Implementing Service-Focused Activities Focused on Water Quality While Teaching a Freshmen Undergraduate Course During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Historically, high levels of self-reported stress, anxiety, and depression are quite common among STEM students. Unfortunately, after multiple semesters of disrupted education due to COVID-19, these mental struggles among students, especially first-year (freshmen) undergraduate engineering students, have only been exacerbated. To mitigate these struggles, active and thoughtful engagement in learning can be implemented. The main goal of this study was to implement an engaging, teamwork building, service-focused Environmental Engineering activity in a freshmen Civil Engineering course (CE 101, Introduction to Civil Engineering) where students performed a water quality monitoring campaign using two commercially available lowcost test strips (2:1 and 5:1) while returning to campus. Additionally, the quality of the results obtained and the students' reception of this service-focused activity were evaluated. This activity (1) engaged the students, (2) had a positive impact on their environmental engineering knowledge, and (3) generated useful water quality data related to tap water and surficial water in northern Mississippi. Results highlighted the (1) overall good quality of the tap water collected, with the analyzed analytes significantly below the U.S. EPA maximum contaminant levels, (2) ability of low-cost test strips to generate trustworthy data (results obtained by the students were not statistically different, p > 0.05, compared to the quality assurance and quality control samples implemented) that can help local communities in assessing the quality of their water, and (3) ability to perform service-focused activity while teaching STEM courses. Students positively valued this service-focused activity, and they were enthusiastic about further experiencing this approach in other classes.

Implementing Service-Focused Activities Focused on Water Quality While Teaching a Freshmen Undergraduate Course During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Historically, high levels of self-reported stress, anxiety, and depression are quite common among STEM students. Unfortunately, after multiple semesters of disrupted education due to COVID-19, these mental struggles among students, especially first-year (freshmen) undergraduate engineering students, have only been exacerbated. To mitigate these struggles, active and thoughtful engagement in learning can be implemented. The main goal of this study was to implement an engaging, teamwork building, service-focused Environmental Engineering activity in a freshmen Civil Engineering course (CE 101, Introduction to Civil Engineering) where students performed a water quality monitoring campaign using two commercially available low-cost test strips (2:1 and 5:1) while returning to campus. Additionally, the quality of the results obtained and the students' reception of this service-focused activity were evaluated. This activity (1) engaged the students, (2) had a positive impact on their environmental engineering knowledge, and (3) generated useful water quality data related to tap water and surficial water in northern Mississippi. Results highlighted the (1) overall good quality of the tap water collected, with the analyzed analytes significantly below the U.S. EPA maximum contaminant levels, (2) ability of low-cost test strips to generate trustworthy data (results obtained by the students were not statistically different, p > 0.05, compared to the quality assurance and quality control samples implemented) that can help local communities in assessing the quality of their water, and (3) ability to perform service-focused activity while teaching STEM courses. Students positively valued this service-focused activity, and they were enthusiastic about further experiencing this approach in other classes. © 2023 American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.

Uncovering the Importance of Peer-to-Peer Communication during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Rotating Chromatography Experiments to Overcome Limited Student Capacity

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. Instead, we opted to turn these restrictions into opportunities to study peer-to-peer communication as a means to enhance in-person experimentation. Here, a two-week high performance liquid and gas chromatography (HPLC and GC) module uses centralized student communication between peer groups to not only maintain but increase quality laboratory experiences. Students rotate between two chromatography experiments to ensure each person gains exposure to foundational separations techniques. The module's first week focuses on method development, while the second week highlights method validation. Since HPLC and GC can accommodate similar experimental objectives, students receive comparable method development and validation experiences no matter which specific instrument they are assigned to that week. By integrating communication into the experimental process and adding peer accountability to the laboratory's design, the authors observed an increase in laboratory report words and figures when compared to the prior years' reports. Student questionnaires also indicated structured rotation and group communication increased student interest and investment in obtaining and reporting quality data. © 2023 Authors. All rights reserved.

