Curriculum Vitae

AARON CLARK

New Haven, CT  06512                                                                              (801) 836-7020

Email: aaronmclark87@gmail.com

PROFILE

Highly skilled and dedicated Professor of Organic Chemistry, Graduate  Assistant  and Adjunct Professor of General Chemistry and Organic Chemistry, combined with multiple presentations and publications.

QUALIFICATIONS

·        Present complex subject matter in a student friendly manner.

·        Create student enthusiasm for the field of chemistry.

·        Strong advocate of educational partnerships with students.

·        Committed to peer collaboration to capitalize on available talent and new ideas.

WORK EXPERIENCE                                                                                                  

CONNECTICUT COLLEGE, New London, CT                                                                                                                                7/23 – Present                                                                                                                        

VISITING PROFESSOR, Organic Chemistry

·        Instructed Organic Chemistry Lecture class with an initial enrollment of 50 students.

·        Demonstrated adaptability by seamlessly incorporating an additional 50 students from another class due to a fellow professor's medical emergency, ensuring continuity of the learning experience.

·        Orchestrated collaborative examinations to promote teamwork and cooperative learning among students within the class.

·         Achieved significant results, as students, irrespective of their individual standings, recorded an average 11% increase in scores on the group portion of the exams.

·        Implemented peer learning assistants attending class to enhance in-class problem-solving.

·        Present complex subject matter in a student friendly matter.

·        Use a facilitation vs. lecturer approach to encourage active student participation.

·        Incorporate real world applications into discussions to promote the critical value of chemistry in a variety of occupations and industry.

·        Contribute to a student centered culture and a positive experience to enhance recruitment and retention.

·        Assess student’s command of chemistry to customize learning strategies.

YALE UNIVERSITY, New Haven, CT                                                                                                                                8/20 – 6/23                                                                                                                             

PRECEPTOR, Organic Chemistry

·        Managed bi-weekly training sessions with between 8 and 12 teaching assistants centered on evidence-based best instructional practices, resulting in an improvement in teaching assistant improving their pedagogical knowledge and teaching self-efficacy.

• Held consultations with teaching assistants which included observations and giving feedback on best practices, while also encouraging teaching assistants to conduct peer observations and work towards completing the requirements for the Certificate of College Teaching Program.

• Actively reached out to students who were struggling in the coursework, meeting with dozens of students within the course of each semester to address concerns about course load management and effective study strategies leading to an increase in retention between 2 and 5% each semester.

• Coordinated efforts with peer mentors, teaching assistants, students, faculty, staff, and administration on pursuing best practices in teaching organic chemistry for a diverse population of students.

• Worked to create an environment where students felt comfortable learning, built rapport with students which has resulted in being asked for and writing dozens of letters of recommendation for students.

• Encouraged teaching assistants to serve as an ambassador of the university, living its values and contributing to its brand and image.

• Used student data driven outcomes to measure the effectiveness of learning strategies.

• Partnered with teaching assistant and peers serving as a catalyst for positive change and new ideas.

• Coached teaching assistant and shared observation to improve their effectiveness and utilization of proven teaching studies.

AARON CLARK                                                                                                                         PAGE 2

Resume (Continued)

WORK EXPERIENCE: (Continued)

USF, Tampa, FL                                                                                             12/16 – 5/20

GRADUATE TEACHING ASSISTANT, Peer leader Instruction Course              1/19 – 5/20

·        Trained 88 peer assisting leaders on effective facilitation of learning techniques and supervised the subsequent instruction of over 2000 general chemistry.

·        Achieved an increase in teaching self-efficacy as evaluated  by validate measurement scales.

• Conducted evaluations of peer leaders’ sections with constructive criticism provided, this translated into improved interaction within the instructional spaces between the students and the peer leaders.

GRADUATE TEACHING ASSISTANT, General and Organic Chemistry

·        Implemented strategies to promote and increase attendance of weekly office hours, resulting in almost 20% increase in student visits.

·        Implemented an open door policy to encourage students to visit.

