curriculum innovation. The design of a professional development programme, participants' learning outcomes and their interrelatedness are…

This study examines the effectiveness of pre-laboratory presentations in an undergraduate general chemistry laboratory using two different modes of delivery: a traditional lecture versus an in-class video presentation. It was anticipated that implementation of videos could result in improved laboratory efficiency, safety, and necessary technical…

Feedback is an essential formative assessment practice that has the potential to influence student learning and achievement positively. Providing effective feedback, however, is a challenging task for teachers. Especially beginning teachers struggle with the provision of information that supports students in developing and improving their…

For the last seven years, an interdisciplinary course known as "Greener Solutions", offered by the University of California, Berkeley Center for Green Chemistry, has brought together graduate students in chemistry, environmental health, and engineering to understand each other's disciplines, and to work together to develop safer…

We report here a second semester general chemistry laboratory project themed around chitosan-alginate bioplastics. With increasing awareness of plastic pollution in the environment and the awareness of the importance for materials which are either made from renewable resources or are biodegradable, this topic provides a relevant opportunity to…

In this study, diagnostic worksheets adopted from the Royal Society of Chemistry and microscale chemistry activities were employed to investigate teacher trainees' understanding of chemical compounds. The framework for the study was hinged on the constructivist theory. Participants in this study were 36 1st-year undergraduate teacher trainees of…

In Spring 2020, we began a study focused on the development of inclusive teaching practices in an undergraduate chemistry lecture course for non-STEM students. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing educational disruptions, we changed the design of our study to focus on the learning and teaching experiences of students and instructors.…

This study, which was based on qualitative research design, aimed to examine the research trends and results of bibliometric mapping analyses of articles about the Flipped Classroom Model (FCM) in education in the past ten years. For this purpose, 126 articles published with the keywords; flipped classroom, education, social science, science,…

This work developed the Flint, Michigan water crisis as a modular case study for teaching traditional analytical chemistry concepts through the medium of environmental justice, power, and equity. An interdisciplinary framework was used to design, implement, and assess the case study in an effort to understand how the deliberate presence of…

The American Chemical Society (ACS) Committee on Minority Affairs (CMA) endeavors to support all chemistry faculty and staff as they educate all of our students during this pandemic. While the chemistry education community and the ACS have both provided resources as most institutions transitioned to virtual platforms, this pandemic…