Volume 4, Issue 4

In this paper, we investigated and classified the answers of college freshmen when asked about “the final concentration value of a mixture of solutions ”. Prior to the explanation of the topic in class, a diagnostic questionnaire on “solutions” was presented to 532 first year students in the chemistry course at the University of Buenos Aires. The questionnaire consisted of three questions assessing the same concept: the calculation of the final concentration of a solution obtained mixing a concentrated and a dilute solution of the same solute. The format of the three questions was multiple choice answer with justification, but they differed in their chemical language style: chemical formulas, verbal-procedural, and visual languages were used. It was noted a trend to apply mathematical calculations, when chemical problems are addressed, even when such calculations are not necessary. Thus, obtaining a numerical result would be considered appropriate by the students, with no analysis of the significance of the value obtained. Nevertheless, question which uses visual language was answered correctly by a greater number of students. This would allow inferring that the use of this language brings students closer to a better understanding of the situation.

We present a basic principle and good practices of the rheology of polymers, particularly for teachers or lecturers at colleges or universities for educational purposes, as well as for beginner researchers who may refer to this article as their self-learning resources. Basic consideration of the experimental methods using parallel-plate oscillatory rheometer and step-by-step guidelines for the estimation of the power law dependence of storage, G ′ and loss, G ″ modulus as well as the estimation of the relaxation time at f    cross   G ′ − G ′′ ${f}_{\,\mathrm{cross}}^{\,{G}^{\prime }-{G}^{\prime \prime }}$ at terminal zone using various approaches such as commercial graphical software, manual graphical approach and commercial rheometer software are highlighted. Good practices for data interpretation using different approaches are described and compared where the outcomes revealed the manual graphical approach or commercial graphical software yield comparable results with the commercial rheometer software. In order to have better insight, several examples and exercises which are applicable for teaching and self-learning activities are also provided.

Organic chemistry often represents a key impasse for students during their third level science education. Both intrinsic and extrinsic factors contribute to perceived difficulties in learning the subject. Moreover, the teaching of multi-step organic synthesis at third level has well-documented challenges. At University College Cork (UCC), we have adopted a strategy to engage students at the mid to late degree stage using an innovative teaching hook, to inspire interest and engagement. The approach was taken to outline chronologically some of the seminal breakthroughs in synthesis, and organic chemistry more generally, from the 1950 s to a few of the current leaders of today. Importantly the focus is on the people, the circumstance and the stories surrounding them. As a relevance-based hooking strategy grounded in a storytelling pedagogy, the goal was to inform students of the potential in organic chemistry and thus spark their interest for the subsequent lectures. Over multiple interventions, feedback from students has been highly positive. We posit that the design framework behind the ‘The People and Personalities’ could be adapted to many disciplines in a similarly successful manner. Overall, this approach proved inspirational for students, and was a most timely intervention in their degree program.

Comprehension of molecular scale is an essential component of a chemistry student’s education. However, it is especially difficult for most to wrap their heads around just how small the nanometer scale is at which the molecules they are taught about exist. Using 3D printing techniques to aid in visualization, we can model spherical molecules, namely buckminsterfullerene (C 60 ) and the cuboctahedral gold cluster Au 55 , and scale them up by eight orders of magnitude. The new size of these molecules is comparable to a globe 13 cm in diameter, a model of the Earth scaled down by eight orders of magnitude. Seeing and holding both of these objects resized to similar dimensions, students are able to get a sense of how the molecular scale compares to the handheld scale. The fact that the molecule is scaled up by a factor of 10 24 in volume also nicely contextualizes the magnitude of Avogadro’s number (∼0.6 × 10 24 ), the constant of proportionality that converts the molecular scale to the handheld scale.

Laboratory practical is an essential component for effective learning of science. To provide laboratory experience can be a challenge to some rural schools with limited laboratory facilities. The situation was exacerbated when schools were close due to the COVID pandemic. This paper reports a laboratory kit designed based on the Standard Curriculum for Secondary Schools in Malaysia (KSSM). The kit was evaluated by students and experienced teachers from town and rural schools. Pre- and post-test was conducted with the students before and after using the kit. A questionnaire was disseminated to appraise the students’ perceptions on practical learning. There was a significant improvement ( p  < 0.05) in the overall score of the post-test comparing to the pre-test. Both rural and town schools demonstrated a marked increase in the overall mean scores in the post-test. There was also improvement in affection for chemistry among students after using the kit. The practical kit can be deployed in schools with laboratory constraints and to be used outside the school settings. It was designed to be affordable, safe and environmental-friendly, providing individualized hands-on exposure.

This study contributes to the understanding of online professional development of university STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) lecturers. An active learning massive open online course (MOOC) to develop best practice in teaching in university science laboratories was developed using the ADDIE (Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, Evaluation) model in three cycles. The teaching beliefs and intentions of the participants were determined before and after they completed the MOOC and their level of satisfaction with this professional development opportunity was examined using a survey. The results showed high completion rates and an appreciation of the online course design. Participants who completed the course evaluation were satisfied and they identified the usefulness of the active learning components that required them to discuss and reflect, develop plans and peer-assess. A large majority developed new ideas to help them to improve their teaching. The participation in the course increased participants’ understanding of the multidimensional aspects of laboratory teaching and the challenges related to it. The majority of participants changed their teaching beliefs to become more student-centred.