Progress 09/01/11 to 08/31/14
Outputs
Target Audience: The target audience for this project is comprised by freshmen students enerting their first year of undergraduate study. In particular, students who potentially have an interest in pursuing acadmic majors and/or careers in the broadly defined agricultural/environmental sciences, and who must take introductory general chemitry were targeted. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? As stated above, PI-led training sessions were held with the graduate student TAs in the summer of 2012 and 2013, and the graduate student TAs were familiarized with the problem-based case study pedagogy. The PI also worked with the graduate student TAs in writing and submitting the case study materials for publication at the NCCSTS, and two graduate students were co-authors on the published case materials. This experience has given these TAs experience in carrying out the scholarship of teaching and learning, generally an activity that is not available in our graduate program, and has provided valuable experience to these graduate students as they begin to pursue independent academic careers. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? 1. As stated above, the problem-based case studies have been published at the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science (NCCSTS), and links to the case materials are available at the UCR Chemistry Case Study collection: http://chem.ucr.edu/casestudy/casestudycollection.html The NCCSTS has over 10,000 registered users, and therefore provides an effective way to disseminate these curriculum materials. PI Eichler has also presented the implementation of the problem-based case study curriculum and the freshman learning community at a number of national conferences. These include: i) The Spring 2014 American Chemical Society National Meeting; Symposium on Integrating Environmental Sustainability into the Chemistry Curriculum; ii) The Fall 2014 American Chemical Society National Meeting; Science Education Symposium; iii) The Fall 2014 SACNAS (Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science) National Meeting; Chemistry Education Symposium. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
1. The AGE-LC was administered during the 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 academic years as originally planned. There were 74 students in the general chemistry learning community discussion group series in 2012-2013, and 48 students in the general chemistry learning community discussion group series in 2013-2014. 2. The agricultural/envrionmental science problem-based case studies were written in the summer of 2012, and subsequently implemented in the learning community General Chemistry discussion group sections in the 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 academic years. Two case studies were done each quarter (six cases total), and were based on the following topics: a) global warming; b) coal combustion and fossil fuels; c) hydrogen fuel storage for sustainable fuels; d) corn ethanol fuel; e) ocean water pH and global warming; and f) water splitting, photoelectrochemical cells, and hydrogen fuel production for sustainable fuels. Four of these case studies have been published in a peer reviewed process at the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science (NCCSTS), and one additional case is currently under review for publication. A UCR Chemistry Case Study Collection was also created in order to provide centralized access to these case materials. Links to the case materials, including teaching notes and answer keys are provided at the following website: http://chem.ucr.edu/casestudy/casestudycollection.html 3. Graduate student TAs were trained to facilitate the problem-based case studies in the summer of 2012 and 2013, and two selected TAs facilitated the implementation of the case studies in the General Chemistry discussion group sections in the 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 academic years. Two of the graduate student TAs were co-authors on the case publications. 4. The learning community research seminar was created and implemented in the spring 2013 and spring 2014 quarters. The seminar was populated with 25 freshmen in 2013 and 37 freshmen in 2014. The research seminars were led by eight faculty members from the chemistry, environmental science and engineering, plant botany, and entymology departments. The seminar also required the students to submit short essays about their career goals and aspirations, as well as about which area of research they would be interested in pursuing during the summer of 2013. 5. Seven students from the seminar were chosen to participate in summer research during the summer of 2013, and 12 students were chosen to participate in the summer research during the summer of 2014. These students were matched with faculty from the chemistry, environmental science and engineering, plant botany, and entymology departments listed above. The students conducted research for 10 weeks, and their activities included weekly meetings that discussed best research practices and careers in research, as well as a poster session at the end of the summer where the students presented their research findings. The research students in the AGE-LC were integrated into the UCR Summer RISE program (RISE = Research In Science and Engineering), and therefore had an opportunity to network with a larger group of undergraduate researchers and faculty from across campus. The RISE program also included professional development seminars for the students in order to help them become better acquainted with the requirements for graduate school and what a research career in research entails. 