
NSF Org: |
DUE Division Of Undergraduate Education |
Recipient: |
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Initial Amendment Date: | September 9, 2016 |
Latest Amendment Date: | April 26, 2017 |
Award Number: | 1624898 |
Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
Program Manager: |
Dawn Rickey
drickey@nsf.gov (703)292-4674 DUE Division Of Undergraduate Education EDU Directorate for STEM Education |
Start Date: | September 15, 2016 |
End Date: | June 30, 2021 (Estimated) |
Total Intended Award Amount: | $632,070.00 |
Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $657,070.00 |
Funds Obligated to Date: |
FY 2017 = $25,000.00 |
History of Investigator: |
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Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
2 ANDREWS ROAD LEWISTON ME US 04240-6030 (207)786-8375 |
Sponsor Congressional District: |
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Primary Place of Performance: |
ME US 04240-6028 |
Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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Parent UEI: |
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NSF Program(s): |
IUSE, Advanced Tech Education Prog |
Primary Program Source: |
04001718DB NSF Education & Human Resource |
Program Reference Code(s): |
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Program Element Code(s): |
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Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.076 |
ABSTRACT
The goal of this project is to implement a national professional development program that promotes the use of engaged student learning in the analytical chemistry classroom and laboratory. Each instructor will participate in a two-year process involving a national workshop, regional workshop, and site visit to the individual's campus. An online community will be developed to sustain engagement after the workshops. An education research project will examine the (1) characteristics of professional development workshops and follow-up support activities that result in effective sustained implementation of active learning, (2) ways instructors adapt the materials to suit their teaching philosophies and institutional environments, (3) impact of the implementation of active learning modules on student learning, and (4) best practices for creating an on-line community that supports sustained implementation of active learning. Formative assessment of early workshops will be used to refine and improve the strategies for later workshops and follow-up activities.
This project will promote and study the adoption of evidence-based, active teaching methods by analytical chemical faculty members. Numerous studies show that small-group collaborative learning and inquiry-based activities lead to statistically significant improvements in student learning and increased student retention and engagement, especially among women, underrepresented, and first generation college students. However, wide-spread adoption of active learning pedagogies remains an elusive goal. Intense and collaborative forms of professional development are warranted to bring about changes in teacher knowledge, skills, attitudes, and beliefs that lead to changes in classroom and laboratory instruction. This project's process of networking in person and via an on-line community will provide sustained interaction between participants and facilitators with expertise in active learning leading to a shared vision and substantive change in the teaching methods of participants. The result will be a set of professional development experiences that support sustained adoption of active learning strategies. This will lead to more effective instructors of analytical chemistry courses and enhanced learning on the part of their students.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
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PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
Numerous studies have shown that the use of lecturing and recipe-driven laboratory experiments in STEM courses are not effective at promoting learning in large numbers of students. These and other studies show that instruction that actively engages students in the learning process are more effective. Yet, many college science instructors do not use active learning methods in their teaching. One reason is that many instructors teach the way they were taught. Another reason is that there is a dearth of materials available for active learning in many STEM disciplines. In this project, a 2-year professional development process for analytical chemistry instructors was proposed as a means of causing sustainable change from traditional teaching methods to active learning pedagogies. The professional development program involved an initial national summer workshop, twice-yearly updates on participants? use of active learning with feedback from facilitators, a smaller regional workshop at the beginning of the second year of the program, and finally a site visit from a facilitator. Site visits had two primary purposes: (1) observe participant classes to gather direct evidence on the use and effectiveness of active learning and (2) provide constructive feedback to participants about the quality of their worksheets for small-group work and their effectiveness in facilitating the exercise. The visitor also presented a department or institution seminar and met with other individuals on campus to discuss the value of using active learning methods in instruction.
82 individuals with limited to no experience with active learning participated in the professional development program described above. Four participants left academia to pursue other careers during the project. Outcomes for the 78 remaining participants were evaluated using several measures: (1) submission of all of the active learning exercises used in their courses, (2) information provided in the four updates on the community site, (3) discussion and modeling at the regional workshop, (4) outcomes from the site visit. Based on these measures, we found that 68 of the 78 participants (87%) regularly incorporate active learning into all of the courses they teach. Equally important is that we found that participants were effective in their facilitation of the active learning exercises. We conclude that the professional development process we developed and implemented has been an unqualified success.
Our project is aligned with a resource known as the Analytical Sciences Digital Library (ASDL) (www.asdlib.org). Initially started in 2002 with funding from the National Science Foundation?s national digital library initiative, the library is now supported through the Analytical Division of the American Chemical Society. All materials on ASDL are freely available to anyone worldwide under the Creative Commons Copyright. The Active Learning section of ASDL is a repository for peer-reviewed materials that instructors can use in their courses. Approximately 200 class or laboratory exercises developed by participants in our project have been added to the Active Learning section of ASDL. Availability of suitable materials is important in facilitating the use of active learning in courses. Active learning items on ASDL now cover all aspects of analytical chemistry that are taught in undergraduate courses.
In the Spring of 2021 we organized a symposium at the national meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS) at which 15 participants in our project presented talks on their work. ACS subsequently asked if we would be willing to publish a Symposium Volume series on our project. We have submitted a proposal for such a volume. If accepted, the book will have 16 chapters on different facets of active learning in analytical chemistry. The chapters will have 39 total authors.
Last Modified: 07/01/2021
Modified by: Thomas J Wenzel
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