Periodicity in electronic molar entropy values has been shown on the basis of the electronic structures of the elements. Also, with the approximations discussed herein, one can estimate the electronic molar entropy without atomic spectroscopy results. All of this can be accomplished by showing the connection between the vector model of the atom…

Manipulative-based instructional sequences have proven to be successful with students with disabilities. However, instruction must not only support the acquisition of conceptual and procedural knowledge but also build on students' strengths. This article describes how teachers can use manipulative-based instructional sequences to support the…

This short paper presents an educational approach to teaching three popular methods for encoding DNA sequences: one-hot encoding, binary encoding, and integer encoding. Aimed at bioinformatics and computational biology students, our learning intervention focuses on developing practical skills in implementing these essential techniques for…

The randomized control trial (RCT) is the primary experimental design in education research due to its strong internal validity for causal inference. However, in situations where RCTs are not feasible or ethical, quasi-experiments are alternatives to establish causal inference. This paper serves as an introduction to several quasi-experimental…

Although many textbooks on multivariate statistics discuss the common factor analysis model, few of these books mention the problem of factor score indeterminacy (FSI). Thus, many students and contemporary researchers are unaware of an important fact. Namely, for any common factor model with known (or estimated) model parameters, infinite sets of…

Two- and three-level designs in educational and psychological research can involve entire populations of Level-3 and possibly Level-2 units, such as schools and educational districts nested within a given state, or neighborhoods and counties in a state. Such a design is of increasing relevance in empirical research owing to the growing popularity…

With Big Data revolution, the education sector is being reshaped. The current data-driven education system provides many opportunities to utilize the enormous amount of collected data about students' activities and performance for personalized education, adapting teaching methods, and decision making. On the other hand, such benefits come at a…

Calculations are presented showing that the usual 'faster than g' demonstration has a surprising property. That is, a rod hinged at its bottom end rotates at an exponentially increasing rate until it falls with maximum vertical acceleration, unlike an object that falls freely by gravity alone. If the rod is hinged at its top end and released from…

Computational chemistry techniques are used along with spectroscopy to characterize acetaminophen synthesized in an undergraduate chemistry laboratory experiment. The inclusion of electronic structure calculations to provide infrared and Raman spectra in the synthesis and characterization of acetaminophen connects over-the-counter medications with…

As computers have become commonplace in everyday life, educators have begun to shift focus from "working" with computers (computer literacy) to "thinking" with computers (computational thinking). This article describes the progression of computational thinking (CT) from a historical perspective. This paper will first review the…

Every application of integration by parts can be done with a tabular method. The trick is to identify and consider each new integral in the table before deciding how to proceed. This paper supplements a classic introduction to integration by parts with a particular tabular method called Row Integration by Parts (RIP). Approaches to tabular methods…

Benzoin, an [alpha]-hydroxy ketone, is stereoselectively reduced by sodium borohydride to yield hydrobenzoin, the stereochemistry of which is determined by acetalization and analysis of the derivative by NMR spectroscopy. This classical experiment has been enhanced by modern spectroscopic and computational analysis to enable students to…

The federal government is the largest source of academic research and development (R&D) funding in the United States, providing funds through more than two dozen federal agencies. U.S. colleges and universities, often referred to as institutions of higher education (IHEs), play a role in the U.S. R&D ecosystem and in supporting American…

In this piece I outline the history of the university in terms of a shift from a place concerned with the contemplation of the unknowable and the infinite to a machine focused on instrumental rationality, calculation, and computation. Reading this history through Lyotard's work on the post-modern condition and the emergence of the knowledge…

Theories linked to embodied cognition emphasise the importance of kinaesthetic learning in shaping higher-order cognitive processing. By spreading the cognitive load to other senses while still contributing to central schema, embodied learning can build long-term memory and engagement, especially in young children, leading to improved performance.…