6. Assessment data aimed at measuring student learning gains and gains in student interest/engagement in science careers was collected in the 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 academic years. a) In collaboration with the assessment consultant, the PI has collected SALG (Student Assessment of Learning Gains) survey data to compare student interest and engagement in science, and students who participated in the learning community have been compared to student who participated in traditional general chemistry lecture courses that did not include case study activities or the research experience. A complete summary of SALG survey data is attached in the assessment addendum, but overall it was found that participating in the learning community resulted in a trend of increased interest and appreciation for science, and how science is relevant to the real world. b) In collaboration with the assessment consultant the PI also compared the performance of the students who participated in the learning community to students who participated in traditional general chemistry lectures that did not include the problem-based case studies. Summaries of the data and statistical analysis are included in the assessment addendum, but the major results were: i) students in treatment sections taught by PI Eichler did not earn course grades significantly better, nor significantly worse than students in control sections taught by PI Eichler; ii) students in treatment sections of CHEM 001A taught by PI Eichler did not earn grades on final exam free response questions that were significantly better, nor significantly worse than students in control sections taught by another instructor; and iii) students in treatment sections of CHEM 001C taught by PI Eichler performed on average 4.5 points higher on the final exam free response questions compared to students in a control section taught by another instructor, and the D/F course failure rate was 22% lower in the CHEM 001C treatment section taught by PI Eichler. c) Students who participated in the research seminar and summer research unanimously reported that the learning community was an impactful experience, and the vast majority of these students report that they are likely to pursue research careers, or will strongly consider pursing a research career after graduating from UCR. Representative student reflective statements are included in the assessment addendum. 7. The AGE-LC has become a permanent component of the UCR freshmen learning community program, and the AGE-LC spring research seminar will continue to be used as a recruiting tool for the freshman RISE summer research program. Even though USDA funds have expired, the learning community has become embedded in the UCR CNAS learning community program and therefore the normal instructional budget will continue to support the AGE-LC. Faculty researchers have volunteered to present at the spring AGE-LC seminar, therefore PI Eichler will continue to organize this seminar on a volunteer basis, though it is noted that since the seminar is now established it will be minimal work on the part of the PI. Finally, the summer research experience will also continue as students who participate in the spring research seminar will be able to receive summer research funding from the RISE program, which has received expanded funding from the University since the inception of the AGE-LC. 8. In summary, USDA funding has supported the creation of a learning community in the UCR College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences (CNAS) which will be sustained from existing University and College instructional budgets, and which will be able to use the gateway general chemistry course as a conduit for recruiting first year students into research projects broadly related to the environmental and agricultural sciences. Additionally, from a curriculum development standpoint, USDA funds have supported the creation and implementation of problem-based case studies that help students apply introductory chemistry concepts to real world problems related to environmental science. These case studies will be used extensively at UCR after USDA funds have expired, and will be available to instructors across the country via the NCCSTS case study repository.
Publications
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
K.Theel, J.D. Hartman, J.F. Eichler,* "Liquid Coal: Producing Liquid Fuel from Non-Petroleum Sources" National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science, 2013.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
J. Hartman and J.F. Eichler,* "Using Oceans to Fight Global Warming?" National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science, 2014.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
J. Hartman and J.F. Eichler,* "Corn Ethanol: Using Corn to Make Fuel?" National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science, 2014.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
J. Hartman and J.F. Eichler,* "Hydrogen Powered Cars: The Wave of the Future?" National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science, 2014.
|
Progress 09/01/12 to 08/31/13
Outputs
Target Audience: The target audience for this project is comprised by freshmen students enerting their first year of undergraduate study. In particular, students who potentially have an interest in pursuing acadmic majors and/or careers in the broadly defined agricultural/environmental sciences, and who must take introductory general chemitry were targeted. Changes/Problems: 1. The level of student participation in the assessment surveys was lower than expected. The PI and assessment consultant discussed potential ways to remedy this issue, and it was decided that all assessment surveys be counted as homework assignments in the upcoming year. This will ensure that a much higher percentage of students will participate in the asessment protocol. 2. The pool of students who were interested in participating in summer research was smaller than expected (only 25 of the original 75 students in the learning community were interested in research). In an effort to ensure that research faculty were getting well qualified students, the number of research students was reduced from ten to seven. Therefore, this will allow us to select 11 students for the summer 2014 research experience. Given that we will select from the two cohorts of students, we anticipate being able to fill these spots. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? 1. The PI led training sessions with the graduate student TAs in the summer of 2012, and the graduate student TAs were familiarized with the problem-based case study pedagogy. The PI also worked with the graduate student TAs in writing and submitting the case study materials for publication at the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? 1. The problem-based case studies are in the process of being written and submitted for publication at the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science (NCCSTS). To date, one case has been accepted for publication, and a second case has been submitted for publication and is currently under review. Four additional case studies are being prepared for publication, and will be submitted to the NCCSTS in the upcoming academic year. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? 1. The quantitative analysis of the first year assessment data will be carried out by the assessment consultant. This data will provide insight about the impact of the program on student learning gains, and the impact on student interest/engagement in the environmental/agricultural sciences. 2. A second cohort of incoming freshmen will be recruited for the AGE-LC (Agricultural-Environmental Learning Community) in the 2012-2013 academic year. These students will participate in the problem-based case studies, freshman research seminar, and the potentially participate in summer research (summer 2014). 3. Select students from the 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 learning community cohorts will be recruited for summer research in 2014 (11 students will be recruited for research). 4. Assessment data will be collected for the summer 2013 research students, as well as for the the new cohort of learning community students. The final analysis of all assessment data will be initiated in the summer of 2014, and final conclusions about the impact of the freshman learning community on student learning and intereste/engagment in environmental/agricultural careers will be formulated.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
