Journal of Chemical Education最新文献

Researchers and educators have been exploring systems thinking (ST) in chemistry education to better equip citizens for 21st century challenges; however, little is known about students’ perspectives and experiences. In this study, we investigated students’ perspectives of ST and their experiences with ST activities. We designed and implemented a ST intervention, performed individually and collaboratively, as well as follow up interviews. Twenty-four university undergraduate and graduate students participated in this study and reported a variety of experiences and perspectives. For students’ experiences, we found that (1) while collaborating, participants recognized and appreciated different perspectives, (2) participants included chemistry concepts and connections in their system maps despite having difficulties, (3) system maps emphasized problems/solutions and causes/effects and differed in terms of organization and intended purpose, and (4) limitations to system map construction included time, knowledge, and technology skills. Students also expressed positive perspectives of a ST approach based on their experience engaging with the ST intervention and believed a ST approach (1) is beneficial to learning, (2) captures interest and engagement, (3) allows perspectives to be shared and gained, and (4) provides personal, social, and professional relevance. Based on these findings, we suggest aspects to consider when planning and implementing ST activities and identify future research required to better understand the impacts of ST in chemistry education.

The need to develop virtual reality learning environments (VRLEs) grounded in theory motivated this work that in turn provides guidelines to support chemistry VRLEs with evidence-based practices and frameworks. Herein, we describe nine frameworks that turned out to be critical for the design of a chemistry focused VRLE, paying special attention to the frameworks’ interconnectivity. Different framework components were crucial in different aspects of the content design, technology design, and content–technology integration, and throughout this article, we illustrate the application of each framework. As the main objective was to build a resource to support visual-spatial attributes, a shape recognition framework was developed to facilitate students’ abilities to recognize 3D characteristics from 2D representations inherent in VRLEs. The interconnected frameworks’ components complement and reinforce each other, creating a synergistic effect to support visuospatial thinking and representational competence in a VRLE. This process helped shape a set of recommendations aimed to guide other developers to produce pedagogically sound VRLEs.

The pedagogical training of Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) is a crucial component of undergraduate education in chemistry and is often neglected due to lack of time and resources. One frequently untapped resource to support this effort is the population of experienced GTAs in the department. Graduate students who have recently been in the TA position are poised to speak to incoming graduate students from direct and relevant experience and can foster a positive climate around teaching with their incoming peers. In this account, we describe a GTA training program that relies on significant contributions from volunteer former TAs in the design and facilitation of workshops and activities throughout. This report describes not only the training itself but also the system of mentoring and revision that has been established for continual improvement and participation among the entire graduate student cohort. After four years of utilizing this system, we have identified potential benefits for all parties involved. Improved pedagogical training for incoming graduate students aims to influence (1) the graduate student teaching experience throughout the academic term and the resultant quality of undergraduate instruction within the department, (2) departmental teaching culture and attitudes about teaching, (3) the broader impact of campus-wide collaboration between departments and centers for learning and teaching, and (4) the experience of the senior graduate student volunteers as cultivators of curricula and change-makers within their department. In this way, the focus of training GTAs can move from an obligation to an opportunity for growth throughout the department.

A laboratory experiment was designed for senior undergraduate/graduate students to introduce direct current-induced electrospray ionization (DC-iESI), a technique which allows in situ mass spectrometric (MS) analysis of components in microregions of citrus peels. The citrus peels exhibit distinct microregions, such as oil glands and the flavedo, each containing unique components. Students were guided to compare traditional ESI (flow injection) and DC-iESI for the analysis of components in oil glands and the flavedo. As the flow injection ESI experiment has a requirement for a minimum amount of sample, students had to extract components from bulk citrus peels for MS analysis, which failed to show any differences in the components in these two typical regions. In the DC-iESI experiment, students used nanoelectrospray emitters to freehand collect liquids directly from oil glands and the flavedo, allowing MS analysis of components in these two different microregions. By comparison of these two methods, students have the opportunity to realize the limitations of traditional ESI analysis and learn about using DC-iESI for in situ MS analysis. We believe that this training course can help students enhance their understanding of in situ analysis and broaden their appreciation of MS in modern applications.

During six years of flipping college organic chemistry with a combination of online videos and assigned textbook readings, students sometimes complained when the content coverage and quality differed between the book and videos, obliging students to “hunt” through both resources. As educational tools, videos can leverage the dual-channel visual/auditory centers of the human brain. However, videos do not have the searchable elements of print textbooks and can only be read through closed captioning, limiting accessibility for those with hearing loss. Separately, print texts have the advantage of physical tactility but lack audio, online accessibility, or the lightweight portability of modern electronics. Thus, to develop a better combination of both mediums, we created a book with content identically matching an updated video library. This was done in eight months from the videos by using an online software called Maestra to produce a written transcript, which was edited and converted to a digital “e-book” using the TopHat interface. Although prior publications in this Journal have discussed TopHat e-books, none have explained how to create one. This report provides clear instructions and video references on how to do this, along with structural details about our e-book and how it was integrated into two full-year iterations of college organic chemistry. Themes from anonymous student feedback are also discussed, including strengths and weaknesses of this specific e-book design and the use of TopHat generally, in anticipation of establishing patterns of best teaching practices with e-book platforms in flipped chemistry courses.

The United Nations has set Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for Quality Education and Gender Equality, both of which have impact in education, including Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education, which includes Chemistry and Chemical Engineering. To achieve these aspirations, some habitual obstacles must be overcome, not least the lack of inclusive representation of women in STEM teaching resources, an issue for all levels of the Education sector, including Higher Education. A recent opportunity to teach catalysis and catalytic reactors, a topic in which the author has substantial background, combined with a desire to contribute to the success of the SDGs provided the platform to address some of the historical gender bias in teaching resources, albeit in only a small way. At the start of the delivery of a 20 h block of teaching over a 6-week period, historical and contemporary women were discussed as part of important contributions to catalysis and catalytic reactors in the chemical industries. The highlighting of women in engineering resonated with some of the students, and this was reflected in the evaluations provided at the end of the content. This prompted a more targeted evaluation of the intervention of showcasing women in engineering, which reported a positive impact on participating students. The results of that follow-up evaluation highlighted that gender balance in role models was important to students, and the intervention was received positively.