Packing Slip 
item |
Exploring Chemistry Visualization Tools |
contact |
Rosemary Leary (Estrella Mountain Community College) rosemary.leary@emcmail.maricopa.edu |
college(s) |
Estrella Mountain Community College |
discipline(s) |
Chemistry |
summary |
I attended the Biennial Conference on Chemistry Education at Purdue University to acquire information and make contacts to initiate my sabbatical project. I attended sessions focusing on the implementation of visualization tools in the class room and the impact of their use on student learning. |
details |
The Biennial Conference on Chemistry Education is sponsored by the American Chemical Society (Division of Chemistry Education). It is an international gathering of chemistry educators and was held at Purdue University from July 30 to August 3. Many of the leaders in the field of chemistry visualization were present as attendees, presenters, and keynote speakers. The conference was subdivided into various strands. Each of these strands then presented symposia related to their specific topic. Some of the strands presented only one symposium while others presented multiple symposia. In keeping with the focus for my sabbatical I attended the symposia on “Computation, Modeling and Molecular Visualization Across the Chemistry Curriculum.” These symposia were presented as four different sessions and consisted of a total of 23 different papers. I attended the presentation of 16 of these. These 16 were relevant to student learning in the first two years of college chemistry. Topics included “Dispelling myths and misconceptions through the visualization of quantum concepts in general chemistry,” “Using excel spreadsheets to enhance student understanding in the general chemistry course,” and "Computational chemistry on a shoestring budget.” Other strands of relevance to my sabbatical were “Research in Chemistry Education,” “Research in Chemistry Education Using Computers,” “Best Practices in e-learning Design and Delivery” and “Web Based Applications for Chemical Education.” As is the case with many good conferences there were frequently times when I wished there was a way to be present at more than one session at a time. Fortunately the BCCE website provides a list of all presenters and their contact information so that attendees can contact them after the conference has ended. I came away from these sessions with some specific ideas to follow up on during my sabbatical as well as with new ways of looking at the use of computational chemistry in the general chemistry classroom. For example the session on using Excel provided some very visual ways to demonstrate to students mathematical concepts such as equilibrium, acids-bases, and kinetics with which students usually struggle. I learned about some features of Excel with which I was not previously aware. This is definitely one author I will be contacting for additional information. ------------------------------------------------------------ Outcomes: In a paragraph or two describe what worked well. Did you accomplish your objective(s)? Were you able to complete your summer project as written? If not, what did you modify and why? What did not go as well as expected, if anything? Were there any surprises? Note: Use the questions as guides for your outcomes. Do not include detailed list of workshops attended, speakers who presented, or a list of items you have seen, heard, or read. ------------------------------------------------------------ My two goals for the conference were to learn what is current in the field of chemistry visualization tools and how they are being used in the chemistry classroom and to establish contacts with the chemical education researchers in this area as well as with other teaching faculty who have an interest in exploring the use of visualization tools in their own classrooms. These goals were easily met at these sessions. The sabbatical project will be directed toward the creation of learning modules incorporating visualization tools. Before this is possible it is imperative that I become cognizant of the latest research findings on the use of these tools with students and with the research focusing on the impact of these tools on learning. Attendance at this conference initiated this process for me. I was able to reinforce my current understandings as well as to expand them into some new directions. I have identified individuals whom I can contact about specific endeavors in which they have been engaged. I was able to generate ideas for specific topics to use for my learning modules based on the MCCCD course competencies. I also learned more about how researchers use these tools in chemistry research. Students frequently want to know how something we are teaching relates to the “real world.” Hopefully I can now incorporate into the lesson modules I will develop during my sabbatical year connections to the work of “real scientists” using similar tools. I hope the inclusion of this type of information will begin to bridge this gap often perceived by our students. In addition it quickly became apparent that there was a recognizable group of individuals who shared interests similar to mine. We kept “bumping into each other” as we attended the sessions of our choice. Many of these were colleagues I had met last summer in Oxford at the Gordon Research Conference. We were able to reaffirm our common interests and reestablish our professional relationships. This will provide me with a cohort of individuals whom I can contact