The liquid nitrogen cloud demonstration is an effective, dramatic, large-scale demonstration to illustrate gas laws and cloud/fog (aerosol) formations for classes and large-scale outreach events. When performed at full scale, it is common to produce a cloud 20-30 feet in height. Its effect can be further enhanced by adding brightly colored…

Reaction coordinate diagrams (RCDs) are an important tool used to visualize the energetics of a chemical reaction. RCDs provide information about the kinetics of the reaction, the mechanism by which the reaction occurs, and the relative thermodynamic stability of the molecules in a reaction. Previous research studies have characterized student…

Artificial intelligence (AI) is receiving a lot of attention in various fields. There is a need for educating students in AI technology. In this context, we have created a new type of carbon dioxide fountain by integrating AI with the well-established Arduino-carbon dioxide fountain experiment. This experiment consists of an Arduino…

The role of science teachers in the formation of students' approaches to chemistry subjects is very important. Metaphors can be used as a data collection tool to determine what meanings science teachers, who are preparing to step into the teaching profession, attribute to some concepts. It is important to know how chemistry is perceived by science…

A handheld refractometer (HHR) is a versatile instrument in the chemistry lab or in the workplace. It is also inexpensive enough (<$25 U.S.) that all students in a chemistry lab can have one or students completing laboratories remotely can purchase one. We report four applications of two different HHRs: one HHR for which the scale reads…

This experimental lab set is for students taking college chemistry courses. It includes four laboratory works and completely illustrates the important parts of chemical kinetics, namely the determination of the rate constant and the determination of the factors influencing its value. They can be used in a laboratory set for a physical chemistry…

A short course for high school students was converted from a two-week, in-person laboratory course to a remote and virtual four-week course due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Students met virtually each day to participate in activities that included the following: presentations, demonstrations, interviews, group discussions, lessons, and virtual tours…

Active learning and student-centered learning are becoming the preferred teaching approach in higher education. Once heavily based on lectures, science instructors are adopting new teaching methods to promote active learning. Lecture-based courses can be modified to increase student engagement by including in-class discussions, activities, and…

Chemical screening libraries often feature natural product extracts (NPEs) due to the intriguing biological activities they possess and the structural diversity found in their individual components. A research project originally designed to create an extract library of every specimen in the University of Rhode Island (URI) Heber W. Youngken Jr.…

The published study of Nurrenbern and Pickering in 1987 raises awareness among chemistry educators that students' success in answering numerical questions does not necessarily reflect their degree of understanding of the related chemical concepts. Efforts have been made to provide more opportunities for students to improve their ability in…

While there has been much interest in the power of student-generated multiple representations to promote student reasoning and conceptual understanding, most studies of student explanations have been of written artefacts or only included diagrams as an adjunct to written explanations. This approach may be because teachers do not have an accessible…

This study intended to measure the effect of Task-Based Learning (TBL) on lower secondary school students' understanding of chemical reactions. The study employed a quasi-experimental pre and post-test research design with eight intact classes of 369 students purposively selected from eight schools in two districts in Rwanda. The experimental…

Argumentation as a scientific practice has largely been examined along an epistemic and/or dialogic perspective in science education research. Both perspectives have sidelined the use of real material objects that are indispensable for scientists to construct arguments about the natural world. To address this gap, this article investigates how…

Student engagement is an important consideration when incorporating active learning activities into a classroom. To facilitate the large-scale assessment of students' engagement in activities, a survey measure must first be developed and evaluated. Therefore, the goal of this study was to create a self-report measure of student engagement for use…

Although active learning strategies are being incorporated into many higher-education STEM courses, not all students benefit from these activities to the same extent. As these types of activities are designed to engage students in their learning, differences in student engagement may explain some of the differences in learning outcomes. However,…