Christopher Bauer, University of New Hampshire

CER Interviews and Negotiations

The hiring process contains many unknowns. Much of the process is out of your control. Much of the information available to you is second-hand. Most likely, just about everything you encounter will be a new experience. How are you going to handle that? This workshop will explore a few key points in the academic interview process: the phone interview, the campus visit, and the position negotiation. This short workshop will not prepare you for everything that might happen, but it will push you to think about how to get the best value out of each aspect. Your workshop leader is a former department chair who has been involved in dozens of faculty searches and interviews.

Nathaniel Grove, University of North Carolina, Wilmington

Unraveling the Complexities: The Use of Physiological Techniques to Measure Cognitive Load Changes in Chemistry Students

Researchers have long recognized that there appears to be a limit to the amount of information that the working memory can process simultaneously. Anything beyond that limit will likely lead to cognitive overload for many adults and seriously interfere with and inhibit the learning process. The collection of physiological data such as heart rate or EEG has been established as a valid and reliable method for measuring changes in cognitive load. Unlike other techniques of measuring load, these metrics can often be gathered in real-time, are sensitive to small changes in load, and with the advent of recent technological advances, can be collected unobtrusively. This presentation will highlight our efforts to understand the complex interplay between cognitive load and students’ learning of chemistry.

Scott Lewis, University of South Florida

A Practical Introduction to Cluster Analysis

This workshop is designed to introduce cluster analysis. Cluster analysis is an algorithmic tool used to mine data sets to identify groups of participants within a sample. The goal of cluster analysis is to make groups where participants within one group are as similar as possible on the data of interest and participants in different groups are as different as possible. The workshop will present cluster analysis as a tool within the context of Chemistry Education Research and demonstrate how to conduct cluster analysis using SPSS. Attendees will have an opportunity to conduct their own cluster analysis on a set of provided data and interpret and present their results. Finally, resources for further investigation into cluster analysis will be identified.

Dawn Rickey, National Science Foundation

Program Officer

Ellen Yezierski, Miami University

Writing Quality Research Plans

It is common for faculty applications to require a research plan outlining the nature and scope of anticipated scholarly work. This interactive workshop will focus on the key components of a research plan, how to effectively articulate a chemistry education research agenda, and how plans should be tailored to different types of faculty positions.

Greg Allen, Postdoctoral Researcher, Miami University (Advisor: Stacey Lowery Bretz)

Connecting Student Misconceptions about Bonding to Acid/Base and Redox Reactions Using Cluster Analysis

As students make connections between topics, they often incorporate alternative ideas to the new ideas they are learning about. The relationship between misconceptions in three different topics of general chemistry was investigated by administering the Bonding Representations Inventory (BRI), Acid Base Concept Inventory (ABCI), and the Redox Concept Inventory (ROXCI) to more than 900 general chemistry. All three concept inventories used one and two-tiered questions to measure students' understandings and reasoning along with a confidence tier to determine the robustness of the misconceptions. The relationships between these two were analyzed using cluster analysis. Results will be presented.

Emily Atieh, Ph.D. Candidate, Rutgers University (Advisor: Darrin York)

Implementation and Evaluation of an Undergraduate Chemistry Education Certificate Program

At Rutgers, we host a for-credit peer instruction program that offers pedagogy training and multiple types of teaching opportunities within General Chemistry. Some of these interns take additional coursework, including a formal pedagogy course, and also solo-teach a freshmen chemistry lab section, culminating into a Certificate in Chemistry Education. These students have provided the department with a unique opportunity to explore how the act of teaching and learning about teaching affects the peer instructors themselves. So far, we have explored three different areas: (1) shifts in attitudes towards learning chemistry, (2) beliefs about teaching, and (3) metacognition.

Kinsey Bain, Ph.D. Candidate, Purdue University (Advisor: Marcy Towns)

Students' Understanding of Energy in Chemical Reactions and Processes

Energy is one of the most important themes in science, unifying all scientific disciplines. This work was designed to investigate student reasoning at different points in an academic career to provide robust evidential grounding for curriculum design. Semi-structured interviews using an interview-about-events protocol were conducted with introductory-level chemistry undergraduate students, upper-level chemistry undergraduate students, and physical chemistry PhD candidates to investigate how they describe energy concepts in the context of chemical reactions/processes. To identify ideas that participants discussed, interviews were coded using the General Chemistry ACCM. A second round of open coding was conducted, revealing themes related to student reasoning.

