Research Interests

My research and scholarship focuses on chemical education at the collegiate level. We use Web-based tools and software for assessing student learning; examine the role of electronic data collection and visualization models for understanding laboratory data; create material about the application of learning theories and best practices in chemistry for faculty and graduate students; and create tutorial material and novel methods of delivery with a recent interest in K-12 teachers.

More specifically, my current interests and activities are described by these general areas:

• The interface among mathematical skills, working word problems, and understanding chemical concepts in general chemistry classes;
• Student understanding of representations of organic structures, reactions and mechanisms and how they relate to problem solving;
• Self-assessment and self-help software for general and organic chemistry and strategies for using them in traditional large-enrollment classes;
• Inquiry-centered learning in the undergraduate laboratory and coupling its implementation with electronic data collection and visual representations of data (i.e., models);
• Teaching content or experimental skills via distance-learning courses, especially to K-12 teachers and the general public;
• Producing materials (e.g., books and multimedia) to prepare graduate students and new faculty for the teaching aspects of academic careers.