Cu(II)Sulfate Synthesis From MgSO4 For Home Chemistry Laboratories

The global pandemic has forced many educators to instruct their students online and use home resources to continue their education. Developing chemistry protocols for students and educators that can be performed at home will further help alleviate the pandemic’s pressures on the educational process. This paper explores the process of producing CuSO using products and equipment available in stores or online retailers. The protocol developed in this project produced CuSO pentahydrate for use in a home laboratory, and the process provides several avenues for lessons and classroom discussion.

A Qualitative Investigation of the Interactions of Students with Graduate and Undergraduate TAs in General Chemistry Laboratories

A new teaching assistant model was adopted and qualitatively assessed for the general chemistry laboratory, in which both an undergraduate and a graduate teaching assistant provided instruction to students during the lab. Verbal interactions between graduate and undergraduate teaching assistants were recorded, transcribed, and coded using the modified Laboratory Observation Protocol for Undergraduate STEM (LOPUS). The codes were applied to capture how discussions, questioning, and explanations were conducted. In addition, the content discussed was coded to identify specific areas that pose challenges for students. Sizable differences were not observed between the number of interactions of the initiation, explanation, and questioning codes between graduate and undergraduate teaching assistants. Of the interactions, 77% focused on questions and discussions regarding the experimental setup. Discussions on the implications with regards to the effective use of undergraduate and graduate teaching assistants in chemistry laboratories are included.

USE OF VIRTUAL LABORATORIES IN THE PROCESS OF TEACHING CHEMICAL DISCIPLINES

The introduction of information and communication technologies in the educational process of teaching various disciplines is becoming increasingly important. Accordingly, the issue of application of these technologies in the teaching of chemical disciplines is relevant, namely the study of the possibility of using virtual laboratories in Chemistry as an interactive learning tool to improve the learning process and provide opportunities for professional and research skills. The purpose of the article is to study the possibilities of using virtual laboratories in the process of teaching chemical disciplines and to determine the opinion of students on the effectiveness of this type of activity. The following research methods are used in the article: theoretical – analysis of scientific publications on the research problem; systematization and generalization of information; empirical – questionnaires and analysis of its results. The article considers the advantages and disadvantages of using virtual Chemistry laboratories in the educational process. The article analyzes the concept of «virtual laboratory» and gives the definition of a virtual laboratory of Chemistry as a software environment that allows to form practical skills by conducting laboratory experiments, simulating the sequence of actions of the researcher in real laboratory (or managing chemical plants by robotic means) with use of computer models or contactless (remotely) with real equipment and reagents. We consider the virtual Chemistry laboratories available on the Internet, which provides free access to the educational resources and explores their didactic and methodological opportunities to increase the level of formation of practical skills and abilities during chemical experiments. It is established that the use of a virtual laboratory in Chemistry contributes to the formation of practical skills in conducting interactive laboratory classes with further consolidation in real conditions; provides an individual pace of mastering the skills of chemical experiment; allows students to explore processes that require special conditions; increases the motivation to master new material by working in a virtual environment that is familiar and interesting for the modern student; provides realization of its independent preparation for performance of experiments in real laboratory conditions. It is substantiated the use of virtual laboratories in Chemistry cannot substitute the traditional performance of laboratory work, but is only a supplementary form.