Approaches to Promoting Student Engagement in Organic Chemistry Before, During, and After the COVID-19 Pandemic: Insights and Reflections

Active engagement is critical to student success in Organic Chemistry. In this paper, I trace the trajectory of student engagement in an introductory organic chemistry lecture series over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. I detail my approach to cultivating student engagement in an online environment, evaluate the success of these approaches and discuss modifications, and recount our efforts to combat the "learned disengagement” that students exhibited upon returning to an in-person class format. Although engagement gradually dwindled over the course of online instruction, multiple interventions succeeded in maintaining a sense of classroom community in students and encouraging active participation. By building opportunities for engagement into the course structure and rewarding students who partake in class activities, I hope to once again enjoy the level of engagement that we had prior to the pandemic. © 2022 American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.

Teaching Single Crystal X-ray Crystallography in the Undergraduate Classroom with Sugar and Epsom Salt

We developed a single crystal X-ray crystallography experiment based on the crystal structure of sucrose (table sugar), and a more challenging experiment using Epsom salt. Both crystals are readily available in X-ray quality crystalline form. In these experiments, students mounted a crystal on a MiTeGen loop and analyzed it using a Rigaku XtaLAB Mini diffractometer (built 2011). Students generated models of both compounds using CrysAlisPro, Olex2, SHELXT, and SHELXL. All aspects of this experiment use free software programs which have user-friendly interfaces. A step-by-step laboratory protocol for determining the structure of both compounds is included in the Supporting Information. These experiments were used in the Fall of 2019 at the Junior and the Senior level. In the Summer of 2020, a take-home version of the lab was created in response to the Novel 2019 Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and implemented in the General Chemistry laboratory curriculum;this experiment was used for the duration of the 2020-2021 academic year. These experiments are suitable for all undergraduate experience levels. © 2022 American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.

Approaches to Promoting Student Engagement in Organic Chemistry Before, During, and After the COVID-19 Pandemic: Insights and Reflections

Active engagement is critical to student success in Organic Chemistry. In this paper, I trace the trajectory of student engagement in an introductory organic chemistry lecture series over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. I detail my approach to cultivating student engagement in an online environment, evaluate the success of these approaches and discuss modifications, and recount our efforts to combat the "learned disengagement" that students exhibited upon returning to an in-person class format. Although engagement gradually dwindled over the course of online instruction, multiple interventions succeeded in maintaining a sense of classroom community in students and encouraging active participation. By building opportunities for engagement into the course structure and rewarding students who partake in class activities, I hope to once again enjoy the level of engagement that we had prior to the pandemic.

Ten Minutes a Semester: Evaluation of a Short Wellness Intervention for Undergraduate Chemistry and Biology Courses

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted many challenges undergraduate students face including their ability to manage stress. Poor stress management can contribute to poor academic performance and health outcomes;better wellness habits and stress reduction go hand-in-hand, as improved wellness habits reduce overall stress and expand positive stress management strategies. This article describes the design of a short wellness intervention for STEM classes and its evaluation after implementation in five chemistry and biology courses that span the four years of a biochemistry degree. This intervention, composed of a short, in-class presentation and an associated supplemental resource handout, presents students with information on five wellness areas: sleep, nutrition, water intake, exercise, and meditation and mindfulness. Students were surveyed at three points (once preintervention and twice postintervention) in one semester and asked to report their perceived stress, current wellness habits, and overall perception of the intervention. Notably, the majority of students (89%) thought the intervention should be included in other courses. The importance of completing the intervention in class was underscored by the small number of students (19%) who reported accessing the additional resources provided outside of class. Student wellness habits did not dramatically shift postintervention, but this study garnered insights into the barriers students face when attempting to change their wellness behavior. Overwhelmingly students reported that academic workload was the dominant factor hindering positive wellness change. The intervention materials, including a suggested script, are shared, and data-supported recommendations for implementation in other courses and institutions are provided.

