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Moderator: Thomas Kling, Bridgewater State University

Scaffolding Student Communication Skills with Electronic Laboratory Notebooks Across the Chemistry Curriculum

Sarah Soltau, Bridgewater State University

In Fall 2018, Bridgewater State University (BSU) began to use Electronic Laboratory Notebooks (ELNs) in our biochemistry laboratory courses. These ELNs were designed as an opportunity for students to develop better written communication skills and help students improve their data analysis and recordkeeping skills. The ELNs provide real world preparation for industrial jobs in the chemical and biotechnology industries that use ELNs. Student surveys show that students appreciated the change from the paper-based lab notebook to the ELN and found it easier to use and organize. To broaden the impact of this work across the curriculum, the Department of Chemical Sciences at BSU was a awarded an Academic Innovation Fund grant from BSU during the Spring 2020 semester to expand the ELN initiative to all chemistry laboratory courses. Grant support enabled the purchase of laptop computers to be used in the laboratories to increase access and equity of ELNs to all students. The grant also supported faculty-led development of appropriate notebook templates and assessment criteria for each of these courses and workshops for full and part-time faculty on the use of ELNs. During the 2020-2021 academic year, many of the original goals of the grant had to be modified due to primarily remote laboratories due to COVID-19, which instead allowed students to focus more on data analysis skills. In the current academic year (2021-2022), we are beginning the full implementation of ELNs across the curriculum, including scaffolding communication skills and the development of e-notebook portfolios for all students.

Backward-designing General Education STEM Courses to Empower Engaged Citizens

Christopher G. Murphy, The College of New Jersey

The COVID-19 pandemic has made it all too clear how important it is that society be STEM-proficient. Higher education has a clear mandate to prepare a scientifically and quantitatively literate society, and general education STEM courses must play a central role in that preparation. However, we often forward-design these courses from our own disciplinary lenses, attempting to impart to students the fundamental concepts of the discipline. Although such forward-designed courses may function well to produce disciplinary practitioners, they frequently miss the mark in preparing students to engage as citizens. In contrast, backward-designed GenEd STEM courses seek to provide students with the essential skills, knowledge, and attitudes they need to better their lives and to understand and address important, difficult societal issues. After an examination of the learning goals that backward-design establishes for general education STEM courses, this interactive session will explore the types of course structures and pedagogies (e.g., courses topics, materials, assignments, assessments) needed to support backwards-designed outcomes. Participants will engage with examples that are transferrable across courses and disciplines, and they will develop one or more of these components for their own courses.

Inclusive advising initiatives to support biology majors' holistic career preparation and personal growth

Jennifer Kowalski, Butler University

Julia Angstmann, Butler University

Marva Meadows, Butler University

Carmen Salsbury, Butler University

Kyryll Savchenko, Butler University

Recent literature on advising and mentoring best practices indicate that inclusive or “appreciative” practices promote retention of all students, particularly those from underrepresented groups. Among our efforts to increase diversity equity, and inclusion (DEI) within the Biological Sciences Department at Butler University, a private, predominately white, undergraduate institution in Indiana, we conducted surveys of sophomore and senior biology majors regarding their sense of belonging and experiences in all aspects of departmental life, with the hope of identifying areas to focus future DEI efforts. Results of spring 2020 surveys indicated that, although students generally felt well-supported and included in our classrooms (with seniors reporting greater comfort in expressing themselves and a greater sense of support than sophomores), all students did not feel equally supported during advising appointments with department faculty. Numerical data and narrative comments indicated disparities in advisors’ approaches to advising in terms of their (1) knowledge about career options and required preparation for those careers and (2) support of students’ goals, particularly students not meeting traditional GPA benchmarks for graduate or professional schools. To address these issues, in Fall 2021 we developed and implemented an Inclusive Advising workshop, in which department faculty co-developed a set of biology-specific prompts following the Appreciative Advising Model (Bloom et al 2008) and curated a list of 69 biology-related careers. These resources, along with a year-by-year list of career exploration and preparation activities to guide students’ progressive career discernment, were provided to all biology advisors. Student survey, resource, and workshop development will be addressed.

Integrating STEM & Social Justice: Addressing the Social Justice Dynamics of Chemistry to Facilitate DEI Initiatives in the Classroom

Elisabeth Stoddard, Worchester Polytechnic Institute

Drew R. Brodeur, Worchester Polytechnic Institute

Katherine Foo, Worchester Polytechnic Institute

Kimberly LeChasseur, Worchester Polytechnic Institute

Valerie Smedile Rifkin, Worchester Polytechnic Institute

As instructors looking to center equity and inclusion in the classroom, research tells us that approaches to inclusion must address marginalization, increase access, and create environments where students feel welcome, respected, and valued. Using a social justice framework to guide DEI in the classroom allows us to intentionally address, examine, and analyze issues of global injustice, particularly in contexts where access and marginalization are at play. This requires students and educators to examine structural and individual factors that may perpetuate systemic injustice. As an interdisciplinary team of chemists, social scientists, and instructional designers, we developed a 3-part project as part of Chemistry 1030: Kinetics, Equilibrium, and Thermodynamics. The project looks at soil, water, and air contamination caused by e-waste in Agbogbloshie an e-waste dump and commercial district in Accra, Ghana. It explores the socio-economic and political contexts that has led this to be one of the largest e-waste sites, the associated chemical systems at play, public and environmental health impacts of chemical contaminants, interactions among chemical compounds, as well as issues of land tenure, livelihoods, waste colonialism, and culture. Each component of the project addresses both chemistry and issues of social injustice. It also prepares students for each of their exams and introduces them to global innovators in chemistry with diverse identities. We will share lessons learned, outcomes, and critical approaches to assessment.

Mentored Academic Service-Learning Applied to Gateway Physics Courses Promoting Community, a Diverse, Safe Learning Environment, and Engagement

Charles M. Fortmann, St. Johns University

A voluntary mentored STEM-focused Academic Service-Learning (AS-L) opportunity was made available to an Introductory College Physics Class. AS-L is a recognized high impact practice increasing engagement, learning outcomes, and retention. In this case student volunteers helped the course instructor to design and present scientific demonstrations to local elementary school students. Through the shared goals, the respect for student ideas, and the goal to engage a diverse class of elementary students in the joy and wonder of scientific discovery the diverse group of university student volunteers were likewise embraced. The students and professor designed safe, hands-on, experiments that could easily be transported to a elementary school. Each week four to five student volunteers traveled to the school in one car. Experiments included a demonstration of the electrical potential employing a Van de Graaf generator, light diffraction – lens and color separation, magnets, electro-magnets, and simple electric motors. The university students helped the elementary school students identify key elements of the experiments and demonstrations (it should be noted that most modern era school students of any age do not have almost no hands-on experience with building and assembling physical experiments or even toys). Positive outcomes and community building is evidenced in part by the volunteers joining each other at review sessions, seeking deeper understanding of the material, and ultimately all achieving excellent grades. The Professor’s appreciation and respect for student ideas and contribution goes far beyond words, it is tangible evidence that academia has a “place and need for you”. This overture is particularly important for students coming from marginalized communities where respect is not the norm.