There is little doubt that the pandemic has had a significant impact on students' academic achievement and mental health across the K-16 spectrum. For undergraduate chemistry instructors, data on the number of laboratories students completed in high school and in what mode would be important information in considering what modifications could be…

An approach to online laboratory exercises for analytical chemistry students with demonstrated practical exercises through the use of remote-controlled gas chromatography (GC) instrumentation is discussed. The approach allows for a practical-based learning activity to be carried out by students who are unable to attend in-person laboratory…

Learning management systems play a crucial role in addressing pedagogical challenges imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The solutions provided by the learning management systems (LMS) facilitated online instructions and helped form a community of learning and support. With the rapid increased usage during the pandemic and the return to face-to-face…

E-learning is not a new concept to the American University of Nigeria (AUN); however, it has always been applied to the lectures but not in the laboratories for the chemistry courses before and during the first phase of the COVID-19 lockdown. The sudden disruption of learning caused by the forced lockdown issued by the government authority in an…

Fiber materials and textiles are topics of much research and study today, with efforts being made to produce fibers that are stronger, more durable, more breathable, and better for the environment. However, the production of fibers at the laboratory scale is uncommon and difficult past the prototype phase, and to a commercial fiber production…

This exploratory study uses a mixed-method approach to examine students' perceptions of inclusion in a large first-semester General Chemistry course that occurred during COVID-19. In a survey given at the end of the semester, we asked students to rate their course inclusion and to provide an open-text explanation of their score. Qualitative…

The shift to online education has dealt several important pedagogical lessons in a very short time frame, none more so than approaches to assessments. This experience, coupled to improved access to education, will likely see online assessments remain as a major component of modern mainstream education. The powerful technologies that facilitate the…

The COVID-19 pandemic confronted chemistry instructors worldwide with many new challenges as they were quickly required to make the shift to remote instruction. One of these challenges was administering assessments in an online format. This was the topic of many discussions in the online support group Strategies for Teaching Chemistry (SFTC). This…

We developed a single crystal X-ray crystallography experiment based on the crystal structure of sucrose (table sugar), and a more challenging experiment using Epsom salt. Both crystals are readily available in X-ray quality crystalline form. In these experiments, students mounted a crystal on a MiTeGen loop and analyzed it using a Rigaku XtaLAB…

Owing to the global spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), education has shifted to distance online learning, whereas some face-to-face courses have been resumed with the improvement of the outbreak prevention and management situation, including a laboratory course for senior undergraduate students in chemical biology. Here, we present…

While the COVID-19 pandemic continues, the acceptance of numerous measures, such as mandatory wearing of face masks or social distancing, is declining. At the same time, the spread of fake news related to these measures is on the rise. The acceptance of and compliance with the measures depends to a large extent on knowledge about these very…

The basic SIR (susceptible-infectious-removed) model of epidemiology is presented in chemical kinetic terms with a simple two-reaction mechanism. The conditions for the development of epidemics, the course of a simple closed epidemic, and the bases of several mitigation strategies are described in terms of the underlying first- and second-order…

Active learning, a common practice in higher education, has been shown to promote higher order thinking and skills. Class discussions have been chosen to be the medium to incorporate active learning in schools' curriculum. However, the rate of class participation could be low for certain courses. Literature has shown that the fear of negative…

During the COVID-19 pandemic we developed an activity that encourages engagement with scientific reading and helps students to improve their reading skills as a complement to the glycobiology section of an undergraduate course of biological chemistry. Using "Genially," an online platform for gamification and self-taught learning, we…

A computational laboratory experiment is carried out to investigate the size-, geometry-, and chemistry-dependent properties of small molecules known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) at the Facultad de Ingeniería (Universidad Nacional de La Plata, UNLP), Buenos Aires, Argentina. This computational research was adapted for upper-division…