Teaching Single Crystal X-ray Crystallography in the Undergraduate Classroom with Sugar and Epsom Salt

We developed a single crystal X-ray crystallography experiment based on the crystal structure of sucrose (table sugar), and a more challenging experiment using Epsom salt. Both crystals are readily available in X-ray quality crystalline form. In these experiments, students mounted a crystal on a MiTeGen loop and analyzed it using a Rigaku XtaLAB Mini diffractometer (built 2011). Students generated models of both compounds using CrysAlisPro, Olex2, SHELXT, and SHELXL. All aspects of this experiment use free software programs which have user-friendly interfaces. A step-by-step laboratory protocol for determining the structure of both compounds is included in the Supporting Information. These experiments were used in the Fall of 2019 at the Junior and the Senior level. In the Summer of 2020, a take-home version of the lab was created in response to the Novel 2019 Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and implemented in the General Chemistry laboratory curriculum;this experiment was used for the duration of the 2020-2021 academic year. These experiments are suitable for all undergraduate experience levels. © 2022 American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.

The Study of Metal–Carbonyl Complexes by Means of Computational IR Spectra Analysis: A Remote Didactic Approach Based on Chemical Thinking

We describe a remote pedagogical approach based on chemical thinking to study metal-carbonyl complexes by analyzing simulated IR spectra. The proposed approach, implemented due to the COVID-19 pandemic, can be employed in classrooms that have very limited laboratory equipment for evaluating toxic metal-carbonyl compounds, as well as for synthesizing compounds that have not been reported . The method, consisting of a class lecture accompanied by a remote computational activity , aims to provide students with the ability to assemble concepts from different fields, such as organometallic chemistry and analytical chemistry, while taking advantage of computational methods to answer higher level questions. We evaluated whether analyzing the nature of M-CO bonding was appropriate for achieving these educational goals. Octahedral compounds of the M(CO)(6) and M(CO)(4)L-2 type, bearing a variety of metal centers (M = Cr, Mo, W, V, Mn and Fe) and ligands (L = phosphines and phosphites), as well as bimetallic Fe-2(CO)(9), were compared, showing how these modifications affect M-CO bonding. After the didactic session, attended by second-year and upper-division students of Facultad de Quimica at UNAM, an evaluation and survey showed that students improved their understanding of the subject when they obtained and visualized IR spectra, also exhibiting greater confidence and enthusiasm for addressing challenging topics. The combination of computational results, spectroscopic analysis, and organometallic theory represents an efficient and clear procedure for implementing chemical thinking, regardless of the difficulties posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

A Research Presentation as a Flexible Alternative to a Practical Lab Exam in Organic Chemistry

Covid-19 public health measures have forced educators to adapt their courses to an online or hybrid presentation format with laboratory components facing particular challenges. We surmised that having introductory organic chemistry students orally present selected faculty literature publications would provide a flexible alternative to our final laboratory assessment held at the end of term, and this exercise exceeded our expectations. Using video conferencing software, students presented the research findings of a faculty publication and showed how second-year organic chemistry laboratory techniques were being similarly used by research groups on campus. Apart from improving scientific literacy and oral communication skills, this task provided students with perspective and context for the materials taught in undergraduate-level chemistry and demonstrated how even introductory lab skills are used at the highest levels of research. This presentation can be delivered online or in-person, is scalable in length and scope, and can be used in various second-year or higher-level courses. The presentation material is self-refreshing since newly published faculty papers can be provided for students to read every year. Lastly, reviewing the work of local professors has the potential to increase the sense of community and foster connections between teaching and research. Due to positive feedback from students and instructors, the research presentation has been permanently incorporated into our laboratory curriculum.

