Reaction mechanisms are central to organic chemistry and organic chemistry education. Assessing understanding of reaction mechanisms can be evaluated holistically, wherein the entire mechanism is considered; however, we assert that such an evaluation does not account for how learners variably understand mechanistic components (e.g., nucleophile,…

This research shows that improved scientific reasoning and application of concepts occurred when creating and viewing student-crafted digital storytelling projects. By utilizing digital storytelling projects to showcase course competencies in an undergraduate biology course, students were able to apply subject matter outside the classroom. In this…

Building domain knowledge is essential to a student's success in any course. Chemistry, similar to other STEM disciplines, has a strong cumulative element (i.e., topic areas continuously build upon prior coursework). We employed the testing effect, in the form of post-exam retrieval quizzes, as a way to improve students' understanding of chemistry…

In recent years, video-based lectures have been increasingly used in education as part of flipped classroom approaches, adult education, distance learning, and other applications. Though approaches in video-based lectures have been widely studied, less has been reported in the development of approaches to teach relevant technical skills, such as…

The Lewis acid-base model is key to identifying and explaining the formation and breaking of bonds in a large number of reaction mechanisms taught in the sophomore-level year-long organic chemistry course. Understanding the model is, thus, essential to success in organic chemistry coursework. Concept-inventories exist to identify misunderstandings…

Demonstration models allow students to readily grasp theory and relate difficult concepts and equations to real life. However drawbacks of using these demonstration models are that they are can be costly to purchase from vendors or take a significant amount of time to build. These two limiting factors can pose a significant obstacle for adding…

This qualitative study investigated the experience of a cohort of students exposed consecutively to two substantially different environments in their General Chemistry Laboratory programme. To this end, the first semester in a traditional expository programme was followed by a semester in a cooperative, problem-based, multi-week format. The focus…

Teaching assistants (TAs) that lead reformed recitations and labs must understand and buy into the design of the course and the research-based instructional strategies that the course requires in order to create high-fidelity implementations. We present a model that outlines possible influences on TAs' buy-in and their in-class actions coupled…

Research on classroom response systems (CRSs) in chemical education has primarily focused on the development of evidence-based strategies for implementation and novel practitioner uses of CRSs in instructional practice. Our national survey of postsecondary chemistry faculty extends these discussions, providing a broad-based understanding of the…

Undergraduate students are increasingly being used to support course transformations that incorporate research-based instructional strategies. While such students are typically selected based on strong content knowledge and possible interest in teaching, they often do not have previous pedagogical training. The current training models make use of…

The National Research Council (NRC) has indicated that effective instruction in colleges of agriculture should prepare students to enter a dynamically changing workplace by helping students learn to be proficient in 21st century skills. The NRC suggested that effective instruction in colleges of agriculture should encompass a hospitable learning…

We present a method of analyzing the development of self-efficacy in real time using a framework of self-efficacy opportunities (SEOs). Considerable research has shown a connection between self-efficacy, or the confidence in one's own ability to perform a task, and success in science fields. Traditional methods of investigating the development of…

Measuring the heat capacity ratios, [gamma], of gases either through adiabatic expansion or sound velocity is a well established physical chemistry experiment. The most accurate experiments depend on an exact determination of sound origin, which necessitates the use of lasers or a wave generator, where time zero is based on an electrical trigger.…

The authors present a model for program-wide assessment of the effectiveness of writing instruction in a chemistry laboratory course. This model, which involves collaboration between faculty from chemistry, the Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) program, and the Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning, is based on several theories and…

Developing a sense of community among students is one of the three pillars of an overall reform effort to increase participation in physics, and the sciences more broadly, at Florida International University. The emergence of a research and learning community, embedded within a course reform effort, has contributed to increased recruitment and…