Biotechnology has often been a favorite topic in popular culture. While this has provided students with some introduction to the futuristic potential of biotechnology and biomedical sciences, it does not often translate to activities that will excite and stimulate them academically. In this article, the authors present a three-part classroom…

We describe a 10-week laboratory course of guided research experiments thematically linked by topic, which had an ultimate goal of strengthening the undergraduate research-teaching nexus. This undergraduate laboratory course is a direct extension of faculty research interests. From DNA isolation, characterization, and mutagenesis, to protein…

A hetero-Diels-Alder reaction that proceeds rapidly and only requires a simple filtration to purify the product is presented. The dienophile, 4-phenyl-1,2,4-triazoline-3,5-dione (PTAD), is prepared by the heterogeneous oxidation of 4-phenylurazole by the bromenium ion, Br[superscript +], generated in situ by the oxidation of potassium bromide by…

Using a conductivity sensor, a temperature sensor, and a datalogger, fundamental factors that affect conductivity are explored. These factors are (i) concentration, (ii) temperature, (iii) ion charge, and (iv) size and or mass of anion. In addition, the conductivities of a number of other solutions are measured. This lab has been designed to…

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) poses significant challenges for teaching in the context of an undergraduate laboratory, foremost because of high equipment cost. Current off-the-shelf data-acquisition hardware, however, is sufficiently powerful to constitute the core of a fully digital NMR spectrometer operating at the earth's field. We present…

Dutch genomics research centers have developed the "DNA labs on the road" to bridge the gap between modern genomics research practice and secondary-school curriculum in the Netherlands. These mobile DNA labs offer upper-secondary students the opportunity to experience genomics research through experiments with laboratory equipment that…

Laboratory exercises (labs) are sometimes regarded as dispensable in biochemistry and molecular biology (BMB) education for various reasons including a combination of increased class costs and small budget allocations, pressing demands for more time to lecture to fit in new BMB discoveries within constant time span of courses, and the fact that…

The frequency and severity of accidents that occur in the agricultural mechanics laboratory can be reduced when these facilities are managed by educators who are competent in the area of laboratory safety and facility management (McKim & Saucier, 2011). To ensure teachers are technically competent and prepared to manage an agricultural…

The Online Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering is a collaborative effort among three University Centers at SUNY (State University of New York), namely Stony Brook, Binghamton, and Buffalo. The program delivers the complete electrical engineering curriculum at the bachelor level to students online and asynchronously. Students, however,…

Based on insights into the nature of vocational mathematical knowledge, we designed a computer tool with which students in laboratory schools at senior secondary vocational school level could develop a better proficiency in the proportional reasoning involved in dilution. We did so because we had identified computations of concentrations of…

In this paper, we describe laboratory and classroom exercises designed to obtain the "fundamental" equation of a rubber band by combining experiments and theory. The procedure shows students how classical thermodynamics formalism can help to obtain empirical equations of state by constraining and guiding in the construction of the…

We examined the effects of documenting observations with digital imaging versus hand drawing in inquiry-based college biodiversity labs. Plant biodiversity labs were divided into two treatments, digital imaging (N = 221) and hand drawing (N = 238). Graduate-student teaching assistants (N = 24) taught one class in each treatment. Assessments…

This study investigated the impact of three commonly used cardiovascular model-assisted activities on student learning and student attitudes and perspectives about science. College students enrolled in a Human Anatomy and Physiology course were randomly assigned to one of three experimental groups (organ dissections, virtual dissections, or…

Smartphones and tablets are used as experimental tools and for quantitative measurements in two traditional laboratory experiments for undergraduate physics courses. The Doppler effect is analyzed and the speed of sound is determined with an accuracy of about 5% using ultrasonic frequency and two smartphones, which serve as rotating sound emitter…

Dunlap, The University of Alabama, USA ABSTRACT In the electrical and computer engineering (ECE) curriculum at The University of Alabama, freshmen are introduced to fundamental electrical concepts and units, DC circuit analysis techniques, operational amplifiers, circuit simulation, design, and professional ethics. The two credit course has both…