One-pot near-ambient temperature syntheses of aryl(difluoroenol) derivatives from trifluoroethanol

Difluoroalkenylzinc reagents prepared from 1-(2’-methoxy-ethoxymethoxy)-2,2,2-trifluoroethane and 1-(N,N-diethylcarbamoyloxy)-2,2,2-trifluoroethane at ice bath temperatures, underwent Negishi coupling with a range of aryl halides in a convenient one pot procedure. While significant differences between the enol acetal and carbamate reagents were revealed, the Negishi protocol compared very favourably with alternative coupling procedures in terms of overall yields from trifluoroethanol

Real-world connections to sustainability: Using authentic learning activities to introduce students to systems thinking through green chemistry

Systems thinking refers to approaches to learning that emphasise the interdependence of components in dynamic systems and how they interact and influence one another (Mahaffy et al., 2019). Applying systems thinking to green chemistry teaching and learning can create a molecular basis for sustainability (Mahaffy et al., 2019) that is able to enhance undergraduate chemistry students’ multidimensional understanding of complex sustainability challenges (Smith, 2011). However, efforts to introduce sustainable systems thinking – specifically within first-year introductory chemistry courses – are particularly challenging, and past approaches have produced mixed success (Mahaffy et al., 2019; An et al., 2021). Consequently, this indicates an opportune space within undergraduate chemistry education research to explore alternative and multidisciplinary approaches towards teaching green chemistry and sustainability (Wissinger et al., 2021). In this research, we present the preliminary results of a trimester-long intervention using authentic learning activities to introduce first-year chemistry students to systems thinking, through the application of green chemistry concepts. To determine the effectiveness of the intervention, we are using a mixed-methods research design to assess the impact of the learning activities on students’ development of systems thinking skills. Student motivations and attitudes towards the subject of chemistry will also be evaluated via validated survey instruments (Guay et al., 2000; Liu et al., 2017). The learning activities have been designed and developed successfully, though the delivery of the intervention is currently ongoing. Preliminary results indicate that students are excited to learn about how chemistry can be more sustainable, and that they are engaging with the learning activities. The aim of this research is to provide rigorous evidence for using systems thinking as a tool to teach students about green chemistry, ‘future-proofing’ chemistry in a way that is relevant, meaningful, and authentic for today’s chemistry students. Outcomes from our data analysis will help inform the development of new undergraduate chemistry education curricula that align with contemporary sustainable challenges. REFERENCES An, J., Loppnow, G.R., & Holme, T. A. (2021). Measuring the impact of incorporating systems thinking into general chemistry on affective components of student learning. Canadian Journal of Chemistry, 99(8), 698–705. Fisher, M.A. (2019). Systems thinking and educating the heads, hands, and hearts of chemistry majors. Journal of Chemical Education, 96(12), 2715–2719. Guay, F., Vallerand, R. J., & Blanchard, C. (2000). On the assessment of situational intrinsic and extrinsic motivation: The Situational Motivation Scale (SIMS). Motivation and emotion, 24(3), 175–213. Liu, Y., Ferrell, B., Barbera, J., & Lewis, J. E. (2017). Development and evaluation of a chemistry-specific version of the academic motivation scale (AMS-Chemistry). Chemistry Education Research and Practice, 18(1), 191–213. Mahaffy, P. G., Matlin, S. A., Holme, T. A., & MacKellar, J. (2019). Systems thinking for education about the molecular basis of sustainability. Nature Sustainability, 2(5), 362–370. Smith, T. (2011). Using critical systems thinking to foster an integrated approach to sustainability: A proposal for development practitioners. Environment, development and sustainability, 13, 1–17. Wissinger, J. E., Visa, A., Saha, B. B., Matlin, S. A., Mahaffy, P. G., Kümmerer, K., & Cornell, S. (2021). Integrating sustainability into learning in chemistry. Journal of Chemical Education, 98(4), 1061–1063