• Instructed classes of 24 students in general and organic chemistry laboratories on basic laboratory safety procedures with instruction on how to perform experiments; record data; report findings via scientific writing.

·        Used lab experiments to conduct lectures and theory into actual applications.

UVU OREM, UT                                                                                             1/15 – 1/16

ADJUNCT PROFESSOR, General and Organic Chemistry

·        Instructed classes of 24 students on safe chemistry laboratory techniques. 

• Encouraged collaboration among students and lab partners through regular reminders.

• Reinforced understanding of general and organic chemistry concepts through personalized interaction.

• Implemented innovative methods such as holding office hours in a more public place space in which students regularly studied resulting in an average attendance of 12 students per hour.

WALDEN SCHOOL FOR THE LIBERAL ARTS, Provo, UT                                                          8/14 – 5/16 

HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER, Science Classes

• Stimulated interest for classes of 25 students in the disciplines of biology, chemistry, & physics, this led to my students achieving the highest average scores for our school within the past 5 years during the standardized state testing for chemistry and biology.

• Prepared my own material based on state guidelines for high school level science classes which allowed me to have viable formative and summative assessments for students.

• Reduced the fear of chemistry and its complexity among students.

• Demonstrated the power of chemistry as a science and its contribution to many innovations of enhanced quality of life.

• Helped students construct sound principles of knowledge in the various disciplines and present basic science concepts to their peers in both group and individual endeavors.

OKLAHOMA UNIVERISTY, Norman, OK                                                                                     8/12 – 5/14 

GRADUATE TEACHING ASSISTANT, General and Organic Chemistry

• Held weekly office hours with over 20 students attending weekly on average, through the active encouragement of students receiving help from available resources

• Instructed classes of 24 students in general and organic chemistry laboratories on basic laboratory safety procedures with instruction on how to perform experiments; record data; report findings via scientific writing

EDUCATION

   THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA, Tampa, FL

   Doctor of Philosophy in CHEMISTRY EDUCATION

   THE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA, Norman, OK

   Master of Science Degree in CHEMISTRY

   BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY, Provo, UT

   Bachelor of Science Degree in BIOCHEMISTRY,

   Garth L. Lee Undergraduate Teaching Award, given to the Best Teaching Assistant in the Chemistry Department

   Received 5 Times, Undergraduate Research Award, $1500 Grant, Received 4 Times

PRESENTATIONS

·        Clark, A. "Peer-leaders’ perceived roles: An exploratory study in a postsecondary organic chemistry course" Poster session at Miami CER Conference. June 30, 2017-July 2, 2017

·        Clark, A.; Raker, J. “Peer leaders’ beliefs about learning: An exploratory study” Oral presentation at BCCE Conference. July 29, 2018 - August 2, 2018

·        Clark, A. “How students’ study for undergraduate organic chemistry: The Adaptable, the Inflexible, and the Overwhelmed” Oral presentation at Castle Conference, USF. March 30, 2019

·        Clark, A.; Raker, J. “Perceived roles of organic chemistry peer leaders: An analysis of reflection journal entries” Oral presentation at national ACS meeting, Orlando. March 31, 2019 - April 4, 2019

·        Clark, A.; Raker, J. “Learning strategies of first semester organic chemistry students” Oral presentation at national ACS meeting, Orlando. March 31, 2019 - April 4, 2019

PUBLICATIONS

Clark, A. M. (2021). Social Constructivism in Chemistry Peer Leaders and Organic Chemistry Students (Doctoral dissertation, University of South Florida).

Clark, A., & Raker, J. R. (2020). Peer-Leaders' Perceived Roles: An Exploratory Study in a Postsecondary Organic Chemistry Course. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 32(2), 180-189.

Clark, A. M., & Raker, J. R. (2021). Development and Evaluation of Scales for Measuring Self-Efficacy and Teaching Beliefs of Students Facilitating Peer-Supported Pedagogies. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 21(3).

SKILLS

Online Course Systems: Blackboard, Canvas, Learning Suite, Moodle Office Software: Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Statistical Software: SPSS, Mplus

LANGUAGE

 Spanish (conversational)