Ian Brown, Ph.D. Candidate, University of Iowa (Advisor: Renee Cole)

Promoting Active Learning in Analytical Chemistry

The purpose of this project is to assess the effectiveness of a set of workshops designed to teach faculty to use active learning strategies and context rich modules in analytical chemistry. The assessment will look at the workshop itself, as well as how those faculty implement active learning in their own classrooms, and how students are impacted by the differences in those implementations. Early work on the project consists of organization of the tasks, and selection of the instruments to be used to assess the faculty and students.

Aaron Clark, Ph.D. Candidate, University of South Florida (Advisor: Jeff Raker)

Peer Leaders' Perceived Roles:  An Exploratory Study in a Postsecondary Organic Chemistry Course

PLTL is a pedagogical method that involves employing students, who have completed a given class, to facilitate small group learning. The impact on learning has been widely documented; however limited work has been done the impact on peer leaders. Fifty-two peer leaders (from 3 implementations in organic chemistry) completed weekly journals on their experience; the last involved describing their relationship with the small groups. Journal entries were qualitatively coded for themes in our peer leader perceive their role in the learning process. Results suggest that there is affinity to a mentor-like role and an aversion to being a teacher.

Michael Croisant, Ph.D. Candidate, Miami University (Advisor: Stacey Lowery Bretz)

Investigating Student Conceptions of Chemical Kinetics and Reaction Coordinate Diagrams

Reaction coordinate diagrams are an important tool used to visualize the energetics of a chemical reaction. These diagrams provide information about both the kinetics and thermodynamics of a reaction, as well as information about reaction mechanism. Student misconceptions about chemical kinetics have been well-documented in the literature, and a notable trend has emerged in which students frequently confuse kinetic information with thermodynamic information. In this study, we investigate how students analyze reaction coordinate diagrams in order to understand what information they derive from them, and if and how they differentiate mechanistic and kinetic information from thermodynamic information.

Elizabeth Day, Ph.D. Candidate, University of Georgia (Advisor: Norbert Pienta)

Transitioning to eBooks: Student use of various textbook features

From 2002 to 2012, the GAO noted that print textbook prices increased 82 percent. One potential cost-saving option is eBooks. The slow adoption of eBooks in college chemistry courses has been attributed to electronic platform concerns and the need to retool features for eBooks. Modeled after the now-defunct TextRev national textbook survey, this 21-item survey administered at the end of first-semester general chemistry identifies which features of the current eBook students perceive as helpful compared to those of a print textbook, demonstrates how students respond to the eBook format, and identifies other resources that students use instead of the textbook.   

Patrick Emery, Ph.D. Candidate, Miami University (Advisor: Ellen Yezierski)

Developing an Activity to Link Between 3D Models, DSF Laboratory Data, and Thermodynamic Factors in the Biochemistry Classroom

One fundamental biochemistry topic is protein structure. Often this is addressed in biochemistry courses with only a peripheral discussion of how thermodynamic factors inform structural determination. This project focuses on the development of a POGIL activity that connects thermodynamics to protein structure and can be applied to any biochemistry classroom. The activity is comprised of scaffolded critical thinking questions based on models from differential scanning fluorimetry (DSF) data and 3D imaging with PyMol to help students relate the structures shown to thermodynamic factors. Linking these factors will help the students make connections between the submicroscopic and symbolic levels of biochemistry.

Eshani Gandhi-Lee, Ph.D. Candidate, University of Nevada Las Vegas (Advisor: MaryKay Orgill)

The Equitable Assessment of English Language Learners in General Chemistry

There is little research that considers the ways English Language Learners (ELLs) are assessed in introductory science courses at the post-secondary level. General chemistry is a critical course for STEM-bound undergraduate students, and also, one that students most struggle with.  Literature reports that general chemistry assessments contain complex academic language, which makes the questions difficult to follow. One way to make questions more accessible is to add linguistic support and remove unnecessary features. This study examines the effects of revising assessment items based on the guidelines of the equity framework through the perceptions of ELLs and native English speaking students. 