1. The AGE-LC was created in the Fall 2012 quarter, and 74 students were enrolled in the learning community General Chemistry discussion group section for the 2012-2013 academic year. 2. The agricultural/envrionmental science problem-based case studies were written in the summer of 2012, and subsequently implemented in the learning community General Chemistry discussion group sections in the 2012-2013 academic year. Two case studies were done each quarter (six cases total), and were based on the following topics: a) global warming; b) coal combustion and fossil fuels; c) hydrogen fuel; d) corn ethanol fuel; e) ocean water pH and global warming; and f) water splitting and photoelectrochemical cells. 3. Graduate student TAs were trained to faciliate the problem-based case studies in the summer of 2012, and two selected TAs facilitated the implementation of the case studies in the General Chemistry discussion group sections in the 2012-2013 academic year. 4. The learning community research seminar was created and implemented in the spring 2013 quarter. The seminar was populated with 25 freshmen, and included research seminars by eight faculty from environmental, plant botany, and entymology fields. The seminar also required the students to submit short essays about their career goals and aspirations, as well as about which area of research they would be interested in pursuing during the summer of 2013. 5. Seven students from the seminar were chosen to participate in summer research during the summer of 2013. These students were matched with faculty from the environmental, plant botany, and entymology fields. The students conducted research for 10 weeks, and their activities included weekly meetings that discussed best research practices and careers in research, as well as a poster session at the end of the summer where the stduents presented their research findings. 6. Assessment data aimed at measuring student learning gains and gains in student interest/engagement in enviornmental/agricultural fields was collected in the 2012-2013 academic year. The PI met with the assessment consultant and the quantitative analysis of the assessment data has been initiated.
Publications
- Type:
Other
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
J.F. Eichler,* J. Hartman, K. Theel. "Liquid Coal: A Case Study." 2013, National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science (accepted for publication and in press).
|
Progress 09/01/11 to 08/31/12
Outputs
OUTPUTS: -Initial assessment of students in the spring 2012 quarter was initiated. This included giving the SALG (Student Assessment of Learning Gains) survey and the MCAI (Metacognitive Activity Inventory) survey to students in our third quarter General Chemistry course. This will provide some baseline data that can be used as a comparison when we collect SALG and MCAI data in the upcoming year (the first year of implementation for the learning community and case study activities). -The PI and co-PIs met with the Dean of Natural and Agricultural Sciences to plan the advertisement and recruitment activities for the Environmental/Agricultural Sciences Learning Community (EAS-LC). -The EAS-LC was advertised to incoming students in the summer of 2012 and enrollment of students in this LC was completed. -The PI developed case studies for the fall and spring quarters of general chemistry. These case studies will be implemented in the upcoming academic year (2012-2013). -The PI worked with two graduate student TAs who will facilitate the case studies in the fall and spring general chemistry discussion groups. -The PI trained the two graduate student TAs in facilitating the case studies, and in planning the assessment of the students' work. -The PI and co-PIs made plans for the advertisement and recruitment of students for the summer 2013 research program. PARTICIPANTS: Jack Eichler (PI), Cindy Larive (co-PI), and Marylynn Yates (co-PI): met with the Dean of Natural and Agricultural Sciences to plan the advertisement and enrollment for the EAS-Learning Community. Jack Eichler (PI): Designed the case study activities for the fall and winter quarter general chemistry courses. Trained the graduate student TAs in facilitating the case study activities in the general chemistry discussion groups. Josh Hartman and Kelly Theel (graduate student TAs): Trained with Jack Eichler in facilitating and assessing the case study activities. TARGET AUDIENCES: -The target audience for this project will be the undergraduate students who enroll in the general chemistry discussion group/learning community. -Chemistry faculty at other institutions will be able to use the published case studies as a resource. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.
Impacts
-Since most of the activities carried out this spring and summer were focused on gathering baseline data and/or in planning the new instructional innovations, no direct outcomes/impacts can yet be reported. -However, since the TA training was completed this summer, initial anecdotal evidence indicates that the graduate student TAs are much more satisfied with the discussion group activities (i.e., case study activities) than the previous discussion group format, and that the graduate students are fully prepared to facilitate the case studies. The TA training has better prepared these two graduate students for using more innovative teaching techniques here at UCR, and subsequently at their first academic position. -There have been no publications submitted to date. -When the first two case studies are implemented in the fall quarter, the PI and graduate student TAs will write up a summary/analysis of the new case studies and submit them for publication at the National Center for Case Study Teaching in the Sciences (NCCSTS).
Publications
- No publications reported this period
|