Rock and mineral labs are fundamental in traditional introductory geology courses. Successful implementation of these lab activities provides students opportunities to apply content knowledge. Inquiry-based instruction may be one way to increase student success. Prior examination of published STEM labs indicates that geology labs, particularly…

This paper describes a short ion flow activity that can be completed within one lab or lecture session. The activity is focused on the core concept of flow-down gradients and is geared toward undergraduates. No previous knowledge of equilibrium potentials or membrane potentials is required. Students are guided through a set of questions that build…

Recently, our course team transformed a large-enrollment introductory genetics course from being predominantly lecture based to active learning based. During class sessions, students engaged in problem solving, which occurs when a student attempts to solve a problem without knowing the path to complete it. We designed class activities…

An active-learning approach was employed in a project for our chemistry major students on the synthesis of biodiesel (BD) from an Amazon region oil. The project, involving activities in class and in the laboratory, was given during 8 weeks of the spring semester of 2022. The students were asked about their previous contact with the synthesis and…

Plant morphology courses develop students' understanding of plant structures and identification skills through mini-research activities. Effective species identification requires a literature review and the ability to find, evaluate, and use relevant information. This qualitative study examines students' information literacy skills in completing…

This study explores the relationship between the self-confidence and content knowledge of undergraduate students in a large enrollment geoscience course following an active-learning think-pair-share (TPS) activity, and whether high confidence necessarily leads to overconfidence. We used a pre-experimental, one group pre-test -- post-test design,…

Evidence suggests that students exposed to authentic undergraduate research activities are more successful than those who are not. Not all students in an undergraduate program get an opportunity for mentored research, which is still the popular way to expose them to authentic research. However, involvement in undergraduate research can be…

In the information age, the acquisition of data literacy skills has become increasingly important for undergraduate student success, yet these skills are not emphasized in the lecture setting. Here we present a study to inspire educators to scaffold graph knowledge and interpretation into their classrooms. Specifically, we sought to understand how…

Active learning approaches to biology teaching, including simulation-based activities, are known to enhance student learning, especially of higher-order skills; nonetheless, there are still many open questions about what features of an activity promote optimal learning. Here we designed three versions of a simulation-based tutorial called…

This research aimed to examine the effectiveness of traditional lectures versus active lectures in introductory college biology classes composed of science and non-science majors, a topic of significant importance in the field of education. In a traditional lecture, the researcher used PowerPoint to present class content while answering direct…

Students' expectations for their laboratory coursework are theorized to have an impact on their learning experiences and behaviors, such as engagement. Before students' expectations and engagement can be explored in different types of undergraduate chemistry laboratory courses, appropriate measures of these constructs must be identified, and…

A key tenet of the nature of science is that "knowledge, although reliable and durable, is never absolute or certain" and is subject to change with the accrual of new bodies of evidence (Lederman "et al." 2002). Similarly, pedagogical choices grounded in scientific teaching would also be expected to be modified, refined, and…

Dynamic biochemical processes are often difficult for students to grasp in the classroom using static images or models, or even through watching simulation videos. This is particularly true for protein-folding and enzyme catalysis, two key biochemistry concepts. The author has developed and tested two 3D, dynamic, and interactive classroom models,…

Creative thinking skills are recognised 21 century skills. This study aimed to determine whether students' creative thinking skills in biochemistry courses are improved through scaffolding-based problem-based learning. The study employed a mixed methods approach with a sample of 113 chemistry education programme students at Jambi University. An…

Project-based learning is widely used in organic laboratories. This goal-oriented and inquiry-based learning model complements student-centered training. Such models focus on complicated issues or real-world problems on the frontier of chemistry. Students progress through three project phases: preproject, during the project, and postproject.…