Laboratories are considered to play a unique role in circuits teaching. Laboratories can be traditional, with physical components and desks, or virtual with graphical simulators. Applying these facilities in teaching, students can make experiments or measurements by exploring electric circuits' features. However, an intriguing research question is…

The literature on laboratory objectives in engineering education research is scattered and inconsistent. Systematic literature reviews identified the need for better understanding. This paper ranks the laboratory learning objectives across the cognitive, psychomotor and affective domains to improve scaffolding. It provides an opportunity for…

Chemical engineers must learn to connect concepts across vastly different scales, spanning from molecular structures to industrial processes. Here, we explore the use of a virtual-reality simulation with a companion video of an experiment to help undergraduate students connect nanoscale fundamentals to macroscale engineering observations.

In a 1984 essay, Benjamin Bloom, an educational psychologist at the University of Chicago, asserted that tutoring offered "the best learning conditions we can devise" and that tutors could raise student achievement by two full standard deviations--or, in statistical parlance, two "sigmas." The influence of Bloom's two-sigma…

In today's world, remote-controlled robots are widely used across various industries due to their ability to enhance working efficiency in various applications. Learning about robot operation and human-computer interaction has emerged as a popular topic in recent times. Indeed, learning robotics can be challenging for many students as it requires…

In the article "It's Just an Observation," Robinson and Wainer (Educational Psychology Review 35, Robinson, D., & Wainer, H. (2023). It's just an observation. Educational Psychology Review, 35(83), Published online: 14 August, 2023) lamented that educational psychology is moving toward the dark side of the quality continuum, with…

In primary organic chemistry, students learn about the dehydration of ethanol to ethylene with concentrated sulfuric acid. Similar reactions(the dehydration of alcohols) exist in nature. For example, various alkenes with aromas are synthesized from linalool, a monoterpene tertiary alcohol. In this laboratory experiment, we report experiments…

In this second-semester organic chemistry lab experiment, students work collaboratively using a combination of chemical synthesis and NMR spectroscopy to investigate the diastereoselectivity associated with the Meerwein-Ponndorf-Verley (MPV) reduction of two ketone substrates having carbonyl groups flanked by an [alpha]-chiral carbon with…

The variation in the transference number of H[superscript +] (aq) is investigated for different HCl solution concentrations. The method for scribing graduations on electromigration tubes is modified to decrease the error in experimental measurements, and metallic copper is used as the anode to reduce the toxicity and environmental impact of the…

Isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) is the method of choice for thermodynamic binding profiling. As a label-free in-solution technique, ITC experiments do not require modified or immobilized proteins or ligands and hence can be performed under close-to-native environmental conditions. It directly follows the released heat of the molecular…

Herein, we present an integrated upper division chemistry laboratory experiment involving the synthesis, characterization, and evaluation of catalytic metal--organic frameworks (MOFs). Experiments are designed to facilitate the solvothermal synthesis and characterize MOFs, including UiO-66, UiO-66-NH[subscript 2], and UiO-66-NO[subscript 2]. The…

As teaching laboratories stand empty in light of COVID-19, we extended the practical experience from the laboratory to the safety of the students' homes. We developed a simple, robust, and versatile at-home experiment that teaches solution preparation, calibration curves, real-life sample preparation, and data analysis to second-year analytical…

The identification of coloring substances is a relevant task in the field of conservation and restoration, but it can be challenging as in real samples the target analytes are inserted in a very complex matrix made of binders and additives. Understanding this concept is fundamental for upper-division undergraduate students interested in…

The contamination of wastewater with metals and the use of biotechnologies to remove them is commonly discussed in theoretical biology, microbiology and biotechnology classes aimed at undergraduate students. This work introduces an easy, economical and safe practical laboratory class related to this topic. The practice consists in performing batch…

Introductory lab courses have been a staple of the physics curriculum for over 100 years. Yet these courses are now poised for change as recent research shows that they do not meet a frequent goal of enhancing student understanding of lecture content. In thinking about how to move forward, a look back at experiment courses in history seems wise.…