Reimagining Organic Chemistry Labs in Education Systems

重新构想教育系统中的有机化学实验室

• 批准号: 2315607
• 负责人: Davita McTush-Camp
• 金额: $ 39.97万
• 依托单位: Spelman College
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-08-01 至 2026-07-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2315607&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Reimagining; Organic; Chemistry; Labs; Education

This project aims to serve the national interest by developing, evaluating, and disseminating an innovative approach to teaching organic chemistry laboratory courses at a Historically Black College that is globally known for the education of women, Spelman College. The new approach will be of broad importance as it is intended to engage students in authentic research activities and connect chemistry learning to students’ lived experiences and culture. The novel lab activities will feature topics of interest to a broad range of students such as materials, polymers, drug discovery, and computational methods in organic chemistry research. Additionally, the lab activities are intended to center equity and foster a sense of belonging, which will be accomplished by engaging students in career exploration, involving role models from industry, and intentionally prioritizing relevance through connections to students’ lives and future goals. The project team plans to measure the impact of the modules on students’ sense of belonging in chemistry and aims to widely share project materials and study results. By combining course-based research experiences with an equity-oriented approach to teaching organic chemistry laboratory courses, this project will provide the chemistry education community with a compelling strategy for broadening participation in STEM.This project aims to develop, implement, and assess an equity-oriented course-based research experience in organic chemistry laboratory courses as a mechanism to increase student engagement and sense of belonging. The specific objectives of the project are to: 1) revise the second-semester organic chemistry laboratory curriculum by introducing four research-based exploratory modules covering topics of drug discovery, polymer-cosmetic science, polymer-material science, and a kinetic/mechanistic oxidation study that are each accompanied by computational and spectroscopy components, 2) evaluate proposed modules by assessing students’ engagement, sense of belonging for women of color in STEM, and perceptions of learning in the laboratory, and 3) assess success of course revisions based on faculty observations during module implementation. Each module will consist of an innovative curricular approach to organic chemistry labs by including an experimental study followed by a computational activity to aid in analyzing experimental data and integrating real-world challenges. The modules will also be designed to provide opportunities for students to engage in career exploration, connect with role models from industry, and make connections between chemistry and their everyday lives. The impact of the curriculum will be assessed in multiple ways including published tools that have evidence of validity for measuring constructs such as belonging and self-efficacy. The results of the project will be disseminated broadly via workshops, peer-reviewed publications, and conference presentations at the regional and national levels. By providing an inclusive approach to organic chemistry lab at an all women Historically Black College, this project has the potential to provide a model for how to increase student engagement and foster a sense of belonging in chemistry, and may in turn, be beneficial for other student populations that have been marginalized in STEM. The NSF IUSE: EDU Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through the Engaged Student Learning track, the program supports the creation, exploration, and implementation of promising practices and tools.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

该项目旨在为国家利益服务，通过开发、评估和传播一种创新的方法来教授有机化学实验课程，该方法在历史悠久的黑人学院斯佩尔曼学院（Spelman College）进行，该学院以女性教育而闻名全球。新方法将具有广泛的重要性，因为它旨在让学生参与真正的研究活动，并将化学学习与学生的生活经历和文化联系起来。新颖的实验活动将以广泛的学生感兴趣的主题为特色，如材料、聚合物、药物发现和有机化学研究中的计算方法。此外，实验室活动旨在以公平为中心，培养归属感，这将通过让学生参与职业探索，涉及行业榜样，并有意通过与学生的生活和未来目标的联系来优先考虑相关性来实现。项目团队计划测量模块对学生化学归属感的影响，并旨在广泛共享项目材料和研究成果。通过将基于课程的研究经验与以公平为导向的有机化学实验课程教学方法相结合，该项目将为化学教育界提供一个令人信服的战略，以扩大STEM的参与。本项目旨在开发、实施和评估有机化学实验课程中以公平为导向的课程研究体验，作为提高学生参与度和归属感的机制。该项目的具体目标是：1)修订第二学期有机化学实验课程，引入四个基于研究的探索性模块，涵盖药物发现、聚合物-化妆品科学、聚合物-材料科学和动力学/机械氧化研究，每个模块都伴有计算和光谱成分；2)通过评估学生的参与度、有色人种女性在STEM中的归属感和对实验室学习的感知来评估拟议的模块；3)根据教师在模块实施过程中的观察，评估课程修改的成功程度。每个模块将包括一个创新的有机化学实验室课程方法，包括一个实验研究，然后是一个计算活动，以帮助分析实验数据和整合现实世界的挑战。这些模块还将为学生提供从事职业探索的机会，与工业界的榜样建立联系，并将化学与他们的日常生活联系起来。课程的影响将以多种方式进行评估，包括已发布的工具，这些工具有证据证明用于测量归属感和自我效能等结构的有效性。该项目的成果将在区域和国家两级通过讲习班、同行评议出版物和会议报告广泛传播。通过为一所历史上所有女性黑人学院的有机化学实验室提供一种包容性的方法，该项目有可能为如何提高学生的参与度和培养化学归属感提供一种模式，反过来，也可能对其他在STEM中被边缘化的学生群体有益。NSF IUSE: EDU项目支持研究和开发项目，以提高所有学生STEM教育的有效性。通过参与学生学习轨道，该计划支持有前途的实践和工具的创建，探索和实施。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。