Putting Chemical Education Research into Practice
The Late Spring Conference of the 2YC3 

Presentation Titles, Authors, and Abstracts

Session 1: April 16 (3:30-5:00 p.m. EDT)
To register, follow the link below. Attendance is free for all current members of the 2YC3. 
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/294600914

Presentation #1: How the use of ACS Exams can provide more than normative information
Thomas Holme, ACS Exams Institute 
3:30-4:15 EDT

ACS Exams have been providing norms that allow the comparison of student performance on content measures for almost 80 years. More recently, as assessment demands in post-secondary education have sought more detailed information, the Exams Institute has embarked on research into how ACS Exams can provide more information than just the norms. This presentation will emphasize current research that has explored what multiple choice test items measure. Particular emphasis will be on how content coverage on ACS Exams can be organized and understood via a content map based on anchoring concepts or "big ideas".

Presentation #2: The use of American Chemical Society examinations as assessment tools at McHenry County College
Steven Socol, McHenry Community College 
4:15-5:00 EDT

One of the ongoing challenges at two-year colleges is assessing our courses.  We need to provide evidence that our courses are at the same level of rigor as those of equivalent courses at four-year institutions.  In addition, most courses are split into multiple sections, many of which are taught by adjunct instructors.  We need also to insure that these sections are taught at the same level of rigor.  At McHenry County College we use American Chemical Society Examinations as our primary method of assessment.  The results of nine years of using these examinations as measures of course effectiveness will be discussed, as well as how grading scales are assigned. An overview of how these examinations are constructed will also be presented.


Session 2: May 1 (3:00-4:30 p.m. EDT)
To register, follow the link below. Attendance is free for all current members of the 2YC3. 
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/473862562 

Presentation #1: Using Online Homework to Create Opportunities for Student-Centered Instruction
Justin M. Shorb, Ph.D. Department of Chemistry and Physical Sciences, University of the Virgin Islands
3:00-3:45 EDT

Many instructors see online homework as a way to increase student-centered learning. Students get individual assignments with their own quantities, or possibly their own question from a pool of questions. Obviously, this means that students have an opportunity to work in groups on similar problems, while still having their own problem to work on. Instructors also look to online homework as a way to reduce grading load and increase feedback opportunities. In this presentation, a pedagogically-based implementation of Sapling Learning online textbook, Chemistry, by Olmsted and Williams, along with online homework is discussed, along with the purpose-driven use of usage logs, time-on-task evaluation, and remediation tactics. This implementation design focuses on the tools available to the instructor to help students evaluate their progress, study habits, and self-improvement. Data will be provided on usage statistics, analytics, and assessment of course learning objectives.

Presentation #2: Using Excel to Run Basic Statistics
Speaker: Dan Froelich
3:45-4:30 EDT

This presentation will be a click-by-click introduction to using Excel for data analysis. This will include an introduction to statistical topics such as the t-test, p-value, and ANOVA table. Other topics will include using Excel to display statistical data graphically.


Session 3: May 21 (2:00-3:30 p.m. EDT).
To register, follow the link below. Attendance is free for all current members of the 2YC3. 
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/453289154 

Presentation #1: Discipline-Based Education Research: Understanding and Improving Learning in Undergraduate Science and Engineering
Speaker: Stacey Lowery Bretz, Miami University
Speaker biopage: http://chemistry.miamioh.edu/bretzsl
2:00-2:45 EDT

The National Science Foundation funded a synthesis study on the status, contributions, and future direction of discipline-based education research (DBER) in physics, biological sciences, geosciences, and chemistry. DBER combines knowledge of teaching and learning with deep knowledge of discipline-specific science content. It describes the discipline-specific difficulties learners face and the specialized intellectual and instructional resources that can facilitate student understanding. The committee was charged to investigate questions essential to advancing DBER and broadening its impact on undergraduate science teaching and learning, synthesize empirical research on undergraduate teaching and learning in the science, explore the extent to which this research currently influences undergraduate instruction, and identify the intellectual and material resources required to further develop DBER. Dr. Stacey Lowery Bretz, the Volwiler Distinguished Research Professor of Chemistry at Miami University who was selected by the National Academy of Sciences to be one of the 15 members for this Committee, will present the consensus report and its guidance for future DBER research. This conference presentation for the 2YC3 community will also discuss chemistry education research and how it can be used to improve assessment.

Presentation #2: Quantitative research design and methods: Discussing use and misuse of basic parametric techniques
Speaker: Alexandra Brandriet, Miami University
Speaker biopage: http://chemistry.miamioh.edu/bretzsl/people/brandriet.html
2:45-3:30 EDT

Bivariate correlations, t-tests, and ANOVAs are parametric procedures used in many quantitative studies in chemistry education research (CER). Despite the popularity of and familiarity with these tests, they can easily be misused. Therefore, while these statistical tests can yield crucial information for analyses, it is important to design CER studies appropriately. This presentation will highlight the underlying assumptions that ground each of these tests, how to design a study and interpret statistical output, and the types of inferences that can be established. Contrasts will be drawn between appropriate uses and common mistakes that researchers might make with regards to study design, data collection, and reporting results.