Educational escape rooms are immersive puzzle-based games that rely on teamwork skills in problem-solving, critical thinking, and communication. This paper describes the development of desert island themed escape rooms in a blended learning environment using physical and online puzzles that were hosted on Genially. The blended escape rooms were…

A bridge course intended to ease the transition from Organic Chemistry I to II was designed for a January term that spans 2 weeks and features sharply focused topics courses. In the first week, key topics from Organic Chemistry I are revisited to ensure that students have a firm foundation on which to build. During the second week, a selection of…

Educational Scaffolding was first mentioned in 1976 by Wood et al. Several examples for scaffolding in chemistry are also known from the literature. As written scaffolds, stepped supporting tools to support students while solving problems in organic chemistry were developed, applied, and evaluated. Although the students rated the tool as very…

Different approaches to the use of "clickers" (also known as student response systems) were introduced to a cohort of 127 students over a two-year period with the aim of making students think more deeply in-class about their chemistry knowledge. Student performance was monitored, and individual, anonymous student feedback was frequently…

As digital educational media use becomes more widespread, an opportunity exists to develop new methods to present abstract ideas to provide a more meaningful learning experience. Drawing from psychology and dynamic visualization research, new interactive tools can be thoughtfully designed but it is also necessary to establish how these media are…

Problem solving and critical thinking are buzzwords used in defining general chemistry learning goals. Assessments including well-structured homework, quizzes, and exams are designed and incorporated to build these skills. Our research expanded upon the types of assessments and analyzed the effect of writing assignments for promoting problem…

Academic programs generally work to make their laboratory curriculum both as instrumentation rich and up to date as possible. However, little is known about the relationship between the use of instrumentation in the curriculum and student learning. As part of our department's ongoing assessment efforts, a project was designed to probe this…

A peer mentoring program was added to an introductory chemistry course at a large university. The introductory chemistry course prepares students with little or no previous chemistry background to enter the mainstream general chemistry sequence and is part lecture and part small-group problem-solving. Faculty instructors are responsible for the…

Peer-led team learning (PLTL) is a program of small-group workshops, attached to a course, under the direction of trained peer leaders who have completed the course. Peer leaders ensure that team members engage with the materials and with each other, they help build commitment and confidence, and they encourage discussion. Studies of PLTL have…