Scholarship in Teaching of Chemistry and Biology

A unique collaborative project, "Promotion of enhanced learning through authentic, relevant research experiences across the biology and chemistry curriculum" involves faculty from different departments at EMU: Steve Cessna, Tara Kishbaugh and Matt Siderhurst from Chemistry faculty, Doug Graber Neufeld from Biology, Jeanne Horst from Psychology, and Lori Leaman and Toni Flannigan from Education. We are working to further the understanding of higher order cognitive skills and the nature of science in students by creating authentic research experiences in a variety of chemistry and biology courses. The full project description describes our approach and results, including a recent publication "Measuring beyond content: A rubric bank for assessing skills in authentic research assignments in the sciences", found in the journal Chemistry Education Research and Practice. This work is supported by a NSF CCLI Grant 0837578.

Other Publications on the Scholarship of Teaching:

• Cessna, S., Graber Neufeld, D., and S.J. Horst. (2013). Teaching the nature of science in a course in sustainable agriculture. Natural Sciences Education, 42(1), 36-42.
• Kishbaugh, T, Cessna, S., Leaman, L, Horst, S.J., Graber Neufeld, D., Siderhurst, Matthew, Flanagan, T. M (2012) Measuring beyond content: A rubric bank for assessing skills in authentic research assignments in the sciences. Chemistry Education Research and Practice, 13(3), 268-276.
• Graber Neufeld, D.S., and Yoder, J. (2011). The Role of Feeding Adaptations in Resource Competition between Invasive and Native Clams. Proceedings of ABLE. Pages 78-87, in Tested Studies for Laboratory Teaching, Volume 32 (K. McMahon, Editor). Proceedings of the 32nd Conference of the Association for Biology Laboratory Education (ABLE), 383 pages.
• Cessna, S. G., Kishbaugh, T.L.S., Graber Neufeld, D.S., and Cessna, G. A. (2009). A Multiweek, Problem-Based Laboratory Project Using Phytoremediation To Remove Copper from Soil. J. Chem. Ed. 86, 726-729..