Internationally, second level curriculum policy for STEM education is concentrating its efforts on promoting curriculum-making pedagogies, with enquiry-based teaching and learning at the forefront of this change. Policy aspirations have not translated well into practice, evidenced by science practical lessons consistently being delivered as…

In case-based learning, students develop and apply course knowledge to solve tangible and "real life" problems. This practice can enhance student motivation and engagement in the analytical laboratory. In this application of case-based learning students analyze commercially available oils for CBD content. In the state of Texas anyone can…

We present the development and evaluation of "da Vinci's Curse", a chemistry escape room experience designed to consolidate laboratory skills in a fun and interactive setting. Inspired by the maestro, Leonardo da Vinci, the escape room challenges students to complete a series of puzzles in teams to escape "da Vinci's Curse".…

Studies have demonstrated that students experience a variety of intense emotions in anticipation of human anatomical dissection, including enthusiasm, gratitude, responsibility, apprehension, detachment, anxiety, and spiritual or moral reflection. The exercise described here provides an opportunity to start a conversation about the complexity of…

One of the most widely used solutions to fix and preserve organic tissues is formaldehyde, despite reservations regarding its toxicity and the fact that formaldehyde-embalmed bodies lose their original characteristics. Anatomy laboratories have been replacing formaldehyde with solutions that retain the characteristics of fresh tissue. For this…

Many institutions rely upon prosection-based laboratories as more resource-efficient and time-effective alternatives to traditional cadaver dissection for human anatomy education. To facilitate growing enrollment numbers despite resource limitations, the University of Guelph (a non-medical institution) introduced a modified "stepwise"…

Physics education research (PER) is a global endeavor, with a wealth of work performed at a variety of institutions worldwide. However, results from research into undergraduate physics laboratory courses are often difficult to compare due to the broad variations in courses. We report here how we developed and validated a survey to classify these…

In this laboratory activity, students were tasked with determining the heat of combustion for each of three common sugar substitutes: saccharin, aspartame, and sucralose. The heats of combustion were determined via three different methods: bomb calorimetry, heats of formation derived from semiempirical calculations, and tabulated average bond…

Teaching introductory anatomy and physiology (A&P) requires a careful balance of conveying core content while at the same time fostering a deep interest in the subject matter. This is especially true in the laboratory where students are expected to not only master experimental procedures but also connect what they learn in the laboratory to…

We describe a guided-inquiry laboratory experiment for instrumental analysis in which our students test an improved protocol for the recycling of silver chloride to produce nontoxic waste. Students are provided with samples of silver chloride that they created as waste products in a previous lab experiment and tasked with performing a stepwise…

The role of anatomy in modern curricula is under reform due to competency of other rapidly evolving subjects and the rapid evolution of several practical aspects and applications dictating modernization of teaching methods as well as of teaching demands. Moreover, modern practice of medicine has put the arterial and vascular system in the center…

Hands-on dissections using cadaveric tissues for neuroanatomical education are not easily available in many educational institutions due to financial, safety, and ethical factors. Supplementary pedagogical tools, for instance, 3D models of anatomical specimens acquired with photogrammetry are an efficient alternative to democratize the 3D…

Hands-on dissections of animals are traditionally regarded as an essential part of biology education. Nowadays, regardless of the reported educational benefits, there is a gradual change in the concept and acceptance of hands-on dissection, leading in many cases to its abandonment in schools and its replacement with alternatives such as 3D models,…

Even though scientific communication and collaboration play critical roles in academic success, they often come in second to teaching laboratory fundamentals. COVID-19 associated capacity constraints forced our program to reexamine the traditional laboratory instruction paradigm by limiting physical attendance, as well as laboratory duration.…

Among the efforts directed at remediating contaminated sites, the use of immobilized microorganisms is an appealing alternative because it offers several advantages over the use of free cells, including protecting cells from the toxic effects of hazardous compounds and increasing their survival and metabolic activity. "Pseudomonas…