Research

The Pratt Research Group harnesses diverse methods and frameworks to investigate chemistry teaching and learning across a variety of contexts. Detailed below are current projects and areas of interest.
Click the down arrows below to expand and learn more about individual projects.

Informal Chemistry Education

Framework for Effective Chemistry Communication in Informal Environments by the National Research Council

Framework for Effective Chemistry Communication in Informal Environments from the National Academies of Science

Develop Evidence-Supported Resources to Support Chemistry Outreach Practitioners in Implementing High-Quality Events

This project seeks to develop outreach activity guidelines that address calls from outreach practitioners for high-quality, accurate resources. These guides will support reflective practices through the incorporation of evaluation questions, corresponding evidence, and implementation strategies.

Develop and Implement Professional Development Opportunities for Chemistry Outreach Practitioners

Through collaboration with a colleague at the University of Nevada - Las Vegas, this project is developing, implementing, and evaluating a 5-part training sequence modeled after the Framework for Effective Chemistry Communication in Informal Environments from the National Academies of Science. We seek to understand how participation in the training series impacts outreach practices as well as the self-efficacy and motivation of college student outreach practitioners.

Develop Research Tools Specific for Chemistry Outreach

In support of our work, a dedicated instrument is needed that measures affective constructs pertinent to leading and facilitating chemistry outreach events. We seek to develop a self-efficacy instrument specific to conducting chemistry outreach. The tool will be useful for practitioners as well as researchers who are moving into the informal science education arena.

Inorganic Chemistry Education

URI Chemistry Lab image from HGA design firm

From Holtrop, T., et al. Nat Ecol Evol 5, 55–66 (2021).

Supporting Faculty in Reinvigorating the Inorganic Chemistry Instructional Laboratory

This project, in collaboration with the Interactive Online Network of Inorganic Chemists (IONiC), seeks to provide professional development opportunities for inorganic chemistry faculty members with respect to laboratory learning. Through dedicated experiences, this project will develop understanding related to faculty change as well as how support and autonomy in course improvement impacts student learning in inorganic chemistry.

Student Understanding of Light, Matter, and Bonding

Little is known regarding student learning and understanding in upper-division courses, nor how student understanding changes and evolves as they progress through the chemistry curriculum. This study seeks to address these gaps and build off of previous work by IONiC to understand how students conceptualize bonding and molecular orbital theory, as well as how light and matter interact.

Other Projects

From Rhodes College's Academic and Learning Resources

Understanding Students' Cognitive Resources related to Aromaticity

This project seeks to understand how students conceptualize aromaticity, focusing on the various cognitive resources students use to discuss aromaticity, represent aromaticity, and describe mechanisms involving aromatic compounds. The long-term goal is to identify areas for faculty to emphasize in their instruction to support student conceptual understanding.

Understanding Student Studying Habits Across Introductory Chemistry

While a plethora of research has examined what studying resources/strategies students use and their frequency, little is known about why students use certain resources, avoid others, etc. Given the significant change in the education landscape as a result of the COVID19 pandemic, we seek to understand how and why students make studying decisions, and how those ideas change as they progress across the introductory chemistry sequence.

Understanding the Experiences of Marginalized Women Pursuing PhDs in Chemistry

This project, in collaboration with the Popova Research Group at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, seeks to understand the experiences of marginalized women who either completed a PhD in chemistry or started and left a PhD program. The long term goal is to identify factors that contribute to the success or hindrance of marginalized groups to support long-term success.

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