If you are learner-centered and you know it, raise your hand: Perspectives on and implementation of pedagogical changes by science instructors during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Students at Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) faced significant hardships while trying to learn through emergency remote teaching (ERT) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our research aims to investigate if science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) instructors thought about and enacted more learner-centered teaching practices to alleviate some of this stress encountered by their students. Using semi-structured interviews and classroom observations, we utilized inductive and deductive qualitative research methods to examine two questions: (1) To what extent were STEM instructor's perceived pedagogical changes learner-centered during ERT?; and (2) To what extent were STEM instructor's teaching behaviors and discourse practices learner-centered during ERT? Our findings revealed that during ERT, STEM instructors described using a variety of pedagogical changes that we identified as learner-centered under the Weimer framework, including ideas such as enacting flexible late policies and increased usage of formative assessment.

Increasing Student Engagement through Course Attributes, Community, and Classroom Technology: Lessons from the Pandemic.

While many STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) instructors returned to in-person instruction in fall 2021, others found themselves continuing to teach via online, hybrid, or hybrid flexible (i.e., hyflex) formats.

Measuring Attitude toward Chemistry, Biology, and Math at a Hispanic-Serving Institution.

This work describes the evaluation of the Attitude toward the Subject of Chemistry Inventory (ASCI), as well as two modifications (one for measuring attitude toward math and one for measuring attitude toward biology), for college students at a Hispanic Serving Institution. Instrument reliability was tested via multiple administrations of the instruments, and confirmatory factor analysis supported a two-factor structure similar to an existing model of a revised version of the ASCI for all three instruments. The similar factor structure of the three instruments, coupled with interviews with students, provide validity evidence for the instruments and support an interpretation that one of the subscales aligns with a cognitive aspect of attitude while the other subscale aligns with an affective aspect.

Correction to: I will teach you here or there, I will try to teach you anywhere: perceived supports and barriers for emergency remote teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1186/s40594-022-00335-1.].

I will teach you here or there, I will try to teach you anywhere: perceived supports and barriers for emergency remote teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many universities moved to emergency remote teaching (ERT). This allowed institutions to continue their instruction despite not being in person. However, ERT is not without consequences.

Comparing Computational Predictions and Experimental Results for Aluminum Triflate in Tetrahydrofuran.

Exploring reliable electrolytes for aluminum ion batteries requires an in-depth understanding of the behavior of aluminum ions in ethereal-organic solvents. Electrolytes comprised of aluminum trifluoromethanesulfonate (Al-triflate) in tetrahydrofuran (THF) were investigated computationally and experimentally. Optimized geometries, redox potentials, and vibrational frequencies of species likely to be present in the electrolyte were calculated by density functional theory and then measured spectroscopically and electrochemically.

Computational and experimental characterization of a pyrrolidinium-based ionic liquid for electrolyte applications.

The development of Li-ion batteries for energy storage has received significant attention. The synthesis and characterization of electrolytes in these batteries are an important component of this development. Ionic liquids (ILs) have been proposed as possible electrolytes in these devices.

A Combined Experimental and Computational Study of an Aluminum Triflate/Diglyme Electrolyte.

The physicochemical properties of aluminum trifluoromethanesulfonate in diglyme have been investigated. The spectroscopic and electrochemical properties have been examined to determine speciation, conductivity, and electrochemical stability. Gaussian calculations provide optimized molecular geometries and offer insight into the electrochemical behavior of the solutions.

High-density gold nanowire arrays by lithographically patterned nanowire electrodeposition.

Here we describe a new method for preparing multiple arrays of parallel gold nanowires with dimensions and separation down to 50 nm. This method uses photolithography to prepare an electrode consisting of a patterned nickel film on glass, onto which a gold and nickel nanowire array is sequentially electrodeposited. After the electrodeposition, the nickel is stripped away, leaving behind a gold nanowire array, with dimensions governed by the gold electrodeposition parameters, spacing determined by the nickel electrodeposition parameters, and overall placement and shape dictated by the photolithography.

Protection of lithium metal surfaces using chlorosilanes.

In this paper, we present a new approach for protecting metallic lithium surfaces based on a reaction between the thin native layer of lithium hydroxide present on the surface and various chlorosilane derivatives. The chemical composition of the resulting layer and the chemistry involved in layer formation were analyzed by polarization modulated infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (PM-IRRAS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX). Spectroscopy shows the disappearance of surface hydroxide groups and the appearance of silicon and chloride on the lithium surface.