throughout the year for feedback and advice. It will make future dialogue more personal, easier and more productive. The informal discussions I had with some of these individuals helped to broaden my perspectives of how visualization tools have been used while generating ideas on how they might be used. In addition these contacts might create collaborations that will result in some “classroom laboratories” in which I can “field test” the learning modules I will be developing. ------------------------------------------------------------ Professional Growth: Your own professional growth is a large part of your project. Your professional growth is important to you, your students, your college, and possibly other colleagues. How did project affect you professionally? What skills did you learn? What environments were you working in and how might your summer project influence your teaching or other responsibilities? Did you gain a different perspective? Was it professionally valuable for you? ------------------------------------------------------------ Attendance at conferences of this type allows me to step away from Maricopa and to learn what others are doing at institutions throughout the country and in this case around the world. By only communicating with others within Maricopa I can sometimes become or feel “stale” and develop “tunnel vision” without recognizing that it is happening. Interactions with colleagues from other institutions and from different types of backgrounds stimulate creativity leading in turn to better courses and programs for my students. Participation at this conference both through attendance at formal presentations and engagement in informal conversations facilitated my growth as both a chemistry instructor and as an innovator in the use of chemistry visualization tools. I believe it is imperative to constantly seek out ways to continue to grow professionally so that I can best serve my students. By participating at this conference I had ample opportunity for interactions with a large number of like minded individuals from many disparate backgrounds. This revitalized my own interest in teaching chemistry and sparked in me new ideas for working with my students. Since beginning my tenure with Maricopa my focus has been on student learning in chemistry. Attendance at conferences such as the BCCE has contributed significantly to my interactions with my students in the past. Because the focus of my sabbatical is on student learning using chemistry visualizations it was a natural step to attend this conference in order to become current with the research while simultaneously developing new contacts to facilitate my sabbatical work. I believe I came away from the conference with greater knowledge about the use of visualization tools both in the chemistry research laboratory and in the chemistry classroom. I have renewed some old contacts and developed some new ones. Attendance at the conference will also positively impact the final quality of my sabbatical project. While I can always go to the library and research and read the latest findings on the use of visualization tools in chemistry research as well as the use of visualization in the classroom and its impact on chemistry learning, this is not the same as being able to have individual and small group conversations with the authors of those articles. The face to face contact enabled me to ask specifically targeted questions. This could lead to unexpected collaborations and it will provide a dynamic start to my sabbatical year. ------------------------------------------------------------ Dissemination: How will you share this information with your colleagues, department, students, or college? ------------------------------------------------------------ The information I obtain will be shared with my chemistry colleagues within the Maricopa District both as part of my sabbatical and through our interactions at Instructional Council and Articulation Task Force meetings. Because I will be on sabbatical for the 2006-2007 academic year much of the broader dissemination will be delayed until I return. However several chemistry colleagues have graciously offered to provide feedback to me on my sabbatical project. Our conversations will, by necessity, involve components related to my learnings from this conference. In addition a Maricopa colleague from GCC was also present at the conference. We made contact there and in so doing she has now also offered to work with me during the sabbatical. At the completion of the sabbatical the information and contacts made during this summer project at the BCCE will be included as background information. Note! As a professional courtesy to the owner of this package, if you use some aspect of this package or have some thoughts about it, please share your feedback via the comments form below. |
web links |
http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/fpg/ http://www.chem.purdue.edu/bcce/ http://www.chem.purdue.edu/bcce/Program/program.html http://www.learningdesigns.uow.edu.au/exemplars/info/LD9/index.html http://www.unco.edu/chemist/Jones/loretta.htm |
shareback |
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extra |
Last modified: Aug-10-2006 Date created: Aug-09-2006 Visitor count: 2421 Dublin Core Metadata record  This package is included in the Faculty Professional Growth Summer Project Reports special collection. |
Maricopa Learning eXchange
http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/mlx/slip.php?item=1825
