All over the world, educational science outreach programs in which students can perform laboratory work have been developed. A common goal of these programs is to counteract students' decreasing motivation in STEM education. In Germany, several outreach science labs have been established over the last 20 years. It is assumed that the…

Crystal materials are an important pillar of advanced technology. Among them, the preparation of large-sized single crystal materials is of great importance for their practical application. Herein, we select the well-known nonlinear optical crystal KH[subscript 2]PO[subscript 4] and impressive deep-blue colored crystal CuSO[subscript…

In an effort to further develop critical thinking and problem solving skills, a guided-inquiry-based, multioutcome organic chemistry synthesis and characterization experiment was developed. Students were provided with the protocol for a time-saving microwave-assisted acetanilide synthesis reaction from acetic anhydride and an unknown primary aryl…

This academic essay provides a strategy for teaching complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in the classroom, a subject typically critiqued as unconventional and non-scientific. It demonstrates how students can enhance their critically reflective skills by examining polarizing and controversial medical topics, which are often considered by…

Student problems (preconceptions, errors, and learner-specific approaches) that arise when planning and conducting experiments are relevant for lesson planning and the further development of teaching practice overall. student problems are understood as a learning opportunity. So far, little attention has been paid to the relationships between…

This study aims to draw attention to data literacy, which is considered an important skill of the 21st century, and to provide an example activity that would incorporate it into chemistry education. The activity was designed using real data of Robert Boyle's experiment. The activity aims to examine Boyle's data in such a way to support data…

Hydrogen is a sustainable and climate-friendly storage for renewable energies and can directly be generated from sunlight, e.g., by photocatalytic water splitting. This article presents the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution using LED irradiation of an aqueous ZnS particle dispersion with Na[subscript 2]S and Na[subscript 2]SO[subscript 3] as…

Limiting case analysis (LCA) is important to practicing physicists. Yet, there is little concrete guidance for physics educators, and a lack of consensus in the research community about how to help students learn, and learn from, limiting case analysis. In this study, we first review existing literature to find commonalities and variations in how…

Acid-base titration concepts and experiments are ubiquitous, yet challenging, aspects of the general chemistry curriculum. Most general chemistry courses include at least one acid-base titration laboratory experiment, though the focus is often on determining the concentration, pK[subscript a], or molar mass of an analyte rather than on the details…

Background: Scientific thinking is an essential learning goal of science education and it can be fostered by inquiry learning. One important prerequisite for scientific thinking is procedural understanding. Procedural understanding is the knowledge about specific steps in scientific inquiry (e.g. formulating hypotheses, measuring dependent and…

[This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Instructional labs: Improving traditions and new directions.] Research on nontraditional laboratory (lab) activities in physics shows that students often expect to verify predetermined results, as takes place in traditional lab activities. This understanding of what is taking place, or…

Due to the rapid change and development in science and technology, it has come to the fore to educate individuals with 21st-century skills. Scientific argumentation plays important role in developing 21st-century skills. Several studies were conducted on argumentation in science education and laboratory, however, the limited study examined…

Interactive computer simulations and hands-on experiments are important teaching methods in modern science education. Especially for the communication of complex current topics with social relevance (socioscientific issues), suitable methods in science education are of great importance. However, previous studies could not sufficiently clarify the…

The study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of an inquiry-based virtual reality (VR) science lab used in junior high school science classes. The "Scientific Investigation VR Lab" ("SIVRLAB") is designed for 9th-grade students to learn about electrochemical cells. It is situated in a guided problem-solving context, where…

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, which took the world under its influence, many countries, including our country, switched to distance education. During this period, students did not go to schools and lessons continued to be taught online remotely. In this study, it was aimed to investigate secondary school students' opinions about conducting…