Rayford Harrison, Ph.D. Candidate, University of Iowa (Advisor: Nicole Becker)

Engaging Students in the Practice of Constructing Causal Mechanistic Explanations in the Context of Chemical Kinetics

Students' difficulties with effectively using their chemistry knowledge when constructing explanations about kinetics phenomena have been well documented. Through constructing scientific explanations, students may acquire generative skills that will aid them in their future careers. We observed the major types of causal mechanistic explanations constructed by introductory chemistry students about how the rate of a generic reaction changes with time. We centered our perspective of causal mechanistic explanations on the causal and probabilistic nature of particulate interactions. The overarching goal of our work is to inform future activities to encourage students' engagement in the practice of constructing scientific explanations.

Michelle Herridge Bailey, Ph.D. Candidate, University of Arizona (Advisor: Vicente Talanquer)

Evaluating Preservice Teachers’ Science Understanding and Enthusiasm

Chemistry topics, such as states of matter and phase changes, are fundamental parts of the elementary science curriculum and are important to further scientific inquiry. While it has been shown that high self-concept does not correlate with high content knowledge (Moores, Chang, & Smith, 2006; Baur, 2005), it may or may not relate to enthusiasm. Preservice teacher goals of being confident, knowledgeable, and enthusiastic about science were evaluated using survey items concerning current states of self-concept and enthusiasm, and items of content knowledge. The results and analysis of this survey will be discussed, with a focus on identifying the relationships between understanding and self-concept, and enthusiasm.

Oscar Judd, Ph.D. Candidate, Michigan State University (Advisor: Melanie Cooper)

Exploring Students' Use of Mechanistic Reasoning via Representation and Explanation of Macroscopic Energy in Solution Formation

Research has shown that energy concepts are difficult for students, even at the college level. Current work investigates how students represent and explain the process of solution formation and the connections between temperature changes (at the bulk level) and interactions, energy transformation, and energy transfer (at the atomic-molecular level). We are particularly interested in features of representations and drawings that indicate the use of mechanistic reasoning during these processes. Here we present an analysis of students' responses to formative and summative assessment items. Implications for assessment design and teaching resulting from analysis across multiple semesters will also be discussed. 

Hagar Labouta, Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Calgary (Advisor: David Cramb)

Student-Centered Curriculum Evaluation of a Student-Driven Science Undergraduate Program

The learning strategy within this Nanoscience program at University of Calgary "learning-science-by-doing-science" (LSDS) wherein students across science disciplines undertake research projects for solving a problem they choose. To know how effective LSDS is at achieving its intended learning outcomes, courses were mapped from different perspectives; the director, the teaching staff and the students and Alumni. Learning outcomes of all stakeholders were well-aligned. Gaps and strengths of the LSDS were identified. This study provides a novel methodology for curriculum mapping of Science programs in higher education in North America.

Kathryn Mauger-Sonnek, Ph.D. Candidate, University of Iowa (Advisor: Nicole Becker)

Students’ Understanding of the Nature and Purpose of Mathematical Models in Chemical Equilibrium

Equilibrium expressions are rich mathematical models that are used to predict and explain chemical equilibrium. There is evidence that students struggle with mathematical problem solving and recognizing the interpretive power of mathematical formulas. To explore how students reason about the nature and purpose of equilibrium expressions, an open response survey was administered to 339 undergraduate general chemistry students. Findings suggest that traditional approaches to engaging students in constructing equilibrium expressions may not support students in developing deep understandings of mathematical models. We present the results we found along with plans for developing collaborative learning activities to engage students in constructing mathematical models.

