Research Interests
Chemistry education
My primary research interest has been in educational innovation and assessment, particularly in science teaching. My work in the assessment of chemistry education software is rooted in a collaboration with David Yaron on the IrYdium project, which has evolved into the ChemCollective. The group develops learning environments, often using simulations, that can be easily incorporated in college and high school chemistry courses through changes in the nature of the homework. The software is intended to be used flexibly:
- as a means of checking answers to traditional textbook problems,
- as an interesting and practical method for pre-lab preparation, and
- as a learning environment for assigning new types of problems that more closely approximate the experience of practicing scientists.
Ongoing assessment efforts on the Virtual Lab include individual usability testing to ensure an intuitive, easy-to-learn interface. At present, the software seems to be learnable in 5-10 minutes with minimal instruction. We are currently seeking courses at Carnegie Mellon and elsewhere for studies of conceptual learning and retention.
We believe the Virtual Lab provides a strong foundation for further educational innovations. The Virtual Lab has been used to facilitate an international collaboration between students at Carnegie Mellon and Monterrey Tech in Mexico where students worked in teams, given some powerful oxidants and reductants, in order to find a rocket fuel capable of launching a rocket that would reach Mars. Twenty Carnegie Mellon students and forty Monterrey Tech students participated; two teams succeeded in finding parameters to produce a successful launch.
From left to right: Jeff Milton, Mike Karabinos, Donovan Lange, Dave Yaron, Rea Freeland
In collaboration with David Yaron and computer scientists Andries Van Dam and Anne Spalter at Brown University, we began the development of authoring tools to assist faculty in developing their own educational software. We hope to maximize the educational impact of NSF’s National SMETE Digital Library Project with a variety of adaptable student learning activities. My role in this project is to collect formative feedback as instructors begin to use the tools and to ensure that the tools are usable by a wide range of instructors.