The current work develops intelligent tutoring aspects for the DiscoverOChem learning platform. Intelligent tutoring systems are technology-based learning systems that can adapt the learning experience to better serve individual users. DiscoverOChem (www.discoverochem.com) is a free Internet-based platform for learning undergraduate-level organic…

The pharmaceutical industry relies heavily on analytical techniques for identifying and characterizing drug compounds. In this experiment, undergraduate pharmacy students explored the applications of near-infrared spectroscopy for pharmaceutical analysis and its potential for identifying patterns and relationships among pharmaceutical samples. In…

A modified apparatus for measuring surface tension with the bubble-pressure method is proposed. Compared with a traditional instrument, this apparatus improved the accuracy of maximum pressure difference measurement and achieved the hydrostatic pressure correction. The apparatus was employed to determine the surface tension values of distilled…

The main goal for this work was to provide information as to the possibilities of creating an online or hybrid option for an upper-level biomechanics laboratory that is in keeping with course goals. Conversion of the laboratory modules for online use was described with detailed setup and learning goals. The lecture portions and most labs could be…

This curated collection covers a selection of PRIMUS articles published over a roughly 12-year period that focus on modeling and applications. The collection includes sections on individual projects, courses with a significant modeling component, and modeling and applications in extracurricular settings and throughout the curriculum.

The importance of engaging students with complex societal challenges has led to the adoption of various interdisciplinary teaching and learning practices in both K-12 and higher education. However, interdisciplinary learning is one of the most complex domains of contemporary educational practice, and, despite its significance, remains…

Ball State University's (BSU) bold strategic plan, which was drafted in 2019, states that all students will have access to one of four specific High Impact Practices (Immersive Learning, Undergraduate Research, Study Abroad, and Societal Issues) before they graduate. This article documents the key steps that occurred as the Ball State campus…

Despite decades of conversations about student engagement, student success is rarely measured in terms of the capabilities of students to learn with, from, and for others--what Clifton Conrad and Todd Lundberg define as collaborative learning. From their perspective, positioning individual learning as the cornerstone of a college education falls…

The rising cost of higher education has led parents, employers, and politicians to question the need for a college degree. Skills Infusion is a professional development program in which faculty review a course they teach to identify the career readiness competencies defined by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). The NACE…

Sci-fi has the power to open dialogue because its alternate world-building enables students to feel far enough from reality to discuss social problems unreservedly. In this essay, I review an assignment I developed using "Black Mirror" and "Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams" that present episodes in which militarized policing,…

Interaction is an essential component of learning environments and necessary for student learning. The three main types of interaction are Learner-Instructor (LI), Learner-Content (LC), and Learner-Learner (LL). This article, the second in a three-part series, addresses LC interaction and uses an undergraduate fitness and physical activity course…

This Focus On uses data from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) to showcase that, as a group, recipients of physics bachelor's degrees tend to do well on two prominent standardized tests for medical school and law school admission. Although only a small percent of the physics bachelor's…

A student experiment that uses QuEChERS (quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe) methodology for extraction and HPLC for quantitative determination of tocopherols from seeds and nuts is described here. Chromatographic separation is achieved by using a pentafluorophenyl stationary phase which gives enhanced separation of the tocopherols…

The laboratory experiment presented here describes the use of a calcium ion-selective electrode (Ca-ISE) to determine the concentration of zinc in a supplement tablet. This approach was developed to show students how to expand the range of applications of Ca-ISE to enable the determination of metal ions other than Ca[superscript 2+]. To determine…

Although biochemistry is fascinating to undergraduates regardless of their major, the complexity involved requires a great deal of effort and leads many to perceive it to be an intense, facts-based course limiting personal creativity. This activity takes the fundamental knowledge associated with inducible promoters and combines it with the…