Maia Popova, Ph.D. Candidate, Miami University (Advisor: Stacey Lowery Bretz)

Finding Connections between Reactions and Reaction Coordinate Diagrams: Organic Chemistry Students' Understandings of Kinetic and Thermodynamic Considerations

No previous research has explored students’ thinking when making connections between organic chemistry reactions and reaction coordinate diagrams. An analysis was conducted of students' understandings of the kinetic and thermodynamic factors that correspond to these reactions and how students related these ideas when describing reactions with reaction coordinate diagrams. Ausubel’s theory of meaningful learning was chosen as the theoretical framework for the study to explore the differences between meaningful learning of the concepts and rote memorization of dogmatic facts and rules. Thirty six students enrolled in organic chemistry II were interviewed in a qualitative study using semi-structured interviews.

Christopher Randles, Postdoctoral Researcher, Purdue University (Advisor: Roy Tasker)

Undergraduate Science Student Approaches to Solving Open-Ended Problems

My approach to research encompasses both research and practice components of chemistry education research, whereby I study phenomena through interviews in controlled environments and then implement change into the classroom once the phenomena are understood. My main research field explores the different types of approaches science undergraduates use when solving problems. In addition, my research areas are the cognitive attributes that influence problem solving competency (working memory, m-capacity and field dependency), professional development of graduate teaching assistants and reflective practice (Vitruvian Model of Reflective Practice), and curriculum change impact and policy.

Adam Schafer, Ph.D. Candidate, Miami University (Advisor: Ellen Yezierski)

Using Molecular Polygons to Characterize Effects of Stereochemistry on Macrocyclization in the Organic Teaching Laboratory

In this work, organic macrocycle formation was used to bridge the gap between current organic chemistry research and pedagogical practice in organic laboratories. A novel, guided inquiry experiment is under development allowing second year, undergraduate organic chemistry students to explore the stereochemical effects of basic subunits on the formation of macrocycles. A diamine is reacted with one of two simple dialdehydes to produce a macrocycle. Students work in teams to investigate the mechanistic steps and energetics driving macrocycle formation, but must work interdependently to justify the ring size of their macrocycle. Experimental components along with pedagogical features will be presented.

Shalini Srinivasan, Postdoctoral Researcher, University of South Florida (Advisor: Jeff Raker)

Instructional Practices and Beliefs of Chemistry Faculty in Postsecondary Education: Results from a National Survey

The landscape of postsecondary chemistry education is a dynamic one, eliciting constant reform in educational strategies to support student learning and achievement. Implementing pedagogical practices, supported by evidence, within the context of a student, class, institution and community is essential to facilitate greater student learning. To that end, this study describes the results of a national survey designed to evaluate the instructional practices (including use of assessment tools) and beliefs (about learning) of chemistry faculty in postsecondary education. Using weighted data, where appropriate, these results examine the contextual and personal factors that impact faculty utilization of instructional strategies and assessments in their courses and the resulting implications for evidence-based instructional practice.

Ryan Stowe, Postdoctoral Researcher, Michigan State University (Advisor: Melanie Cooper)

Investigating Student Understanding of Spectroscopy in Organic Chemistry

The process of structure elucidation from spectra requires that students engage with Scientific Practices, beginning with analyzing and interpreting data, constructing an argument about molecular structure based on spectroscopic evidence, and eventually constructing an explanation about how and why particular substances show distinctive and predictable absorption and emission patterns. However, the ability to predict and explain molecular structure from spectroscopic evidence appears to be quite difficult for students. We will report our characterization of student ability to analyze spectral data, and discuss our attempts to elicit evidence of the reasoning students use to link proposed structures to data.

Caitlin Zumalt, Ph.D. Candidate, University of South Florida (Advisor: Jeff Raker)

Characterizing Postsecondary Organic Chemistry Students’ Illusions of Competence

The Dunning-Kruger Effect occurs when students over predict performance on exams, i.e., lower performing students over predict performance and higher performing students under predict performance. In this study, we explored the Dunning-Kruger Effect in the first semester of a yearlong postsecondary organic chemistry course at the University of South Florida. Before the four term and final examinations, students predicted their relative percentile score; these predications were compared with actual performance. We also asked students to provide written explanations for their predictions; these explanations provide additional insight into the predictions. Implications include how to develop targeted interventions for increasing metacognitive awareness.