RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES IN CHEMICAL EDUCATIONAT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS

MAKING INTRODUCTORY CHEMISTRY LABORATORIESRELEVANT, PERTINENT, AND INTERESTING

We suggest that many science students have trouble seeing the relevance of most introductory chemistry laboratories and often are “turned off” by these laboratories. We are developing and teaching alternate introductory laboratories with the general goals of: teaching “critical thinking”; providing “hands-on” experience in laboratory experimentation; teaching good laboratory practices; training the students in techniques used in their majors; and creating (maintaining) enthusiasm in the students for chemistry. We have designed and taught an intensive, in-depth, integrated, team-oriented introductory chemistry laboratory course, using undergraduate research as a model, focused on the theme of making and evaluating quantitative chemical measurements. The experiments utilized common chemical techniques used by the life sciences and computerized data acquisition and analysis. The laboratory samples were mostly drawn from the supermarket. By our measure, this was a success. We are continuing our development of alternative introductory laboratories. See our web site at www.cm.utexas.edu/~stewart/CH204.

LEARNING CHEMISTRY VIA MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES

Chemists find chemistry fascinating and interesting, and so we are anxious to share with everyone else the richness of our discoveries, and that of all the chemists on whose work we continue to build. Yet, we encounter frustration on our part and on the part of would-be learners who just “don’t see it!!!” This category includes some who profess to love chemistry and some who insist that they hate chemistry. Is there a way out of this dilemma? Howard Gardner, a Harvard University researcher in neuropsychology, developed a theory of MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES from his work with prodigies, idiot savants, brain-damaged persons, normal children, autistic children, children with learning disabilities, experts and people of diverse cultures. Gardner states (1) that different people have different optimal ways of learning (i.e., multiple intelligences – he has identified 8) even the same information, and (2) that a particular discipline utilizes certain intelligences more than others (for chemistry he identifies logical-mathematics, spatial and linguistic). And so this explains why chemistry is “easier” for some people than for others. But all is not lost! According to Gardner, anyone’s preferred intelligences can be used as “windows” in learning any discipline, including chemistry. So, can Gardner’s theory prove useful to chemical educators? Will it help provide a way out of our dilemma? One of the research interests of our group aims to examine the role of multiple intelligences in learning chemistry.

LEARNING TO TEACH LEARNINGAN UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM OF PEER TEACHING

The challenge for the twenty first century is the development of science educators who have mastered the knowledge and skills needed to teach in the disciplines they have chosen. We have answered this challenge by providing methods in which future chemistry teachers may achieve these goals. As a part of an ACS approved curriculum leading to a BS in chemistry with a teaching option, we have established a cohort of undergraduate students identified as peer teaching assistants (pTA’s). The pTA’s are assisting the department in developing the details of four new courses to be associated with the new degree. In addition, the pTA;s are obtaining considerable “on-the-job training” as leaders of multiple group discussion and recitation sessions for a large general chemistry lecture class and as teaching assistants in traditional and non traditional general chemistry laboratories.

Chemical Education Group Members

Dr. J. J. LagowskiDr. R. E. DavisDr. K. K. StewartDr. S. SparksDr. R. E. Wyatt

Brian ArnesonGloria Brown Wright

Mike ElliottBrad HerrickDonna Lyon

THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS

CHEMICAL EDUCATION GROUP

COME BUILD THE FUTURE WITH US…Visit us at http://chemed.cm.utexas.edu/chemed.html

ON THE ROLE OF THE LABORATORYIN LEARNING CHEMISTRY

Our study will investigate the role of the laboratory in learning chemistry. Although teaching chemists have expressed opinions on what students gain from the laboratory experience, no one, to our knowledge, has ever undertaken a study to show what students do gain. Popular opinion suggests that the thinking/reasoning skills of students might be improved by their participation in laboratory experiences and we intend to determine if that idea is, in fact, true. University chemistry departments invest a great deal of resources, both in personnel and capital, in teaching laboratory courses, no doubt in part due to the culture of our discipline. A clearer focus on what students gain, if anything at all, may improve instruction in these courses and cause us to rethink the boundaries between the lecture and laboratory portions of any chemistry course. Furthermore, a better understanding of what is unique to the laboratory situation could direct us to what might be effectively simulated by other techniques, reducing risk, cost, and demand on the department’s teaching laboratories, while, at the same time, opening opportunities for distance education.

