Background/purpose: Empirical data consistently demonstrate that social sciences education suffers from suboptimal learning outcomes, primarily due to overcrowded curricula and students' struggle to connect abstract theoretical concepts with real-world applications. Therefore, learning that implements technology to assist students in comprehending…

CSU Writes supports researchers as writers across their career span at Colorado State University. The program emerged in an already rich writing ecosystem that includes a Writing Center and the WAC Clearinghouse. Since 2015, CSU Writes has helped thousands of faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students write more regularly, skillfully,…

Chemistry labs are often taught using a rote mechanical approach without much explicit scaffolding for academic reflection by the students. Reflection, however, can play an essential role in learning because it is an evidence-based learning process that generates, deepens, critiques, and documents learning. By moving away from traditional teaching…

The idea of a practical examination in a subject is an old and established one in many fields, within chemistry, in widely differing areas of academics, and in many on-the-job training scenarios. In a dedicated course on chemical safety, we have found that "the unsafe lab practical" makes for a thought-provoking and yet fun final…

We outline the physics involved in the use of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and modernise the usual textbook treatment by explaining how one can now obtain high-quality images with non-conductive specimens. As a concrete example of an application in biology, we provide several magnification series of a flea obtained using SEM.

In this paper we explain how to build a very sensitive force table using 3D-printed parts. The key component of this apparatus is a simple sensitive pulley that, together with the other components, can be printed in one day (one hour per pulley, 17 hours for a complete three-pulleys table) at the cost of 160 g of plastic filament. This force table…

Student-built photometers are recognized as being useful tools in teaching laboratories that help students understand the concepts behind experimental measurements, and several devices have been reported that employ photoresistors as the detector of choice. We demonstrate here an improvement over these instruments and the analyses thereof,…

High voltage supplies are often used in physics classes for demonstrations and laboratory work. These devices deliver several thousand volts DC, while limiting the current to a safe level, typically under 5 mA. One issue with these power supplies is their expense, which means schools may not have one. Less expensive homemade units have been…

The effect of digital tools (pre-lab videos and 3D models of experimental equipment) on student's performance of a typical lab assignment was studied quantitatively; for some students, these digital tools replaced physical access to the equipment. These students also participated in focus groups and gave good suggestions to make the digital tools…

Navigating the observational, symbolic, and theoretical knowledge domains of chemistry is crucial for chemistry sensemaking. However, this has been shown to be particularly challenging for students of chemistry. In order to reach government standards for sensemaking in the chemistry subject, it is important to investigate how chemistry teachers…

[This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Instructional labs: Improving traditions and new directions.] This review article provides an overview of research on the topic of gender equity in educational physics labs. As many institutions and instructors seek to evolve or transform physics lab learning, it is important that changes are made…

Donor-centered education offers students the opportunity to not only acquire visual and tactile experiences for applying anatomical knowledge but also a chance for students to reflect upon fundamental humanistic principles. The exploration of differences in students' viewpoints on body donation and the utilization of body donors in their education…

Health literacy should be developed from early ages, but students, including preservice teachers, hold misconceptions about micro-organisms. The objective of this study was to analyse the knowledge that a sample of 102 Early Childhood Preservice Teachers (PST) had about micro-organisms and about cystitis. The PSTs performed a series of activities…

Play has been discussed by mathematicians and mathematics educators as essential to mathematical progress and has been widely acknowledged to have a role in learning. Yet, play is rarely acknowledged, leveraged, or studied for mathematics learners beyond early childhood. Moreover, there are theoretical and empirical challenges with designing for…

This report presents the findings of the 2023 EUA Learning & Teaching Thematic Peer Group "Development and strategic benefits of learning and teaching centres", beginning with a presentation of the centres represented in the group and proceeding by presenting a virtuous cycle model for the continuous advancement of centres.…