Online learning in chemistry: Design, development, accessibility, and evaluation

Online learning has played an integral role in delivering large-cohort chemistry courses in undergraduate degree programs. This study includes describing how a first-year chemistry course transitioned from traditional face-to-face teaching to blended learning using the Resource-Based Learning framework (Hannafin & Hill, 2007; Reyes et al., 2022a). Using this framework, different types of online learning resources were curated to deliver chemistry content. A variety of learning activities were also developed to enhance these resources guided by Laurillard’s Conversational Framework (Laurillard, 2002). Considering that accessibility is a critical aspect to improve students’ learning experience, the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework was integrated into the learning design of first-year chemistry (Rose & Meyer, 2002; Reyes et al., 2022b). The perceived utility of online learning resources enhanced with UDL-based features was evaluated through students’ responses to surveys, interviews, and focus groups. Furthermore, learning analytics using temporal, sequence, and process mining analytical techniques were employed on students’ trace data to evaluate course learning design and to understand students’ engagement with learning resources and activities included in the course. Results of this study show the importance of careful development and implementation of learning design of the online learning component of chemistry courses, to enhance the students’ learning experiences. REFERENCES Hannafin, M. J., & Hill, J. (2007). Resource-based learning. In M. Spector, M. D. Merrill, J. van Merrienboer, & M. P. Driscoll (Eds.), Handbook of research on educational communications and technology. Erlbaum. Laurillard, D. (2002). Rethinking university teaching: A conversational framework for the effective use of learning technologies (2nd ed.). RoutledgeFalmer. Reyes, C.T., Kyne, S. H., Lawrie, G. A., & Thompson, C. D. (2022a). Implementing blended first-year chemistry in a developing country using online resources. Online Learning, 26(1), 174–202. https://doi.org/10.24059/olj.v26i1.2508 Reyes, C.T., Lawrie, G. A., Thompson, C. D., & Kyne, S. H. (2022b). “Every little thing that could possibly be provided helps”: analysis of online first-year chemistry resources using the universal design for learning framework. Chemistry Education Research and Practice. https://doi.org/10.1039/d1rp00171j Rose D. H. & Meyer A. (2002). Teaching every student in the digital age: Universal Design for Learning. Alexandria, VA: ASCD

The faint intergalactic-medium red-shifted emission balloon: future UV observations with EMCCDs

We present the latest developments in our joint NASA/CNES suborbital project. This project is a balloon-borne UV multi-object spectrograph, which has been designed to detect faint emission from the circumgalactic medium (CGM) around low redshift galaxies. One major change from FIREBall-1 has been the use of a delta-doped Electron Multiplying CCD (EMCCD). EMCCDs can be used in photon-counting (PC) mode to achieve extremely low readout noise (¡ 1e-). Our testing initially focused on reducing clock-induced-charge (CIC) through wave shaping and well depth optimisation with the CCD Controller for Counting Photons (CCCP) from Nüvü. This optimisation also includes methods for reducing dark current, via cooling and substrate voltage adjustment. We present result of laboratory noise measurements including dark current. Furthermore, we will briefly present some initial results from our first set of on-sky observations using a delta-doped EMCCD on the 200 inch telescope at Palomar using the Palomar Cosmic Web Imager (PCWI)

FIREBall-2: advancing TRL while doing proof-of-concept astrophysics on a suborbital platform

Here we discuss advances in UV technology over the last decade, with an emphasis on photon counting, low noise, high efficiency detectors in sub-orbital programs. We focus on the use of innovative UV detectors in a NASA astrophysics balloon telescope, FIREBall-2, which successfully flew in the Fall of 2018. The FIREBall-2 telescope is designed to make observations of distant galaxies to understand more about how they evolve by looking for diffuse hydrogen in the galactic halo. The payload utilizes a 1.0-meter class telescope with an ultraviolet multi-object spectrograph and is a joint collaboration between Caltech, JPL, LAM, CNES, Columbia, the University of Arizona, and NASA. The improved detector technology that was tested on FIREBall-2 can be applied to any UV mission. We discuss the results of the flight and detector performance. We will also discuss the utility of sub-orbital platforms (both balloon payloads and rockets) for testing new technologies and proof-of-concept scientific ideas

Peer victimization in single-grade and multigrade classrooms

Although peer victimization mainly takes place within classrooms, little is known about the impact of the classroom context. To this end, we examined whether single-grade and multigrade classrooms (referring to classrooms with one and two grades in the same room) differ in victim-bully relationships in a sample of elementary school children (646 students; age 8-12 years; 50% boys). The occurrence of victim-bully relationships was similar in single-grade and multigrade classrooms formed for administrative reasons, but lower in multigrade classrooms formed for pedagogical reasons. Social network analyses did not provide evidence that peer victimization depended on age differences between children in any of the three classroom contexts. Moreover, in administrative multigrade classrooms, cross-grade victim-bully relationships were less likely than same-grade victim-bully relationships. The findings did not indicate that children in administrative multigrade classrooms are better or worse off in terms of victim-bully relationships than are children in single-grade classrooms

The faint intergalactic-medium red-shifted emission balloon: future UV observations with EMCCDs

We present the latest developments in our joint NASA/CNES suborbital project. This project is a balloon-borne UV multi-object spectrograph, which has been designed to detect faint emission from the circumgalactic medium (CGM) around low redshift galaxies. One major change from FIREBall-1 has been the use of a delta-doped Electron Multiplying CCD (EMCCD). EMCCDs can be used in photon-counting (PC) mode to achieve extremely low readout noise (¡ 1e-). Our testing initially focused on reducing clock-induced-charge (CIC) through wave shaping and well depth optimisation with the CCD Controller for Counting Photons (CCCP) from Nüvü. This optimisation also includes methods for reducing dark current, via cooling and substrate voltage adjustment. We present result of laboratory noise measurements including dark current. Furthermore, we will briefly present some initial results from our first set of on-sky observations using a delta-doped EMCCD on the 200 inch telescope at Palomar using the Palomar Cosmic Web Imager (PCWI)