NEW PROJECTS NOT YET STARTEDINTERESTED IN BECOMING A PIONEER?

1. The effectiveness of general education science requirementsfor producing scientific literacy in non-science majors.

2. Can the introductory chemistry laboratory courses be successfullyadapted to distance learning?

3. Can the introductory chemistry laboratory courses be successfullyadapted for non-science majors?

4. Development of a research component for introductorychemistry laboratory courses.

5. The use of automated instrumentation in introductory chemistrylaboratories.

6. The use of concept mapping for improving problem-solving.

7. The use of microchemistry systems in introductory chemistrylaboratories.

8. Biochemistry laboratory and physical chemistry laboratoryin small colleges.

9. Simulations in “research” teaching laboratories.

DISTANCE LEARNING

An ever-expanding recognition persists that many of the intellectually challenging and important practical problems are those solvable from a perspective and insight of chemistry — the premier molecular science. Conventional instructional methods involving “lecture” and “laboratory experiences” are hard-pressed to provide effective instruction about how chemists solve problems.

The application of technology-oriented tools, which have been so effective intransforming the non-academic workplace, are only now being considered as possiblevehicles for chemistry instruction. More importantly, a careful consideration of suchtools suggests they might be useful in a number of Distance Learning Scenarios that arelikely to become important soon. We stress the learning aspect of the educational process [as opposed to teaching] because it is a skill that is becoming increasingly valued for professionals as the half-life of knowledge decreases.

It is not so much the digital technology tools that are important in this project, that is, how to deliver instructional material, but, rather, what to deliver and for what reason.

This evolving project incorporates more-or-less conventional interactive digitaltechnologies generating, distributing, collecting, and evaluating the classic elements ofinstruction — lectures, homework, examinations, laboratory experiences; clearly, theseelements of instruction must be altered to accommodate to the extant technology whichis the focus of the intellectual struggle in this project.

DESIGNING A WEB BASED COURSE TO USE AS A TOOL FORCHEMICAL EDUCATION RESEARCH

Developing distance education courses to utilize the World Wide Web is a natural progression. The WWW offers many advantages over other, more static, delivery methods. Instantaneous feedback, unlimited accessibility, contingent lessons, student interaction/discussion, and media presentation are just some of the attributes that make the WWW an attractive teaching environment. Using web development tools, an interactive course can be produced where student performance can be monitored automatically and stored. The data collected is an invaluable resource for Chemical Education Research for both student and course development. Research is focused on creating student interactions, monitoring student interactions, and creating the environment to produce a distance education course.

Another area of interest is in creating a web-based delivery system for computer generated assignments. The instructor/system and student/system interfaces are both malleable and important considerations for Chemical Education Research tools. The design of these interfaces and their implementation are the focus of our research.

ON THE USE OF HOMEWORK IN AGENERAL CHEMISTRY SETTING

Ever wonder what it would be like to give one homework assignment for the entire semester and make it an integral part of your final course assessment? Enter the contingent question, or what we call ‘the novella’: a continuous story line that introduces concepts/topics presented parallel with the lecture. It is an integrated, web-based system that is student interactive (they can query data on their own) and has a series of checks and balances to keep them on task (‘mini-assessments’ to ensure participation and understanding with electronic statistical feedback to the instructor.

Novellas have a central theme that puts the student in the role of investigator or forensic chemist. They have badge numbers (student ID’s), an ‘office’ to report to, a virtual ‘lab section’ with instruments to process their unknowns, a ‘department chief’ that keeps them on track by asking for progress reports, and a summation to render (‘Who started the fire?’ ‘What was the sample from the asteroid?’, etc).

The aim of the program is to relate the content of the homework and lecture components. Research continues as to the best methods of presentation, instructor convenience/ease, and theme development.