The Shack interferometer is a simple and effective device to test optical surfaces in reflection and optical systems in transmission. An essential setup on a reduced scale with a minimum number of components is presented, suited to gain familiarity and practice with optical testing in a laboratory course for undergraduate students. The basic…

A multistep synthesis of 5-isopropyl-1,3-cyclohexanedione is carried out from three commodity chemicals. The sequence involves an aldol condensation, Dieckmann-type annulation, ester hydrolysis, and decarboxylation. No purification is required until after the final step, at which point gravity column chromatography provides the desired product in…

The well-known experiment of the rapid expansion and cooling of the air contained in a bottle is performed with a rapidly responsive, yet very cheap thermometer. The adiabatic, low temperature limit is approached quite closely and measured with our apparatus. A straightforward theoretical model for this process is also presented and discussed.…

In 2008, the Family and Consumer Sciences Department at Bradley University recognized the need to improve the quality of the laboratory experience in foodservice classes. A hands-on, real-world, learning experience was desired. Simultaneously, the university administration wanted to provide an on-campus foodservice for students from 8:00 p.m. to…

While the editors of "Across the Disciplines" were working at the Michigan State University (MSU) Writing Center in 2011, they began focusing on the issues of graduate writing support through their involvement with the graduate writing groups hosted through the MSU Writing Center, conducting research on the benefits of such groups. When…

The authors investigated the impact of changing student-TA relations to include a sense of mentoring by redesigning TA allocations so that students worked with the same TA throughout the semester, but without changing student-to-TA ratios.

The UK government aims to increase both the number, and also the status, of workers with intermediate-level skills, with a view to creating a "modern class of technicians" who can help to bolster economic growth and prosperity. This article considers the prospects for such a policy by focusing on one particular, but neglected, group of…

Increasing numbers of deaf students in the health professions require accommodations in the clinical setting to ensure effective learning and accurate communication. Although classroom learning barriers have long been identified and addressed, barriers to clinical education have been far less analyzed. Operating room clerkships, which include many…

The general chemistry laboratory is an appropriate place for learning chemistry well. It is also effective for stimulating higher-order thinking skills, including reflective thinking, a skill that is crucial for science teaching as well as learning. This study aims to examine the effects of feedback-supported reflective journal-keeping activities…

The aim of this study is to develop an instructional design model for science laboratory instruction. Well-known ID models were analysed and Dick and Carey model was imitated to produce a science laboratory instructional design (SLID) model. In order to validate the usability of the designed model, the views of 34 high school teachers related to…

A Chinese version of the Science Laboratory Environment Inventory (SLEI) was used to study the students' perceptions of the actual and preferred laboratory learning environments in Hong Kong junior secondary science lessons. Valid responses of the SLEI from 1932 students of grade 7 to grade 9 indicated that an open-ended inquiry approach seldom…

Several medical schools have recently described new innovations in interprofessional interactions in gross anatomy courses. The Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, CT has developed and implemented two contrasting interprofessional experiences in first-year medical student gross anatomy dissection laboratories:…

The main purposes of this study were to identify Taiwanese university students' physics learning profiles in terms of their critical conceptions of learning physics and to compare their physics learning self-efficacy with the different learning profiles. A total of 250 Taiwanese undergraduates who were majoring in physics participated in this…

A multipart laboratory activity introducing microbeads was created to meet engineering and engineering design practices consistent with new Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Microbeads are a current topic of concern as they have been found to cause adverse impacts in both marine and freshwater systems resulting in multiple states proposing…

In 2011 Pavia University celebrated its 650th birthday. This provided the opportunity to propose the Neverland project whose purpose was to overcome the division between formal and informal science education. A number of classes (various age groups) from a group of schools in the province of Pavia took part in the project. The University Museums…