Sample preparation is a key step in most biological experiments, including in the subject of lipidomics. Lipidomics focuses on the study of lipids produced in specific organisms, so samples required in lipidomics experiments are usually solutions of biological lipids. To make sure that the scientific experiments are reliable, lipid samples in a…

A frequent challenge that graduate and undergraduate students in chemistry, biology, and pharmacy laboratories face is accurately assigning proton and carbon peaks in the 1D and 2D Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectra of organic and pharmaceutical molecules. We propose a consistent, step-by-step approach to effectively assist students in…

The effective implementation of evidence-based teaching (EBT) in large college courses benefits from the successful use of instructional teams. An instructional team's feedback allows instructors to act based on evidence of student learning, addressing students' needs. This feedback may be particularly important for novice instructors or…

As the 21st century progresses, we are increasingly reminded of the importance of and need for green chemistry, which also leads to the corresponding need for green chemistry education. The UC Berkeley Department of Chemistry developed a green chemistry laboratory curriculum-the "General Chemistry Green Curriculum" ("GC[superscript…

The most important learning objective in green chemistry education is the ability to identify the synthesis, process, or chemical that is least environmentally harmful. Existing metrics fall short for different reasons. Mass-based metrics fail to assess environmental harm, while life cycle assessment (LCA) is much too complex to insert into the…

A novel teaching approach is aimed at elucidating the concept of bond enthalpy for general chemistry students. Through the integration of a hands-on candy pulling activity, students in a large lecture class were provided a tangible experience to explore bond strengths using rope candy and a luggage scale. Feedback from students indicated a clear…

This work tested the hypothesis that the academic performance of students in a distance learning course in Biological Sciences (PBS-CEDERJ) decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic in disciplines with and without practical activities. Performance was quantified via students' grades in PBS-CEDERJ disciplines in pre-pandemic years (2018 and 2019) and…

Students come into the classroom with a variety of background knowledge. Therefore, it is imperative that educators are able to help all students, regardless of their familiarity with the content. Since it can be challenging for some large enrollment classes to schedule recitation classes after lectures due to logistical constraints, this study…

To investigate the variation in active learning used in college science courses, the authors analyzed 57 comparison studies published in three prominent science education journals. Focusing on three sources of variation--(a) the active learning activities, (b) other pedagogical features, and (c) course structure/design--they found that most…

Concerns regarding students' difficulties with the concept of energy date back to the 1970s. They become particularly apparent for systems involving adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which plays a central role in maintaining the nonequilibrium state of biological systems and in driving energetically unfavorable processes. One of the most…

The great development of high-throughput molecular biology techniques and the consequent generation of massive data have made Bioinformatics essential for undergraduate Bioscience students. The importance of this scientific discipline is evidenced by the huge number of specialized publications, tools, and databases available. Training in…

Background: It is well established in the literature that active learning instruction in introductory STEM courses results in many desired student outcomes. Yet, regular use of high-quality active learning is not the norm in many STEM departments. Using results of a national survey, we identified 16 departments where multiple instructors reported…

The utilization of computer simulators in university education is progressively being embraced to offer students a practical exposure to industrial bioprocesses. Bioreactor computer simulators hold various advantages over conventional laboratory experiments, such as cost-effectiveness and enhanced safety. The research objective is to assess the…

Assessment plays a critical role in instruction and curriculum. Existing literature on instructors' assessment practices and related factors has been intensively focused on primary and secondary education. This study extended the contexts of previous literature to post-secondary chemistry education by exploring general chemistry instructors'…

A comprehensive teaching experiment plan tailored forthird-yearundergraduates has been developed. Initially, instructors synthesize(E)-2-(4-((4-(2-hydroxyethoxy)-3-methylphenyl)­diazenyl)­phenoxy)-ethan-1-ol­(M-Azo-2)monomer as part of the preclass preparation. Subsequently, studentsperform an acylation reaction experiment to prepare an…