Digital storytelling is a technology application that has emerged as a powerful teaching and learning tool that engages both teachers and students. Digital storytelling allows students to become creative storytellers through selecting a topic, conducting research, writing a script, and developing the story. However, the use of digital storytelling…

Studies on collaborative memory have revealed an interesting phenomenon called collaborative inhibition (CI) (i.e., nominal groups recall more information than collaborative groups). However, the results of studies on false memories in collaborative memory tasks are controversial. This study aimed to understand the production of false memories in…

Engaging undergraduates in the environmental consequences of fossil fuel usage primes them to consider their own anthropogenic impact, and the benefits and trade-offs of converting to renewable fuel strategies. This laboratory activity explores the potential contaminants (both inorganic and organic) present in the raw fuel and solid waste…

This study investigates how the acceleration and speed of a light-emitting object on an inclined plane may be determined using a smartphone's light sensor. A light-emitting object was released from the top of an inclined plane and its illuminance values were detected by a smartphone's light sensor during its subsequent motion down the plane. Using…

This math activity focuses on experimental design while connecting math with life science. It is important that the science and engineering practices (SEPs) are not taught as a separate "unit" but integrated within the curriculum wherever possible. The focus is on experimental design to teach animal behavior. Students predict and test…

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) have developed broad prevalence in the American (U.S.) education system over the last decade. Academic, government, and business experts emphasize that attracting K-12-university students to STEM subject matter is crucial for expanding the innovation capacity of the U.S. and preparing citizens for…

Previous research has shown that bilingual children outperform their monolingual peers on a wide variety of tasks measuring executive functions (EF). However, recent failures to replicate this finding have cast doubt on the idea that the bilingual experience leads to domain-general cognitive benefits. The present study explored the role of…

The technological and vocational higher education system in Taiwan is offering an undergraduate degree for design-based vocational high school students and general high school students whose qualitative and quantitative abilities are evaluated through a student selection examination. This study focused on the conceptual understandings of 64…

Sight-word instruction can be a useful supplement to phonics-based methods under some circumstances. Nonetheless, few studies have evaluated the conditions under which pictures may be used successfully to teach sight-word reading. In this study, we extended prior research by examining two potential strategies for reducing the effects of…

To investigate the critical information in long-term visual memory representations of objects, we used occlusion to emphasize 1 type of information or another. By occluding 1 solid side of the object (e.g., top 50%) or by occluding 50% of the object with stripes (like a picket fence), we emphasized visible information about the object, processing…

Samples of a composite hydrogel incorporating clay (Laponite XLG and S-482) nanoparticles were prepared using N-isopropylacrylamide. The hydrogels were formed via a radical-initiated addition polymerization using potassium persulfate and N,N,N',N'-tetramethylethylenediamine. Students then measured the force required to stretch the gels and…

In an effort to repurpose expired guaifenesin tablets, experiments devised for practical instruction are reported for the preparation and isolation of the guaifenesin acetonide using a microscale kit. The laboratory experiment successfully utilizes a waste chemical in lieu of a fine chemical to illustrate the principles behind protecting groups in…

The Chemical Engineering Department at the University of Granada have endeavored to make a number of high quality experiments to familiarize our students with our latest research and also scale-up of processes. A pilot-scale wastewater treatment plant was set-up to give students a close practical view of the treatments of effluents by-produced in…

In high-school teaching of mechanics, we deal, among other things, with the nature of static and kinetic friction, forces that are proportional to the normal force. Under the influence of frictional forces, a body moves down a rough sloped decline at a fixed rate of acceleration that is independent of its mass. This situation does not apply to…

The purpose of the experiment presented in this paper is to quantify the viscosity of a liquid. Viscous effects are important in the flow of fluids in pipes, in the bloodstream, in the lubrication of engine parts, and in many other situations. In the present paper, the authors explore the oscillations of a physical pendulum in the form of a long…