Undergraduate students in science classes are more engaged and demonstrate increased performance when instructional methods include authentic science practices and active learning strategies. Non-majors students (i.e., those enrolled in science classes to fulfill a degree requirement) typically receive instruction that is more lecture-based and…

Quantitative reasoning is a critical skill in biology and has been highlighted as a core competency by "Vision and Change." Despite its importance, students often struggle to apply mathematical skills in new contexts in biology, a process called transfer of knowledge. However, the supports and barriers that students perceive for this…

In the context of globalization and rapid advancement in information and communication technologies (ICT), ICT competence is crucial in professional training, including education. This study focuses on integrating ICT into the educational processes of future science teachers to enhance their ICT competence. The objective is to evaluate ICT's…

Empowering students with a robust Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education, while equipping their teachers with comprehensive training, fosters critical thinking and problem-solving skills, which are important aspects of innovation, social progress, and advancement. The main objective of this study is to investigate how a…

The laboratory plays a crucial role in science education. However, teacher education for pre-service teachers' design performance in the laboratory is still challenging. This study paved the way for redesigning traditional laboratory teaching into a student-centered approach: inquiry-based design thinking (IBDT). To investigate the impact of the…

In today's knowledge-based and rapidly changing society, developing students' critical thinking skills in instruction is a vital concern in almost all science curricula. To acquire meaningful learning, learners need to develop skills in choosing suitable information, gauging the integrity of information, and crafting sound decisions. With this,…

A multicomponent reaction was adapted and successfully applied in the major organic course, which involves synthesizing and characterizing a 1,3-benzoxazine derived from paracetamol extracted from tablets of the worldwide well-known medicine Tylenol. Using paracetamol as a reagent is a motivational strategy in undergraduate laboratories to meet…

Teacher educators have focused on designing learning environments 'for' rather than 'with' teacher candidates. However, a co-design collaboration with teacher candidates has been recently suggested as a critical feature for effective teacher education programs. In this study, a co-design team, including preservice science teachers (PSTs) as…

Electrophilic aromatic substitution (S[subscript E]Ar) and nucleophilic aromatic substitution (S[subscript N]Ar) reactions are among the most valuable reactions in the conversion of aromatic rings. While these reactions are typically covered in separate experiments in undergraduate organic courses, a continuous experimental setup elucidating both…

A laboratory experiment that involves the aqueous and solid phase synthesis, characterization, and solvatochromic properties exploration of red complex [Ni(Me[subscript 3]en)(acac)]BPh[subscript 4] has been developed for first-year undergraduates in the College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at Xiamen University. In contrast to previously…

Microfluidics has attracted widespread interest in the fields of chemicals, materials, pharmaceuticals, biology, etc. Integrating low-cost automation based on open-source hardware/software to improve lab security and reduce time consumption is demanded in microchemical processing. In this work, we developed a "do it yourself"…

The threat of climate change makes it increasingly important for biologists and the public to understand how organisms respond to temperature. The Metabolic Theory of Ecology (MTE) predicts that temperature should affect organism performance, with implications for species interactions and ecosystems that span disciplines including mathematics,…

Photochemical reactions are initiated by the absorption of light, triggering the chemical reactions and resulting in the formation of products. These reactions are generally performed using a freely available renewable source of energy-solar energy. Solar simulators mimic both the ultraviolet and visible regions of sunlight and hence can serve as…

Lateral flow immunoassays have become part of our daily lives as a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic, but what is actually the story behind these red lines? Scientific findings, often described as a scientific black box, create continuous global changes in our living conditions and must be made accessible to society in a comprehensible way.…

Background: Psychology students can and sometimes do develop skills and career readiness in their courses, but these outcomes are rarely made explicit. Objective: This research jointly examines how two potential factors may improve student skills and career readiness: explicit instruction on skill development in an advanced laboratory course,…