A 14-item, multiple-choice diagnostic assessment tool, the quantum chemistry concept inventory or QCCI, is presented. Items were developed based on published student misconceptions and content coverage and then piloted and used in advanced physical chemistry undergraduate courses. In addition to the instrument itself, data from both a pretest,…

Outdoor education programs have been shown to have a positive effect on the educational, physical and emotional development of youth. They are increasingly being used to foster a sense of community in schools and to provide students with learning opportunities related to the environment. This article describes an integrated outdoor education…

All students should have opportunities to develop their ability to reason mathematically. Gersten and Chard (1999) support this stance with respect to students with learning disabilities: "Even if students are not automatic with basic facts, they still should be engaged in activities that promote the development of number sense and…

STEM competitions are fairly widespread in middle schools and high schools, but do not commonly occur at the university level. We have developed a repeatable model for a one-day competition in which high school, community college and university students can build confidence in their own critical thinking abilities and develop enthusiasm for…

This article discusses preparation assignments used in a Calculus II course that cover material from prerequisite courses. Prior to learning new material, students work on problems outside of class involving concepts from algebra, trigonometry, and Calculus I. These problems are directly built upon in order to answer Calculus II questions,…

Research suggests that connecting the visible (macroscopic) world of chemical phenomena to the invisible (particulate) world of atoms and molecules enhances student understanding in chemistry. This approach aligns with the science standards and is fundamental to the redesigned AP Chemistry curriculum. However, chemistry is usually taught at the…

Quantum mechanics (QMs) is a foundational subject in many science and engineering fields. It is difficult to teach, however, as it requires a fundamental revision of the assumptions and laws of classical physics and probability. Furthermore, introductory QM courses and texts predominantly focus on the mathematical formulations of the subject and…

This report provides information about an interactive computer game named Say My Name that allows high school and undergraduate students to review individually nomenclature of organic compounds in an engaging and fun way by answering up to 600 questions distributed in three difficulty levels. Responses from students and teachers who have played…

We implemented a laboratory curriculum reform to teach foundational concepts in chemistry, particularly those concepts related to healthcare, in a chemistry course for prenursing students. Here, we discuss the reform, exploring how students built upon understandings gained in lab and correlating lab learning to course outcomes. We further discuss…

Children act as emergent scientists through active involvement with their environment and adults. Science forms an important component of early childhood education curriculum in Mauritius. Since 2015, The Rajiv Gandhi Science Centre (RGSC), has initiated a new project: empowering educators to teach science in pre-primary schools. One-day workshop…

Improving the information literacy and writing skills of undergraduate social work students continues to be an issue for social work educators. In spite of the persistent concern, only a few studies examine the factors influencing these skills and interventions to strengthen them. This article details a faculty-librarian collaborative teaching…

In this article, the authors present the Linguacuisine app--a product of the Erasmus Plus-funded project 'Linguacuisine'. Linguacuisine is the third generation of digital technology they have produced, the first two being the French and European Digital Kitchens. Linguacuisine tackles the universal problem of classroom language teaching, namely…

We devised a half-day laboratory exercise for a group of 10th grade homeschooled students enrolled in an honors-level high school general chemistry course organized by a collective of homeschooling families associated with local Christian churches. Anecdotal evidence suggested that the students met the learning objectives of the exercise. The…

As part of a campus-wide effort to transform introductory science courses to be more engaging and more accurately convey the excitement of discovery in science, the curriculum of an introductory physical geology lab course was redesigned. What had been a series of ''cookbook'' lab activities was transformed into a sequence of activities based on…

This paper discusses laboratory activities that can improve the meaningfulness of natural product chemistry course. These laboratory activities can be useful for students from many different disciplines including chemistry, pharmacy, and medicine. Students at the third-year undergraduate level of chemistry education undertake the project to…