In the Spring 2021 Organic Chemistry Lab class at Penn State Schuylkill, COVID-19 restrictions and uncertainty required a flexible plan. The first 4 weeks of 15 were fully remote, and videos of standard organic techniques were used, followed by an exam. In the next 5 weeks, some students were in the lab and some were remote. A document camera was…

A green, aza-Michael reaction is described that can be used to teach undergraduate students conjugate addition of nitrogen nucleophile to an a,ß-unsaturated ester. Students analyze spectral data of the product obtained from the assigned reaction to determine product structure and propose the mechanism of its formation. The experiment requires…

In this experiment for an upper-division course in organic structure determination, each student prepares an unknown compound and characterizes the product using multiple spectroscopic techniques. The unknowns, 2-aryl-substituted 1,4-dihydro-3,1-benzoxazines and 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinazolines, are prepared in a single step by the condensation of…

Chemical engineering is a challenging field to explain to first-year students. Food production processes are a safe and accessible way to introduce the students to basic engineering concepts. Modernist cuisine -- using scientific methods and engineering techniques to enhance classical cooking -- was used as a hook to capture the attention of…

One obstacle to understanding abstract concepts such as the "control of variables" strategy (CVS) is the tendency for learners to focus on surface rather than deep features in instructional materials. However, in tasks such as learning CVS, these same surface features may also support understanding, provided learners realize the…

The laboratory is a mainstay in STEM education, promoting the development of critical thinking skills, dexterity, and scientific curiosity. The goals in the laboratory for nonchemistry, prehealth majors, though, could be distinguished from those for chemistry majors. In service courses such as organic chemistry, much laboratory time is often spent…

The experiments described in this paper have two goals. The first goal is to show how students can perform simple but fundamental measurements of objects moving through simple liquids (such as water, oil, or honey). In doing so, students can verify Stokes' law, which governs the motion of spheres through simple liquids, and see how it fails at…

This article identifies aspects of argumentation in scientific practice that are key for scientific sense-making and articulates how engagement in these aspects happens both inter-mentally (between people) and intra-mentally (an individual's reasoning). Institutionally, peer review exerts critique on new knowledge claims in science and is…

The Independent Laboratory Access for the Blind (ILAB) project has developed a suite of speech accessible tools for students who are blind or low vision to use in secondary and postsecondary science laboratory classes. The following are illustrations of experiments designed to be used by educators to introduce them to the ILAB tools, and to…

Research has shown that certain ways of teaching can make a difference in whether students learn standards-based content. Many strategies have proven to be effective in teaching literacy, mathematics, science and social studies. These strategies have facilitated blending academic and career/technical subjects to make learning more meaningful for…

It is an extraordinary challenge to offer an undergraduate laboratory course in virology that teaches hands-on, relevant molecular biology techniques using nonpathogenic models of human virus detection. To our knowledge, there exists no inexpensive kits or reagent sets that are appropriate for demonstrating real-time PCR (RT-PCR) in an…

A SERIES OF EXPERIMENTS WAS CONDUCTED TO TEST THE EFFECTIVENESS OF TELEVISED INSTRUCTION. THIS STUDY, THE SEVENTH IN A SERIES, EVALUATED THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THREE PROCEDURES TO STIMULATE STUDENT EXTRACURRICULAR SCIENCE ACTIVITIES. IN THE FIRST PROCEDURE THE PRESENTATION METHOD, ADULT INSTRUCTORS PERFORMED THE EXPERIMENTS IN ONE VERSION AND…

INCLUDED IN THIS MANUAL WRITTEN FOR SECONDARY SCHOOL AND COLLEGE TEACHERS ARE DESCRIPTIONS OF DEMONSTRATION MODELS, EXPERIMENTS PERTAINING TO SOME OF THE FUNDAMENTAL AND APPLIED METEOROLOGICAL CONCEPTS, AND INSTRUCTIONS FOR MAKING SIMPLE WEATHER OBSERVATIONS. THE CRITERIA FOR SELECTION OF TOPICS WERE EASE AND COST OF CONSTRUCTING APPARATUS AS WELL…

"Science for the Seventies" (SFTS) is designed to aid teachers and administrators by helping them select materials from available elementary science programs, modify on-going science programs, or develop a better science curriculum. SFTS encompasses 16 televised programs which provide introductory experiences appropriate for launching a…