One of the more difficult concepts introduced in the first-year undergraduate course, general chemistry, is that of chirality. Typically, left and right hands are the common, macroscopic objects of reference used to demonstrate the quality of being nonsuperimposable, followed by the use of a mirror and molecular models, to illustrate molecular…

The need for changing how science is taught and the expansion of undergraduate research experiences is essential to foster critical thinking in the Natural Sciences. Most faculty research programs only involve a small number of upper-level undergraduate students each semester. The course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) model enables…

In response to the need for a scalable, institutionally supported model of educational change, the Science Education Initiative (SEI) was created as an experiment in transforming course materials and faculty practices at two institutions--University of Colorado Boulder (CU) and University of British Columbia. We find that this departmentally…

To address third- and fourth-year chemistry students' difficulties with the challenge of interpreting [superscript 1]H NMR spectra, a problem solving-cooperative learning technique was incorporated in a Spectra of Organic Compounds course. Using this approach helped students deepen their understanding of the basics of [superscript 1]H NMR…

The change in students' problem solving ability in upper-level course through the application of a technological interactive environment--Tablet PC running InkSurvey--was investigated in present study. Tablet PC/InkSurvey interactive technology allowing the instructor to receive real-time formative assessment as the class works through the problem…

The teaching of chemistry through practical experiments has long been an established practice. It forms a key component of teaching of that subject at both school and university level and students have strong views of this method of teaching. This paper reports on the view of undergraduate level 1 chemistry students in relation to their…

A fourth-year capstone course offers students an opportunity to integrate topics covered in the core disciplinary courses, to learn an advanced interdisciplinary topic, and to approach unfamiliar problems and literature. This article describes a fourth-year capstone course designed to incorporate components of faculty lectures, student seminars,…

This report describes a laboratory exercise that was incorporated into a Cell Biology and Molecular Biology advanced course. The exercise was made for a class size with eight students and was designed to reinforce the understanding of basic molecular biology techniques. Students used the techniques of reverse transcription and arginase activity…

Presents a systematic approach to reviewing carbon-carbon reactions in an advanced organic chemistry course. (SL)

One in a series of 12 publications on two-year science education, this four-part monograph examines biological education as revealed by a literature review, a study of the catalogs and class schedules of 175 representative two-year institutions, and survey responses of 160 biology instructors. Part I first presents the findings of a review of the…