The overall goal of our research is to develop evidence-based educational practices that teach rigorous chemical content and authentic scientific practices and make students’ education more accessible, more enjoyable, and more successful.
Documenting and Improving Student Learning in Undergraduate Research Experiences
Undergraduate research experiences (UREs) are widely believed to be a valuable, if not essential, component of undergraduate programs in the sciences. Many students participate in UREs and most institutions devote considerable resources to them, yet there has been little systematic study of the learning gains that students make during these experiences. To validate beliefs in the value of UREs, we have developed assessments that investigate the activities of UC Berkeley undergraduate students as they participate in undergraduate research. We assess how students connect the components of their research projects including scientific content, research questions, experimental design, data analysis, and interpretation. We have developed a workshop to help graduate students and postdoctoral researchers to develop teaching and mentoring skills to use withtheir undergraduate researchers. We are assessing the outcomes of the workshops for the mentors and mentees. We are investigating impacts on preservice teachers and their K-12 students in collaboration with Elisa Stone, Director of CalTeach.
Investigating and Improving Problem Solving in Organic Courses
We have investigated methods to explicitly teach problem solving to organic chemistry students. In a traditional lecture setting, this component of the education of student is often overlooked. As a result, students often have trouble deciding how to assemble their knowledge coherently to solve an unfamiliar multicomponent problem. Although there are some investigations of methods students use to solve organic problems, it is not clear what interventions are most effective for developing these skills. We have focused on problems in which students are asked to predict the product of reactions because these are authentic organic chemistry problems that require a range of knowledge and skills to solve. We have documented problem solving skills in novice to advanced students, developed methods to improve problem solving skills, and have investigated metacognitive approaches students use to solve these problems.
Green Chemistry and Authentic Practice in Laboratory Instruction
We began approximately 10 years ago to completely revise our general chemistry laboratory curriculum to focus on several goals: 1) teaching students scientific practice and the nature of science by providing a guided authentic experience, 2) integrating sustainability concepts into every aspect of the curriculum, and 3) exposing students to the use of the chemical sciences to address modern societal problems involving the environment, energy, materials, and chemical biology.
Research in laboratory pedagogy is an area of potential considerable impact. Although most chemistry faculty agree that laboratory courses and undergraduate research experiences are an essential part of the curriculum, laboratory courses and undergraduate research programs have not received the same depth of investigation as have lecture courses. Importantly, investigations of student learning in chemistry laboratory courses do suggest that a well-designed laboratory curriculum can have a large impact on students’ understanding of chemical concepts.
Our goals are that students 1) learn concepts and scientific practices of sustainability and green chemistry that students can transfer to future science courses and scientifically related endeavors, 2) experience chemistry as relevant to important problems for society, and 3) have improved attitudes and confidence in chemistry and science, which will promote success and retention in STEM courses.
Quantitative Assessment of Graduate Academic Culture and Sense of Belonging
In an effort to assess and address the pressing issues affecting diversity and inclusivity within the Department of Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley, graduate students designed a department-tailored academic climate survey. This survey gathers data that is used to facilitate progress toward a more inclusive culture. In order to move toward the goal of developing interventions to create a more welcoming, inclusive department have developed a quantitative assessment of sense of belonging (SB) appropriate for graduate students, postdoctoral scholars and faculty. While SB is assessed frequently in undergraduates, research geared toward identifying and understanding the impact of SB among graduate students and faculty members is uncommon. We have developed a a visual narrative survey, comprised of illustrations, and have analyzed the results using item response theory to systematically measure sense of belonging along a linear scale. Results suggest that, in general, the entire academic community finds it difficult to feel confident in their capabilities as a scientist among their peers more than anything else—a phenomenon that reflects one of the large contributions to SB in undergraduate student populations. These results have been used to ground a community discussions and decide on actions. In the last year, we have developed a course for 1st year graduate students titled “Scientific Responsibility and Citizenship” that explains the different forms of implicit bias that exist in research, examines inequities in who has been included in scientific decision-making, and explores how the broader impacts of research have benefited and harmed different communities unequally.
Development and Assessment of a General Chemistry Preparatory Course
It’s known that first year classes disproportionally hinder historically excluded groups from pursuing STEM degrees. Additionally, it’s been shown in the literature that the ability of students to endure these courses has more to do with their frame of mind and social connections with their classmates than their innate ability. Given this, we are interested in the development and assessment of Chem 34, a preparatory course for general chemistry that is part of the Summer Bridge Program. Similar to Chem 32, this 6-week course aims to review the material College of Chemistry (CoC) majors should be familiar with before taking Chem 4A (general chemistry for CoC majors). The goals of the course are to use evidence-based strategies to foster a sense of community and belonging, build good learning habits and strategies, and prepare for Chem 4A and beyond. We are assessing the effectiveness of the course given student performance in Chem 34 and general chemistry, as well as student sense of belonging
Quantitative Assessment of Sense of Belonging in General Chemistry
For many students, introductory courses can make or break their college experience. Specifically, for students entering science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields, General Chemistry can be one of these courses. Previously, it has been shown that affective elements such as sense of belonging can contribute to the persistence and retention of undergraduate students in STEM courses. In order to address this, we are working on developing an instrument that can measure course-level SB in General Chemistry using item response modeling. Further we understand that different components of the classroom can contribute to sense of belonging in a specific manner. Hence we are interested in studying the multidimensionality of SB, and how SB changes as students progress in the General Chemistry sequence. Overall, through the development of a new instrument to measure sense of belonging we hope to gain a better understanding of the classroom experience of our students. And further, establish initiatives to increase sense of belonging within the undergraduate chemistry community.