In this paper, we present a concise and technique-heavy route to the synthesis of dimedone for a second-year organic chemistry curriculum. Our preparation of dimedone guides students through a Michael addition followed by a Dieckmann cyclization, basic ester hydrolysis, and thermal decarboxylation, while allowing time for mechanistic discussion…

Embedding Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) into chemistry curricula has become a best practice due to the overwhelming evidence that these experiences deepen students' content comprehension, improve students' problem-solving skills, and increase retention within the major. For these reasons, faculty are often encouraged to…

The synthesis of a [2]rotaxane through three- or five-component coupling reactions has been adapted to an organic chemistry experiment for upper-division students. The experimental procedure addresses the search for the most favorable reaction conditions for the synthesis of the interlocked compound, which is obtained in a yield of up to 71%.…

pH buffers are used extensively in research and industry making them an important chemistry topic for students to learn. This qualitative study uses the phenomenographic method and a resource theoretical framework to provide the first insights into how students approach conceptual buffer problems. Three scaffolded buffer question sets were…

The purpose of this study is to present a set of empirically derived effect size distributions in order to provide field-based benchmarks for assessing the relative effects of interventions aimed at reducing challenging behavior or increasing engagement for young children with and without disabilities. We synthesized 192 single-case designs that…

An understanding of basic organic chemical reactivity is key for many biosciences students. The reactivities of different carbonyl groups affect their function in many biomolecules. A practical class, the two-step synthesis of paracetamol, has been devised to illustrate the electrophilic reactivities of carbonyls, which was covered in the…

Assessments of natural language can provide vast information about individuals' thoughts and cognitive process, but they often rely on time-intensive human scoring, deterring researchers from collecting these sources of data. Natural language processing (NLP) gives researchers the opportunity to implement automated textual analyses across a…

Self-regulation is essential to the learning process as it enhance student performance. However, there is very little research on the self-regulatory strategies employed by students. Therefore, this study sought to identify self-regulatory learning strategies used by senior secondary agriculture students. The study used a descriptive survey…

In this essay we begin with a discussion of what we call the "great gap" between our research and its influence on society. We point out that although there is ample evidence speaking to these areas, a lack of societal change suggests that evidence has largely gone unnoticed, ignored, or not well promoted or disseminated. Throughout this…

Self-regulated learning (SRL), learners' monitoring and control of cognitive, affective, metacognitive, and motivational processes, is essential for learning. However, cognitive and metacognitive SRL strategies are not typically used accurately leading to poor learning outcomes. Intelligent tutoring systems (ITSs) attempt to address this issue by…

Purpose: Based on empirical data, this study investigates the intention of BA/BSc students in higher education to either pursue their studies or start working. Design/methodology/approach: This paper analyses how students' attitudes towards higher education and studying (quality of undergraduate education and performance in higher education), as…

Today's increasingly heterogeneous world imposes demands on higher education institutions to develop university students' intercultural competence (IC) so that they respond constructively to the cultural challenges of the 21st century. This study aims to explore the impact of short-term study abroad programs on the development of students'…

Global challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic highlight the need for visionary innovations in chemical education. We recently deigned a new learning environment called "ZuKon 2030", which addresses sustainability from a chemical perspective while simultaneously introducing students to the sustainable development goals (SDGs) of the…

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the already increasing challenge of establishing immersive, co-curricular activities for engineering students, particularly for biomedical-related activities. In the current work, we outline a strategy for co-curricular learning that leverages a private-public partnership in which methods for capacity-building…

The Collaborative Minnesota Partnerships to Advance Student Success (COMPASS), a statewide education system designed to support schools' and districts' efforts to accelerate student learning, offers professional development opportunities with various levels of support. Through COMPASS school districts and charter schools are provided a variety of…