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While the paths after graduate school are increasingly varied, the central goal of doctoral programs remains to develop independent researchers. Given the important role of doctoral advisors in the socialization and progress-making of doctoral students, we conducted semi-structured interviews with faculty advisors who regularly advise chemistry doctoral students from three chemistry departments with rotation programs for their first-year students. In contrast to existing studies documenting advisee perspectives of research autonomy, this work focuses particularly on the advisor perspective. After open coding these interviews, we found a breadth of ideas and approaches to developing research autonomy. The faculty advisors conceptualized research autonomy in their first-year doctoral students as enthusiasm or curiosity for their research or research area. The advisor's approaches to developing and promoting autonomy in doctoral students varied widely, and some went so far as to not develop autonomy in new students but to "screen" for it. Finally, different subdisciplines in chemistry provide unique opportunities as well as constraints for advisors and students. We discuss the implications of these findings for doctoral students, advisors of doctoral students, administrators, and research advisors of undergraduate students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The introductory chemistry sequence is a common pathway for undergraduates pursuing science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) and prehealth careers. Student's academic decision-making has far-reaching consequences for their trajectory, including persistence in the major and ultimate career choice. This phenomenon was studied using a survey and focus group interviews, which were conducted to better understand the factors that influenced student choice. Results were analyzed using exploratory factor analysis, from which personal and institutional factors were identified. Using binary logistic regression, we found that students who placed importance on institutional factors (placement test results, discussion with advisor, academic plans, course load, and confidence in preparation) were more likely to comply with their placement recommendation, whereas students who placed importance on personal factors (family and financial concerns, advice from friends and family, rumors about the course, and nonacademic obligations) were more likely to deviate from their placement recommendation. Focus group interviews were analyzed using the constant comparison method and supported the quantitative findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Problem-based learning methods support student learning of content as well as scientific skills. In the course of problem-based learning, students seek outside information related to the problem, and therefore, information literacy skills are practiced when problem-based learning is used. This work describes a mixed-methods approach to investigate the information seeking behavior of students in a problembased organic chemistry laboratory course, when information literacy is not explicitly taught. Discourse analysis was used to analyze student audio recordings taped during problem solving sessions in order to explore the process by which students' find and use outside sources of information during a set of problem-based learning activities. Student generated artifacts produced during problem solving were quantitatively transformed and used to evaluate the product of students' searching processes. Evidence from both aspects of the study suggests that students do not demonstrate development of information literacy skills in the absence of explicit instruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

General chemistry is a gateway course that impacts the STEM trajectory of tens of thousands of students each year, and its role in the introductory curriculum as well as its pedagogical design are the center of an ongoing debate. To investigate the role of general chemistry in the curriculum, we report the results of a posthoc analysis of 10 years of archived student data (ca. 12,000 students) aimed at discovering whether taking college-level general chemistry has an impact on student performance in and progression to subsequent chemistry courses. We introduce regression discontinuity; a quasi-experimental method that originated in educational psychology and can be used to estimate causal impacts of educational treatment when ex ante randomization is not feasible. Using regression discontinuity, we estimated a positive impact of prior general chemistry coursework of about one-fourth of a letter grade in two subsequent courses, Organic Chemistry I and a physical general chemistry course for nonmajors. We also found that taking general chemistry had no impact on the likelihood that students will progress to the final course in the nonmajors sequence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional methods for teaching the Lewis dot structure model emphasize rule-based learning and often neglect the purpose and function of the model. Thus, many students are unable to extend their understanding of molecular structures in new contexts. The assignment described here addresses this issue by asking students to read and write about the 1916 paper, in which Lewis proposed the original ideas that led to the dot structure model taught in modern general chemistry courses. This directed writing-to-learn approach is designed to promote conceptual learning of the Lewis dot structure model and to transform students' beliefs about the nature of science as they evaluate the early model presented by Lewis and compare it to the conventional model taught in lecture. Participating students responded to a pre-post survey, which indicated modest gains in their conceptions of the nature of science. The assignment is designed for college-level general chemistry students but may be modified for use in high school chemistry and is generally transportable to other fundamental topics in chemistry in which accessible literature is available as an appropriate source for directed reading and writing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

DMET was evaluated as a method for preparing organometallic polymers with metal-metal bonds in the main chain. The CpMoCO(PhP(CH)CH=CH) complex was synthesized, and the X-ray crystal structure is reported. The molecule did not undergo ADMET polymerization with Grubbs' or Schrock's catalysts. In a control experiment to test if the PhP(CH)CH=CH ligand was interfering with the ADMET reaction, the phosphine was reacted with Grubbs' 2nd generation catalyst. The dimerized metathesis product PhP(CH)CH=CH(CH)PPh was obtained with no observed degradation or deactivation of the catalyst. To test the inherent ADMET reactivity of the PhP(CH)CH=CH ligand when it is bonded to a metal center, the mononuclear cis-Mo(CO)(PhP(CH)CH=CH)complex was synthesized and polymerized using Grubbs' 2nd generation catalyst. These control experiments suggest that the inability of CpMoCO(PhP(CH)CH=CH) to polymerize is not due to electronic effects pertaining to the C=C unit of the PhP(CH)CH=CH ligand. Accordingly, steric effects are implicated in the inability of the CpMoCO(PhP(CH)CH=CH) to polymerize by ADMET. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An online discussion is used to engage students in data interpretation and analysis in an introductory organic chemistry laboratory course. Students post an audio or video recording to explain their problem-solving processes and to provide interpretation of laboratory data. The discussion board (VoiceThread) features a drawing tool that also supports the inclusion of images and graphical representations of data. The activities described are broadly applicable to any science discipline and are particularly useful in high-enrollment classes where opportunities for students to practice data interpretation and discussion of lab results may be limited. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Across undergraduate STEM learning contexts in several countries, students' intrapersonal attributes of epistemic beliefs, self-efficacy beliefs, intrinsic motivation, and sense of identity have been found to influence learning and to change in response to educational practices. However, research can mask individual and demographic differences in student's attributes that may moderate or mediate the relationship between educational practices and learning outcomes. We employed variable-centered and person-centered methods to examine individual and demographic differences in changes in students' intrapersonal attributes and patterns of interrelationship among attributes with a study sample of students (N = 4,500) in 14 STEM undergraduate courses (8 biology, 4 chemistry, and 2 statistics) at three research universities in the United States. Variable-centered analyses revealed overall increases in students' science self-efficacy beliefs and epistemic beliefs even though these outcomes were not intentionally targeted as learning objectives. However, person-centered analyses indicated that not all students experienced these gains. For example, self-identified Asian/Pacific Islander and Black students were more likely to be members of groups demonstrating a decrease in science self-efficacy, whereas Asian/Pacific Islander students and men were less likely to be members of the subgroup with consistently evaluativist epistemic beliefs and higher GPAs. Using latent profile analysis (LPA), we identified five distinct student profiles that reflected different patterns of interrelationship of epistemic beliefs, science and writing self-efficacy beliefs, and science identity. We discuss the implications of these findings for educational practices, particularly with regard to intentionally fostering diverse students' self-efficacy, sense of identity, and adaptive epistemic beliefs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies examining peer review demonstrate that students can learn from giving feedback to and receiving feedback from their peers, especially when they utilize information gained from the review process to revise. However, much of the research on peer review is situated within the literature regarding how students learn to write. With an increasing use of writing-to-learn in STEM classrooms, it is important to study how students engage in peer review for these types of writing assignments. This study sought to better understand how peer review and revision can support student learning for writing-to-learn specifically, using the lenses of cognitive perspectives of writing and engagement with written corrective feedback. Using a case study approach, we provide a detailed analysis of six students' written artifacts in response to a writing-to-learn assignment that incorporated peer review and revision implemented in an organic chemistry course. Students demonstrated a range in the types of revisions they made and the extent to which the peer review process informed their revisions. Additionally, students exhibited surface, mid-level, and active engagement with the peer review and revision process. Considering the different engagement levels can inform how we frame peer review to students when using it as an instructional practice. • Case study of student artifacts from a writing-to-learn with peer review and revision. • Examining written artifacts provides insight into student engagement with peer review. • Students ranged in the extent to which they engaged with peer review and revision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Writing is widely recognized as fundamental to the construction and communication of scientific knowledge. Building on this relationship between writing and knowledge construction, writing‐to‐learn (WTL) activities have shown to be effective in many science classrooms, but have not been widely implemented at the postsecondary level. To address the lack of implementation, we investigated potential adopters of this pedagogy. Potential adopters, postsecondary faculty, are unique given the key role writing plays in their professional practice as researchers. Because of this unique feature and the fact that an instructor's theoretical orientation toward a construct impacts their instruction of that construct, an investigation of postsecondary faculty's conceptions of writing instruction is necessary to understand the way writing is being used in the postsecondary classroom. To this end, 33 STEM faculty across multiple disciplines and positions were interviewed about writing and its role in their classes. A phenomenographic analysis resulted in four faculty “types” consisting of unique combinations of concept and practice, organized according to compatibility with WTL. Profiles were built that describe unique conceptions, desired outcomes, and challenges for each type. These profiles provide an understanding of the relationship between faculty's conceptions and instructional practices regarding writing and lay the groundwork for understanding how writing is used in the postsecondary classroom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While many STEM faculty believe Writing-to-Learn to be an effective instructional tool, instructional barriers such as the time and effort required to provide substantive feedback to their students limit the use of writing in STEM classrooms. Incorporating peer review and revision into the writing process can help mitigate these barriers while additionally supporting the learning process. This study presents an analysis of a Writing-to-Learn assignment that incorporates peer review and revision into a large introductory statistics course, where this study specifically focused on whether engaging with these processes results in changes in how students write about the content targeted by the assignment. Our results demonstrate that students made content-focused revisions between drafts that increased the amount of content they explained correctly. Additionally, our study provides evidence that students benefit from reading peers' work in a content-focused peer review and revision process. Overall, this study shows that incorporating peer review and revision into writing assignments focused on developing content knowledge provides students with substantive feedback and enhances students' conceptual learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We conducted a study to examine how a writing-to-learn assignment influenced student learning of polymer behavior. In particular, we examined the role of specific content and a rhetorical framework as well as a structured writing process including peer review and revision. The student-generated writing was analyzed via a content-directed rubric. Students' conceptual understanding of stress-strain behavior was gauged via a multi-tiered assessment. Finally, interviews were conducted to probe students' experiences during the writing process. Results indicate that the writing-to-learn assignment was effective in promoting understanding of stress-strain properties, but that further support is needed to help students connect polymer microscopic properties to macroscopic behavior. Specifically, the content requirements and rhetorical framework guided what students included in their writing. Peer review and revision provided students with further opportunities to engage and learn the material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cooperative learning was employed as an instructional approach to facilitate student development of spectroscopy problem solving skills. An interactive online environment was used as a framework to structure weekly discussions around spectroscopy problems outside of class. Weekly discussions consisted of modified jigsaw-style problem solving activities in which students cooperatively interpreted infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance spectra. Students' use of the discussion site was monitored and revealed that they accessed discussions in the days prior to examinations. Together with attitudinal surveys, which were used to gauge student perceptions of the activities, these results indicate that students found the discussions to be a useful resource for learning spectroscopy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]