To succeed in STEM, students need to learn to use visual representations. Most prior research has focused on conceptual knowledge about visual representations that is acquired via verbally mediated forms of learning. However, students also need perceptual fluency: the ability to rapidly and effortlessly translate among representations. Perceptual…

Recognizing that undergraduate students can benefit from analysis of 3D protein structure and function, we have developed a multiweek, inquiry-based molecular visualization project for Biochemistry I students. This project uses a virtual model of cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1) to guide students through multiple levels of protein structure analysis. The…

We present two studies that investigated the adoption of visual/spatial and analytic strategies by individuals at different levels of expertise in the area of organic chemistry, using the Visual Analytic Chemistry Task (VACT). The VACT allows the direct detection of analytic strategy use without drawing inferences about underlying mental…

This paper reports a laboratorial internship included in the Portuguese Science and Technology promotion program "Internships for Young People in Laboratories (Ciência Viva no Laboratório)", which provided high school students an opportunity to approach the reality of scientific and technological research in a higher education…

The Innovative Technology in Science Inquiry (ITSI) project is a learning portal with hundreds of free, customizable science, math, and engineering activities funded by the National Science Foundation at the Concord Consortium, a nonprofit research and development organization dedicated to transforming education through technology. The project…

Lactone-size identification of [subscript D]-ribonolactone derivatives has been debated for four decades due to complex lactone-ring rearrangements and acetal migration. This laboratory experiment for an upper-division undergraduate organic chemistry laboratory course describes a fast and reliable assignment of lactone-size derivatives from…

A demonstration of the degradation of food coloring dyes by oxidation via the Fenton reaction can be substituted with a simpler demonstration using the oxidant oxone with iron(II) ions as an activator. The addition of small amounts of solid oxone and iron(II) sulfate to solutions containing mixtures of food coloring results in successive…

The plan view is used in crystallography and materials science to show the positions of atoms in crystal structures. However, it is not widely used in teaching general chemistry. In this contribution, we introduce the plan view, and show these views for the simple cubic, body-centered cubic, face-centered cubic, hexagonal close packed, CsCl, NaCl,…

The aim of this simple, quick, and safe laboratory exercise is to provide undergraduate students an introduction to nanotechnology using nanoparticle (NP) synthesis. Students are provided two procedures that allow for the synthesis of different yet controlled sizes of silver NPs. After preparing the NPs, the students perform UV-visible…

This advanced undergraduate laboratory experiment involves the synthesis and characterization of a metal-organic framework with microporous channels that are held intact via hydrogen bonding of the coordinated water molecules. The hydrothermal synthesis of Co[subscript 3](BTC)[subscript 2]·12H[subscript 2]O (BTC = 1,3,5-benzene tricarboxylic acid)…

In this paper, in order to pursue the conversation begun by Fages and Albe ("Cult Stud Sci Educ" 2014), I highlight three conceptual contributions that could be made by familiarizing nanoscience and nanotechnology researchers and engineers with the work being carried out in science and technology studies and public understanding of…

The Biochemistry: Biomolecules Structure and Metabolism course's goal is to promote meaningful learning through an active learning environment. Thus, study periods (SP) and discussion groups (DG) are used as a substitute for lecture classes. The goal of this study was to evaluate how this learning environment influences students' motivation (n =…

Argument construction is a valuable ability for explaining scientific phenomena and introducing argumentation skills as part of a curriculum can greatly enhance student understanding by promoting self-reflection on the topic under investigation. This article aims to use argument construction as a technique to support an activity designed to…

This research aimed at investigating the effectiveness of STEM approach in developing visual reasoning and learning independence for preparatory stage students. To achieve this aim, the researcher designed a program based on STEM approach in light of the principles of nanotechnology. Twenty one preparatory stage students participated in the…

Poly(phenylene vinylene) (PPV) represents an important class of conjugated, conducting polymers that have been readily exploited in the preparation of organic electronic materials. In this experiment, students prepare a PPV polymer via a facile multistep synthetic sequence with robust spectroscopic evaluation of synthetic intermediates and the…