Green Tycoon is a free-of-charge game-based mobile application that embraces a systems thinking approach to introducing students to a biorefining process model within green chemistry. Players adopt the role of a manager in a chemical factory, synthesizing the fictional compound, Yorkanone. Through upgrading the system and engaging with the…

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted higher education globally. Teaching staff have pivoted to online learning and employed a range of strategies to facilitate student success. Aside from offering a testing ground for innovative teaching strategies, the pandemic has also provided an opportunity to better understand the pre-existing conditions that…

The analysis of spectroscopic data to solve chemical structures requires practical skills and drills. In this context, we have developed ULg Spectra, a computer-based tool designed to improve the ability of learners to perform complex reasoning. The identification of organic chemical compounds involves gathering and interpreting complementary…

The purpose of this parallel convergent mixed methods study was to characterize organic chemistry students' expression of electron-pushing formalism skills who had participated in peer-led team learning (PLTL) and cyber peer-led team learning (cPLTL), a synchronous online version of peer-led team learning (PLTL) workshops. A new electron-pushing…

A concept for undergraduate mechanics courses at universities is introduced where traditional pencil-paper based exercises are partially replaced by experimental exercises, in which smartphones are used as measurement devices. A detailed guidance for practical realization and implementation of these tasks formats into the course is presented.…

The emergence of digital tools, including tablets with a multitude of built-in sensors, allows gathering many geological observations digitally and in a geo-referenced context. This is particularly important in the polar environments where (1) limited time is available at each outcrop due to harsh weather conditions, and (2) outcrops are rarely…

Video learning holds an important place in modern STEM classrooms, but more improvements to the learning experience are needed. In order to introduce active-learning components into assignments, questions are often deployed alongside videos. Unfortunately, many students tend to skip videos entirely and solely answer questions, bypassing valuable…

We have developed an integrated, project-oriented curriculum for undergraduate molecular biology and biochemistry laboratory courses spanning two semesters that is organized around the "ldhA" gene from the yogurt-fermenting bacterium "Lactobacillus bulgaricus," which encodes the enzyme d-lactate dehydrogenase. The molecular…

Although the potent effects of cation-p interactions for stabilizing protein structure and binding ligands to proteins have been reported in the chemical literature for over two decades, there are no undergraduate biochemistry textbooks covering this important noncovalent attractive force. In an attempt to remedy this situation, this primer…

The development and evaluation of a two-session laboratory class, based on Geneswitch technology and sex determination in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, is described. Geneswitch system allows conditional control of gene expression. A laboratory exercise has been devised for sophomores in order to illustrate how Geneswitch technology can be…

Purpose: This paper aims to report a case study in flexible learning with multicomponent blended learning mode in an undergraduate chemistry course. Traditional chemistry courses usually include lectures, tutorials and laboratory sections. For a course "Advances in Organic Synthesis" at undergraduate level, it consists of advanced…

This study explores the effect of rapidly transitioning an in-person pre-licensure nursing specialty course to remote instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic. The redesign included the following learning technologies: live and recorded whiteboard lectures with Socratic-style questioning, electronic audience response systems, remote simulations,…

This paper summarizes the author's experiences with transitioning from face-to-face to online General Chemistry Zoom sessions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The transition to online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic was a Herculean task for instructors during Spring 2020. Instead of adapting completely new strategies for online teaching, the…

Multi-User Virtual Environments (MUVEs) have gained more prominence in education of late; however, the question of their theoretically sound implementation remains relatively understudied. The current article addresses this gap through the explanation of how a MUVE platform Second Life was used in an undergraduate course for pre-service teachers.…

This essay, drawing from Design Thinking, challenges college faculty to reconsider the reading and teaching of literature in the undergraduate Spanish curriculum and initiates a visionary brainstorming process to be continued by readers in their own institutions. It suggests considering new research in cognitive literary studies, the impact of…