Teaching Process Simulators during COVID-19 Pandemic: Analysis on the Digitalization of a Dry Laboratory

The global outbreak of COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) gave rise to a sudden shift to the online education delivery system from the conventional in-person teaching method. Though instructions were moved to a virtual learning platform, it was a critical challenge to provide hands-on training to teach complex engineering software. This article discusses the experience of teaching blended online delivery mechanisms (synchronous and asynchro-nous) of two AspenONE process simulators, that is, Aspen Plus and Aspen Hysys, which were the part of a chemical engineering sophomore course: CHE 2033 - Introduction to Chemical Process Engineering. The course materials and instruction methodology were prepared through prerecorded videos, organizing individual virtual/ in-person conferences to assist students with the tedious software installation procedure, making them acquainted with the software, and assisting with homework problems. A self-assessment of students about the teaching methodology was done through an online survey. From the survey results, it was observed that approximately 88% of the enrolled students seemed to be satisfied with the course content, instructional approach, and learning outcomes. However, they highlighted working on more complex chemical engineering problems through homework or term projects. The key findings of this study are valuable while developing courses or laboratories that utilize complex engineering software or various process simulators.

Labapalooza: What Happens When Students Return to In-Person Laboratories After Taking Laboratories Online for a Year?

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in-person undergraduate chemistry laboratories at North Carolina State University were not available to students during the 2020-2021 academic year and were replaced with online laboratories. With the return to in-person laboratories in the fall semester of 2021, there was widespread concern among the faculty that chemistry majors might struggle with the application of concepts and techniques that they learned online in the in-person lab environment. An event to bring students back to campus for a day was designed by the faculty in charge of teaching organic and analytical chemistry laboratories with extensive input from students. Participants were asked to choose the lab techniques that they wanted to review, were given agency to choose the day and time of the gathering, and were encouraged to suggest a name for the event. In this paper we describe the outcomes regarding student choices, participation, and self-assessed efficacy before and after testing in person the lab techniques that had been learned online.

Design and Evaluation of the BeArS@home and Slugs@home Choose-Your-Own-Adventure-Style Online Laboratory Experiments

The COVID-19 pandemic has emphasized the importance of designing effective methods for remote teaching. At the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of California, Santa Cruz, instructors adapted to the necessity of remote laboratory instruction by creating choose-your-own-Adventure-style video-based online experiments introduced to thousands of students across 11 different courses. These experiments are designed to provide students with the opportunity to make and receive feedback on experimental decisions and learn from common mistakes that they may have encountered in hands-on laboratory instruction. Students' and instructors' impressions of the online experiments and student learning outcomes in both online and traditional laboratory courses were assessed using surveys, focus groups, and interviews via a mixed-methods approach. Though most respondents (79%) did not agree that online laboratory instruction was as effective as in-person instruction, the majority agreed that the online experiments were clear and easy to follow (75%), interesting and engaging (52%), and helpful for learning about lab techniques (70%) and the concepts underlying these techniques (77%). Many also mentioned benefits of online laboratory instruction, including flexibility in scheduling and an increased focus on conceptual learning. Assessments of student learning also suggested that students who took the course online learned as much conceptually as students who had previously completed the course in-person. The results of this study highlight the positive and negative aspects of this type of interactive online laboratory instruction, which could help inform the design of future lab experiences whether they take place in an online, hybrid, or in-person environment. ©

Reassessing Undergraduate Polymer Chemistry LaboratoryExperiments for Virtual Learning Environments br

Chemistry laboratory experiments are invaluable tostudents'acquisition of necessary synthetic, analytical, andinstrumental skills during their undergraduate studies. However,the COVID-19 pandemic rendered face-to-face (f2f), in-personteaching laboratory experiences impossible from late 2019-2020and forced educators to rapidly develop new solutions to deliverchemistry laboratory education remotely. Unfortunately, achievinglearning and teaching objectives to the same caliber of in-personexperiments is very difficult through distance learning. Toovercome these hurdles, educators have generated many virtual and remote learning options for not only foundational chemistrycourses but also laboratory experiments. Although the pandemic challenged high-level chemistry education, it has also created anopportunity for both students and educators to be more cognizant of virtual learning opportunities and their potential benefits withinchemistry curriculum. Irrespective of COVID-19, virtual learning techniques, especially virtual lab experiments, can complement f2flaboratories and offer a cost-efficient, safe, and environmentally sustainable alternative to their in-person counterparts.Implementation of virtual and distance learning techniques???including kitchen chemistry and at-home laboratories, prerecordedvideos, live-stream video conferencing, digital lab environment, virtual and augmented reality, and others???can provide a wide-ranging venue to teach chemistry laboratories effectively and encourage diversity and inclusivity in thefield. Despite their relevanceto real-world applications and potential to expand upon fundamental chemical principles, polymer lab experiments areunderrepresented in the virtual platform. Polymer chemistry education can help prepare students for industrial and academicpositions. The impacts of polymers in our daily life can also promote students'interests in science and scientific research. Hence, thetranslation of polymer lab experiments into virtual settings improves the accessibility of polymer chemistry education. Herein, weassess polymer experiments in the emergence of virtual learning environments and provide suggestions for further incorporation ofeffective polymer teaching and learning techniques into virtual settings

