News
Maia and Kelly Neiles (PIs), along with Mitch Croatt and Daniel Chase (co-PIs) won a large NSF grant to build a nationwide PD to reform chemistry laboratory teaching!
Collaborative Research: Broadening Instructional Innovation in the Chemistry Laboratory through Excellence in Curriculum Development
This NSF IUSE Institutional and Community Transformation Level 2 project seeks to broaden instructional innovation in chemistry laboratory instruction by fostering communities of practice focused on the development of inquiry-based laboratory experiences. Chemistry educators have long been dissatisfied with traditional laboratory approaches, but many face barriers that prevent them from adopting new frameworks and evidence-based practices. To address this, our Chemistry Laboratory Curriculum (CLC) Innovators Program aims to establish a nationwide community of chemistry laboratory curriculum developers equipped with the knowledge, skills, and resources to implement effective instructional reforms. Three bodies of work comprise the theory of change guiding this project: (1) Clarke and Hollingsworth’s Model of Teacher Professional Growth; (2) Wenger’s Communities of Practice framework; and (3) AAC&U’s Teaching to Increase Diversity and Equity in STEM logic model. Four cohorts containing 42 institutional teams from varying contexts and institutional settings will collaborate to create and disseminate more than 40 inquiry-based laboratory projects that facilitate student acquisition of scientific practices. The project will specifically target minority-serving and 2-year institutions, and each team will include at least two faculty/staff and one teaching assistant (TA). The teams will participate in a comprehensive yearlong professional development (PD) experience consisting of pre-Institute assignments, a weeklong Summer Institute, and 5 virtual meetings throughout the subsequent year meant to maintain cohort support around implementing the laboratory projects, collecting/interpreting student learning data, and publishing/disseminating the laboratory projects. During the PD experience teams will learn about evidence-based practices including (1) curriculum reform through backward design with a specific focus on pedagogical aspects unique to chemistry (e.g., Johnstone’s triangle); (2) reducing equity gaps through fostering a sense of belonging; and (3) building scientific practices through inquiry (NGSS framework). By establishing this nationwide community of laboratory curriculum developers with training in evidence-based practices (84-126 instructors and 42 TAs) this program will have a transformative impact on chemistry laboratory instruction practices.
INTELLECTUAL MERIT: While a body of literature exists around chemistry faculty thinking and practices in the context of teaching in the classroom, very few studies have focused on laboratory instruction. This project aims to address this gap by (1) characterizing the landscape of instructional thinking and practices of the laboratory curriculum developers and (2) evaluating the extent to which PD impacts progressions in the thinking and practices of the laboratory curriculum developers. We will collect and triangulate surveys, instructors’ reflections, interviews, and laboratory artifacts to gain a deep understanding of the impact of the PD experience on laboratory curriculum reform efforts.
BROADER IMPACTS: This program will offer PD to 84-126 chemistry laboratory curriculum developers and 42 TAs across the U.S. This community of practice will be sustained beyond the project duration through multiple mechanisms, such as facilitated collaboration between institutional teams. The proposed work will lead to direct instructional support that can benefit thousands of undergraduate chemistry students and may lead to long-term changes in the instructional practices of the laboratory curriculum developers. Moreover, the PD teams will develop 42 inquiry-based laboratory projects designed to engage students in scientific practices, increasing the number of high-quality laboratory experiences available for use by other instructors. Finally, the project will broaden participation and build the education and research capacity of one post-doctoral researcher, one graduate and two undergraduate students, and 42 TAs to engage in both STEM education research and reflection about evidence-based laboratory instructional practices. Therefore, this project will broaden (1) the national pool of researchers that can conduct fundamental research in STEM learning and learning environments, and (2) the pool of the next generation of chemistry educators with knowledge of evidence-based instructional practices.
