The CHemistry Instrument Review and Assessment Library (CHIRAL)
(NSF #1914996)
The CHIRAL project is a collaborative research grant with Dr. Jack Barbera at Portland State University and Dr. Jordan Harshman at Auburn University. Results of this project include the development of a website (chiral.chemedx.org) that hosts information about assessment instruments (e.g., surveys, tests, etc.) used to measure students, instructors, and environments in a chemistry education context.
Our team at SDSU is responsible for reading the chemistry education literature including journals such as Chemistry Education Research and Practice and the Journal of Chemical Education to identify instruments. These instruments are coded based on what they are measuring and the types of validity and reliability evidence they provide for data collected with the instruments. To date we have identified over 1,300 instances of instrument use within ~800 publications. Information about 526 instruments is currently available on the CHIRAL website.
Publications from the CHIRAL project:
Lazenby, K., Tenney, K., Marcroft T., & Komperda, R. (2023). Practices in instrument use and development in Chemistry Education Research and Practice 2010-2021. Chemistry Education Research and Practice. doi: 10.1039/D2RP00275B
Barbera, J., Harshman, J., & Komperda R. (2023). The Chemistry Instrument Review and Assessment Library (CHIRAL): A new resource for the chemistry education community. Journal of Chemical Education. 100(4), 1455–1459. doi: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.2c00762[ACS Editors Choice Designation]
Mentored Pathways from Community College
to Graduate School and Chemistry Careers
(NSF #1929758)
The Mentored Pathways project is a collaborative NSF S-STEM grant with $5 million in funding to provide scholarships for STEM students at Southwestern College and a pathway for transferring to SDSU as chemistry and biochemistry majors in undergraduate and graduate degree programs. To date the project has supported over 100 students at Southwestern College and 30 at SDSU with scholarships, mentorship, research experiences, and STEM enrichment activities.
Our team at SDSU is leading the project data collection and evaluation efforts. We are examining student research experiences with the Undergraduate Research Student Self Assessment (URSSA) and Entering Research Learning Assessment (ERLA) surveys. Additionally, we measure the affective impact of mentored experiences using instruments grounded in Social Cognitive Career Theory to see how the Mentored Pathways program is impacting belonging in STEM.
CoPI Dr. Byron Purse is leading the mentor training efforts and CoPI Dr. Mike Bergdahl leads the placement of undergraduate students into research experiences as well as a summer introduction to research course.
Media about the Mentored Pathways project:
$5 Million STEM Grant Fosters Future Chemists.” SDSU NewsCenter. (2019, October). https://newscenter.sdsu.edu/sdsu_newscenter/news_story.aspx?sid=77800
“Southwestern College Awarded $3.2M S-STEM Grant by National Science Foundation for Chemistry, Biochemistry Students.” Southwestern College News Center. (2019, August). https://issuu.com/theswcsun/docs/vol._63_issue_1
Measuring Constructivism with the Community of Inquiry Framework
This project explores how a constructivist learning environment, as measured by the Community of Inquiry (CoI) survey, influences student academic and affective outcomes. We are utilizing a highly quantitative approach in this project and have collected over 3,000 responses from students at institutions across the Western and Midwestern United States. These data have been used for confirmatory factor analysis, measurement invariance testing, and structural equation modeling. Results indicate that cognitive presence is a strong direct predictor of student outcomes while teaching presence plays a more indirect role.
