Examining whether and how instructional coordination occurs within introductory undergraduate STEM courses

Instructors’ interactions can foster knowledge sharing around teaching and the use of research-based instructional strategies (RBIS). Coordinated teaching presents an impetus for instructors’ interactions and creates opportunities for instructional improvement but also potentially limits an instructor’s autonomy. In this study, we sought to characterize the extent of coordination present in introductory undergraduate courses and to understand how departments and instructors implement and experience course coordination. We examined survey data from 3,641 chemistry, mathematics, and physics instructors at three institution types and conducted follow-up interviews with a subset of 24 survey respondents to determine what types of coordination existed, what factors led to coordination, how coordination constrained instruction, and how instructors maintained autonomy within coordinated contexts. We classified three approaches to coordination at both the overall course and course component levels: independent (i.e., not coordinated), collaborative (decisionmaking by instructor and others), controlled (decision-making by others, not instructor). Two course components, content coverage and textbooks, were highly coordinated. These curricular components were often decided through formal or informal committees, but these decisions were seldom revisited. This limited the ability for instructors to participate in the decision-making process, the level of interactions between instructors, and the pedagogical growth that could have occurred through these conversations. Decision-making around the other two course components, instructional methods and exams, was more likely to be independently determined by the instructors, who valued this autonomy. Participants in the study identified various ways in which collaborative coordination of courses can promote but also inhibit pedagogical growth. Our findings indicate that the benefits of collaborative course coordination can be realized when departments develop coordinated approaches that value each instructor’s autonomy, incorporate shared and ongoing decision-making, and facilitate collaborative interactions and knowledge sharing among instructors

Examining whether and how instructional coordination occurs within introductory undergraduate STEM courses

Instructors’ interactions can foster knowledge sharing around teaching and the use of research-based instructional strategies (RBIS). Coordinated teaching presents an impetus for instructors’ interactions and creates opportunities for instructional improvement but also potentially limits an instructor’s autonomy. In this study, we sought to characterize the extent of coordination present in introductory undergraduate courses and to understand how departments and instructors implement and experience course coordination. We examined survey data from 3,641 chemistry, mathematics, and physics instructors at three institution types and conducted follow-up interviews with a subset of 24 survey respondents to determine what types of coordination existed, what factors led to coordination, how coordination constrained instruction, and how instructors maintained autonomy within coordinated contexts. We classified three approaches to coordination at both the overall course and course component levels: independent (i.e., not coordinated), collaborative (decision-making by instructor and others), controlled (decision-making by others, not instructor). Two course components, content coverage and textbooks, were highly coordinated. These curricular components were often decided through formal or informal committees, but these decisions were seldom revisited. This limited the ability for instructors to participate in the decision-making process, the level of interactions between instructors, and the pedagogical growth that could have occurred through these conversations. Decision-making around the other two course components, instructional methods and exams, was more likely to be independently determined by the instructors, who valued this autonomy. Participants in the study identified various ways in which collaborative coordination of courses can promote but also inhibit pedagogical growth. Our findings indicate that the benefits of collaborative course coordination can be realized when departments develop coordinated approaches that value each instructor’s autonomy, incorporate shared and ongoing decision-making, and facilitate collaborative interactions and knowledge sharing among instructors

Measurement in Chemistry, Mathematics, and Physics Education: Student Explanations of Organic Chemistry Reaction Mechanisms and Instructional Practices in Introductory Courses

The work in this dissertation is presented in two parts. The first part (Chapters 3 and 4) details work relating to students’ explanations of reaction mechanisms in organic chemistry. The second part (Chapters 5 and 6) details work relating to the evaluating the uptake of research-based instructional practices in introductory chemistry, mathematics, and physics courses. To evaluate learning of organic chemistry reactions, instructors must ask students to construct written explanations of reaction mechanisms. Written assessments should focus on what is happening and why it is happening to promote deeper student understanding. However, for instructors to gain insight into students’ understanding, the time and effort to evaluate the explanations is prohibitive. Further, such evaluation is often not standardized or grounded in the research literature. Lexical analysis and machine learning algorithms can be used to score students’ written responses to open-ended constructed response items to alleviate grading burdens. Specifically, lexical analysis and machine learning techniques can be used produce predictive models that aid with evaluating the quality of students’ explanations. Rubrics are an additional tool that can help students and instructors formatively assess written explanations. In this work, a generalized predictive model using machine learning techniques was developed to evaluate students’ understanding of acid–base reactions and properties of acids and bases through the correct use of the Lewis acid–base model (Chapter 3). Research on students’ understanding of nucleophiles grounded the development of a generalized rubric to evaluate students’ level of written explanation sophistication for nucleophiles (Chapter 4). Evaluating instructional practices in chemistry, mathematics, and physics, necessitates multidisciplinary, large-scale studies of the factors that influence teaching pedagogies. Data from a multi-institution, large-scale survey of postsecondary introductory-level chemistry, mathematics, and physics instructors in the United States was used to model two outcomes: percent lecturing (Chapter 5) and stages of research-based instructional strategy adoption (Chapter 6). These outcomes were modeled using multilevel modeling with contextual, personal, and teacher thinking factors as the explanatory variables. Multilevel models produced explanatory models of instructional practices, providing change agents with productive avenues for improving instructors’ pedagogies