vPBL: Developing a Facilitated Remote Approach to Problem Based Learning br

A classroom based Problem Based Learning (PBL) activity was adapted to run as a remote activity during the COVID-19 pandemicusing an approach described as virtual Problem Based Learning (vPBL).vPBL is based on (i) identification of a suitable learning platform thatsupports collaborative working in a way that mimics the classroom basedactivity and provides additionalflexibility for teams to work together, and (ii)adaptation of the problem structure to provide additional time for students towork together and additional facilitated support where needed. Studentperformance and self-reported levels of transferrable skills development in thevPBL activity were as good as they were in the PBL version of the sameactivity. Furthermore, the transition to vPBL appears to have no negativeimpact on student learning and development. Although there was evidence tosuggest students in the vPBL cohort collaborate between sessions to a similarextent as their colleagues who learnt primarily through interactive online lectures, there was evidence of greater use of somecollaborative digital learning tools (audio and video chat and desktop and file sharing) in the vPBL cohort.

The Development, Use, and Evaluation of Digital Games and Quizzes in an Introductory Course on Organic Chemistry for Preservice Chemistry Teachers

Due to the COVID pandemic, the introductory course on organic chemistry was developed and conducted as an online course. To ensure methodical variety in this course, educational games and quizzes have been developed, used, and evaluated. The attendance of the course, and therefore also the use of the quizzes and games, was voluntary. The quizzes' main goal was to give the students the opportunity to check whether they had memorized the knowledge needed in the course. Another goal was to make transparent which knowledge the students should memorize by rote. The evaluation shows that the students had not internalized all knowledge which they should apply in several tasks on organic chemistry. They answered multiselect questions in general less well than single-select questions. The games should combine fun with learning. The evaluation of the games shows that the students rated them very well. The students used those games again for their exam preparation, as the monitoring of accessing the games showed. Students' experiences with using electronic devices in general or for quizzes and games have also been evaluated, because their experience could influence the students' assessment of the quizzes and games used in our study. However, the students used electronic devices regularly and should therefore be technically competent to use our quizzes and games. The evaluation showed that the use of digital games for learning purposes is not very common, neither at school nor at university, although the students had worked with such tools before. The students are also very interested in using and developing such digital games not only for their own study, but also for their future work at school. © 2022 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.

Investigating Meaningful Learning in Virtual Reality Organic Chemistry Laboratories

Virtual reality (VR) lab experiences for organic chemistry were developed at NC State University as an accessibility tool for students who are unable to attend in-person laboratories due to disabilities, attendance challenges such as pregnancy or military deployment, or safety concerns. The resulting first-person VR experiences are immersive and realistic, with a virtual teaching assistant guiding the user along the steps required to complete the experiment, including feedback as needed. During the COVID pandemic, these laboratories replaced traditional face-to-face laboratories at NC State and several other universities. During the summer of 2020, we used the Meaningful Learning in the Laboratory Instrument (MLLI) to measure both the cognitive and affective dimensions of students' expectations of the virtual lab before the course and their experiences with virtual reality after completing the course. Students who completed virtual reality laboratories reported more positive affective experiences than they anticipated, including little frustration or confusion in the laboratory. © 2021 American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.