To improve the experimental interest and innovative ability of advanced undergraduate students, a luminescent sensing laboratory experiment with visual performance characteristics is introduced. Students have synthesized an organic hybrid cage-like europium-germanate oxo cluster with the formula of [Eu[subscript 8](phen) [subscript 2]Ge[subscript…

Acknowledgement of the limited learning outcomes in our first-year physics lab course, strikingly similar to the observed and reported issues in literature, incited renewal of the course with a focus on developing students' ability to engage in experimental physics research. The "procedural and conceptual knowledge (PACKS)…

Although the present university-level chemistry experimental curriculum has been extensive and well-designed, it lacks a connection with the scientific research field, especially the frontier field. It is crucial to incorporate recent discoveries through new experiment designs to bridge this gap and boost the value of the undergraduate…

The purpose of this study was to assess and describe the status of program evaluation within the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) sites. The National Science Foundation's REU program supports thousands of undergraduates annually in hands-on, immersive research experiences under the mentorship of…

Advances in the field of Mind, Brain, and Education (MBE) have been limited by a fundamental separation between university-based neuroscience laboratories and school communities, constraining the field's ability to collaboratively devise research studies germane to child development. This commentary explores the assertion that the persistent…

Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) provide students with valuable opportunities to engage in research in a classroom setting, expanding access to research opportunities for undergraduates, fostering inclusive research and learning environments, and bridging the gap between the research and education communities. While…

Engaging students actively in assessment, using a range of formative activities, consistently over sustained periods is a common recommendation in the assessment for learning literature. Despite this, practice still lags behind. Our case study aims to bridge the widening gap between theory and practice by illustrating the application of recent…

Increasing access to undergraduate research is critical in efforts to retain students pursuing careers in STEM. Alternatives to traditional research positions, such as course based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs), have played important roles in engaging more undergraduates in research. However, these opportunities are only a subset of…

The essence of university courses lies in their scientific rigor, while the enjoyment of learning serves as a motivation. In this regard, we have developed a comprehensive experiment project by incorporating dithienylethene-based photochromic units into sensitizers for renewable energy, specifically dye-sensitized solar cells, through organic…

Graduate education in chemistry typically follows an apprenticeship model, primarily aimed at preparing students for academia; however, the inclusion of teaching within this apprenticeship is not always clear as faculty, students, and other stakeholders do not agree on the need for instructional training. Despite the variability in training, a…

We have developed a course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) that can be carried out in the context of an existing second-semester or upper-level organic laboratory course. In this three-week laboratory module, students synthesize a small library of molecules, test them in a robust biological assay, and design a new compound library…

We developed a curriculum for an upper-level molecular biology course-based undergraduate research laboratory class funded by a National Science Foundation CAREER grant that focuses on identifying new small proteins in the bacterium, "Escherichia coli." Our CURE class has been continually offered each semester for the last 10 years, with…

Undergraduate chemistry laboratory instruction can be considered from many perspectives and addresses multiple educational aims. We critically assess an inventory of "Cognitive Tasks of Experimental Research" for its applicability to chemistry laboratory teaching, and then apply it to an integrated upper-level laboratory course as an…

Despite critical thinking supporting a deeper understanding of the scientific process, university activities prioritize lower cognitive processes, such as remembering skills. Also, it is unclear whether gender biases in interest toward science exist in university science degrees. These hinder students from achieving their goals effectively since…

This manuscript describes the implementation of a Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) sequence in chemistry that uses research to link a lower division, organic chemistry course to an upper-division, analytical chemistry course. In the CURE sequence, students created a library of modified sugar molecules during CURE-1, Organic,…