Ligand design for developing f-element photochemistry

Overall, this thesis describes the synthesis and characterization of ligand architectures to study f-element photochemistry. Chapter 1 provides a general overview of photocatalysis and uses and need to develop photochemistry in the lanthanides. Chapter 2 describes efforts into developing new lanthanide starting materials to advance the field in general, but to also provide a wider set of materials available to use in facilitating discoveries across the f-block. These new starting materials involve the synthesis and characterization of diethyl ether adducts of trivalent lanthanide iodides. Chapter 3 of this thesis describes the work done on the synthesis of an anionic phenylpyridine ligand to develop lanthanide analogs of commonly used photocatalysts and photosensitizers in the organic methodology community. The synthesis and characterization of the ligand salt and metalation to yield Cp*2Sm(ppy) is described. Two appendices are also included which describe synthesis and metalation studies of two other ligand sets, a triamine pincer ligand and an imidophosphorane ligand, that will be used in studying the photochemistry of the lanthanides.M.S

Measurement in Chemistry, Mathematics, and Physics Education: Student Explanations of Organic Chemistry Reaction Mechanisms and Instructional Practices in Introductory Courses

The work in this dissertation is presented in two parts. The first part (Chapters 3 and 4) details work relating to students’ explanations of reaction mechanisms in organic chemistry. The second part (Chapters 5 and 6) details work relating to the evaluating the uptake of research-based instructional practices in introductory chemistry, mathematics, and physics courses. To evaluate learning of organic chemistry reactions, instructors must ask students to construct written explanations of reaction mechanisms. Written assessments should focus on what is happening and why it is happening to promote deeper student understanding. However, for instructors to gain insight into students’ understanding, the time and effort to evaluate the explanations is prohibitive. Further, such evaluation is often not standardized or grounded in the research literature. Lexical analysis and machine learning algorithms can be used to score students’ written responses to open-ended constructed response items to alleviate grading burdens. Specifically, lexical analysis and machine learning techniques can be used produce predictive models that aid with evaluating the quality of students’ explanations. Rubrics are an additional tool that can help students and instructors formatively assess written explanations. In this work, a generalized predictive model using machine learning techniques was developed to evaluate students’ understanding of acid–base reactions and properties of acids and bases through the correct use of the Lewis acid–base model (Chapter 3). Research on students’ understanding of nucleophiles grounded the development of a generalized rubric to evaluate students’ level of written explanation sophistication for nucleophiles (Chapter 4). Evaluating instructional practices in chemistry, mathematics, and physics, necessitates multidisciplinary, large-scale studies of the factors that influence teaching pedagogies. Data from a multi-institution, large-scale survey of postsecondary introductory-level chemistry, mathematics, and physics instructors in the United States was used to model two outcomes: percent lecturing (Chapter 5) and stages of research-based instructional strategy adoption (Chapter 6). These outcomes were modeled using multilevel modeling with contextual, personal, and teacher thinking factors as the explanatory variables. Multilevel models produced explanatory models of instructional practices, providing change agents with productive avenues for improving instructors’ pedagogies

New Approaches for Energy Storage with Hyperbranched Polymers

New hyperbranched polymers have been investigated to provide new structure–function relationships necessary for electrical and optical applications. We can take advantage of long-range delocalization in these structures for energy storage applications. This is accomplished by obtaining high dielectric constants. In this Article, we demonstrate the need for developing high dielectric hyperbranched polymers by first investigating a ceramic/polymer hybrid system and then studying the design criteria for these hyperbranched systems using detailed optical and electronic characterization techniques. Provided in this contribution are the energy storage results with ion-doped polyaniline (PANI) polymers. An enhancement in the dielectric constant emerged from strong long-range polaron delocalization and the mechanism of a hyperelectronic polarization in these polymer systems. A copper phthalocyanine (CuPc) core was selected to build novel hyperbranched polymers to investigate their energy storage and optical properties. We report the results of these hyperbranched polymers, which exhibited high dielectric constants and low dielectric losses. Detailed structure–function relationships were carried out to probe the polaron delocalization mechanism. An outstanding result of a new hyperbranched polymer showed the greatest energy storage capacity of 7.97 J cm^–3. These results provide new insights into the design of new organic macromolecules for energy storage

Table_1_Examining whether and how instructional coordination occurs within introductory undergraduate STEM courses.pdf

Instructors’ interactions can foster knowledge sharing around teaching and the use of research-based instructional strategies (RBIS). Coordinated teaching presents an impetus for instructors’ interactions and creates opportunities for instructional improvement but also potentially limits an instructor’s autonomy. In this study, we sought to characterize the extent of coordination present in introductory undergraduate courses and to understand how departments and instructors implement and experience course coordination. We examined survey data from 3,641 chemistry, mathematics, and physics instructors at three institution types and conducted follow-up interviews with a subset of 24 survey respondents to determine what types of coordination existed, what factors led to coordination, how coordination constrained instruction, and how instructors maintained autonomy within coordinated contexts. We classified three approaches to coordination at both the overall course and course component levels: independent (i.e., not coordinated), collaborative (decision-making by instructor and others), controlled (decision-making by others, not instructor). Two course components, content coverage and textbooks, were highly coordinated. These curricular components were often decided through formal or informal committees, but these decisions were seldom revisited. This limited the ability for instructors to participate in the decision-making process, the level of interactions between instructors, and the pedagogical growth that could have occurred through these conversations. Decision-making around the other two course components, instructional methods and exams, was more likely to be independently determined by the instructors, who valued this autonomy. Participants in the study identified various ways in which collaborative coordination of courses can promote but also inhibit pedagogical growth. Our findings indicate that the benefits of collaborative course coordination can be realized when departments develop coordinated approaches that value each instructor’s autonomy, incorporate shared and ongoing decision-making, and facilitate collaborative interactions and knowledge sharing among instructors.</p