Postsecondary Chemistry Education Survey Project

Postsecondary Chemistry Education Survey

This project is aimed at articulating the instructional and assessment practices in postsecondary chemistry education. The first national survey conducted by ACS Exams was in Spring 2011; the goal was articulate postsecondary chemistry faculty members’ assessment practices and identify professional development opportunities that could be developed to support course­- and department-level assessment. Several surveys have focused on more targeted areas: e.g., representation use on biochemistry assessments, and defining conceptual understanding and conceptual examination items. Current iterations of our survey research work has focused on contextual factors that are influencing the choices faculty members are making about the types and kinds of instructional and assessment practices used in their postsecondary chemistry courses; the results of this work provide a current snapshot from which more targeted initiatives to increase use of quality, evidence-based assessments can be framed and evaluated.

References

  • Emenike, M. E., Schroeder, J. D., Murphy, K. L., & Holme, T. (2011). A Snapshot of Chemistry Faculty Members’ Awareness of Departmental Assessment Efforts. Assessment Update.
  • Emenike, M. E., & Holme, T. A. (2012). Classroom response systems have not “crossed the chasm”: Estimating numbers of chemistry faculty who use clickers. Journal of Chemical Education, 89(4), 465-469.
  • Emenike, M. E., Schroeder, J., Murphy, K., & Holme, T. (2013). Results from a national needs assessment survey: A view of assessment efforts within chemistry departments. Journal of Chemical Education, 90(5), 561-567.
  • Emenike, M., Raker, J. R., & Holme, T. (2013). Validating chemistry faculty members’ self-reported familiarity with assessment terminology. Journal of Chemical Education, 90(9), 1130-1136.
  • Raker, J. R., Emenike, M. E., & Holme, T. A. (2013). Using structural equation modeling to understand chemistry faculty familiarity of assessment terminology: Results from a national survey. Journal of Chemical Education, 90(8), 981-987.
  • Linenberger, K. J., & Holme, T. A. (2014). Biochemistry instructors’ views toward developing and assessing visual literacy in their courses. Journal of Chemical Education, 92(1), 23-31.
  • Linenberger, K. J., & Holme, T. A. (2014). Results of a national survey of biochemistry instructors to determine the prevalence and types of representations used during instruction and assessment. Journal of Chemical Education, 91(6), 800-806.
  • Raker, J. R., & Holme, T. A. (2014). Investigating faculty familiarity with assessment terminology by applying cluster analysis to interpret survey data. Journal of Chemical Education, 91(8), 1145-1151.
  • Holme, T. A., Luxford, C. J., & Brandriet, A. (2015). Defining conceptual understanding in general chemistry. Journal of Chemical Education, 92(9), 1477-1483.
  • Gibbons, R. E., Laga, E. E., Leon, J., Villafañe, S. M., Stains, M., Murphy, K., & Raker, J. R. (2017). Chasm Crossed? Clicker Use in Postsecondary Chemistry Education. Journal of Chemical Education, 94(5), 549-557.
  • Gibbons, R. E., Villafañe, S. M., Stains, M., Murphy, K. L., & Raker, J. R. (2018). Beliefs about learning and enacted instructional practices: An investigation in postsecondary chemistry education. Journal of Research in Science Teaching.