Project-based learning has been shown to be an effective pedagogical strategy that motivates students and thus promotes learning. In this article we describe a project-based unit centered on the physics of solar cookers (Fig. 1 and 3). Our goal was to elevate the solar cooker from a summer camp activity to a college-level project that could be…

Organic semiconductors (OSCs) are making great progress as active components in alternative energy and flexible electronics technologies that are of interest to many undergraduates. However, in materials governed by the confluence of multiple length scales (molecular (Angstrom), intermolecular (nm), domain (100s nm)), providing a pedagogically…

The need to develop clean-energy storage systems, harvesting technologies, and new functional materials are but a few of the many contemporary challenges in the domain of science today. To address these challenges, problem solving has become a key skill of the 21st century. It is generally documented, however, that experts and students differ in…

Simulation software has experienced growing interest in chemical engineering curriculums for its usage in commercial engineering practices. This article describes the ASPEN Plus® version 10 (V10) simulations and a student teach students approach to integrate ASPEN in the chemical engineering curriculum at the University of Kansas (KU). Videos,…

Although students are expected to finish school having a solid understanding of scientific concepts, they graduate from universities maintaining their former misconceptions in several fields, like physics. This study aims at validating the Thermal Concept Evaluation (TCE) test for university student's misconceptions of thermal concepts in everyday…

Chemical equilibrium is one of the most important concepts in chemistry. The changes in properties of the chemical system at equilibrium induced by variations in pressure, volume, temperature, and concentration are always included in classroom teaching and discussions. This work introduces a novel, geometrical approach to understanding the…

This work describes a simple talking calorimeter for the visually impaired based on the Arduino Uno without any shield. An electronic interface was designed using a Wheatstone bridge, a thermistor, or an operational amplifier (opamp). The temperature values are communicated by a loudspeaker connected to pulse-width modulation (PWM) digital output…

Using everyday life examples is proven didactically useful for teaching physics, as it presents effective applications of physical laws. Cooking and food, in particular, serve two useful purposes: on one side, they are able to engage students in the study of physics with familiar examples; on the other side, thanks to the wide range of physical…

A versatile and portable apparatus was developed to demonstrate exciting visual displays of catalytic phenomena that introduce basic concepts in catalysis, renewable energy, and chemical safety, in order to pique scientific curiosity in a variety of audiences including middle and high school students, undergraduate and graduate students, and the…

Numerous online resources provide a variety of content for a wide range of STEM topics; however, they tend to function as isolated tidbits that provide content-specific knowledge. Application-based science education videos address the overlooked issue of concept to application by implementing experimental components in their videos and fostering…

The strongly exothermic nature of reactions between molecular oxygen and all organic molecules as well as many other substances is explained in simple, general terms. The double bond in O[subscript 2] is much weaker than other double bonds or pairs of single bonds, and therefore the formation of the stronger bonds in CO[subscript 2] and…

Lab activities typically involve phenomena that are invisible to the naked eye. For example, in thermodynamics transfer of heat and temperature changes are perceived by the sense of touch or indirectly observed by the use of thermometers. New tools can be introduced to increase the opportunities for talking science. In this paper, we explore…

A fast track into online teaching in response to the COVID-19 crisis resulted in the author learning to use online platforms and tools to teach thermodynamics and quantum mechanics courses. These resources were used effectively to teach highly mathematical and challenging concepts, as presented in this communication. Student assessment using…

This study investigates the preservice elementary teachers' ability to use the components of an argument structure on a given science topic as well as the quality of the developed argument during their sophomore and senior year. In doing so, the study also aimed to discuss the effect of teacher education programs on the development of…

The shift to remote teaching with the COVID-19 pandemic has made delivery of concept-based active learning more challenging, especially in large-enrollment engineering classes. I report here a modification in the Concept Warehouse to support delivery of concept questions. The new feature allows instructors to make students' reasoning visible to…