Overview
My goal is to create learning experiences in which students develop the curiousity and confidence to tackle society's big challenges. In
courses, I do this by placing the study of chemistry within the context of
research about local community problems. I hope this inspires connection to the
field of chemistry, and a desire to continue pursuing it. Because deep
engagement in chemistry requires the ability to analyze data and communicate
results, a related goal of my teaching is to enable student participation
through development of these skills.
In the past two years, the COVID-19 pandemic has underscored that STEM education is overdue for a revolution in our understanding of the role of digital learning. At the same time, STEM educators need the right resources to get there. In response, I have worked to create scientific instrumentation for place-independent hands-on learning. I have found that with the right instrumentation, students' at home hands-on learning can be incredibly powerful.
Integration of Research and Service Learning
Application-Based Service Learning incorporates original research
and community service into laboratory courses. The research and service
are linked to a local community issue. I teach Instrumental Methods of
Analysis and General Chemistry II Lab as Application-Based Service Learning
courses. Both courses focus on brownfield remediation surrounding local Brooklyn
waterways. In Instrumental Methods of Analysis, we use solid phase
microextraction gas chromatography-mass spectrometry to detect volatile organic
compounds in the air surrounding the Gowanus Canal.
This work received support from NSF Grant #1226175, "Expanding
and Refining the Application-Based-Service-Learning Pedagogy." To read
more about this project, please visit our website (ABSL) or check out our article in Science and Civic
Engagement (Community-Based Learning).
Teaching Scientific Writing
Writing is an essential skill for communicating scientific
information. Despite the value of writing, we find few resources that
teach students the scientific writing process. At the NYC College of
Technology, I have developed a scaffolded method for teaching students
laboratory report writing. The method is called "Directed Self
Inquiry" because it teaches students the technique of asking and answering
questions for themselves as a pre-writing exercise. For additional
information, please contact me or check out our article in the Journal
of Chemical Education: JChemEd.
Advanced Data Analysis in Chemistry Laboratory
Modern data
analysis software allows scientists to maximize the amount of information they
extract from experimental work. In Instrumental Methods of Analysis,
students learn to process and interpret spectra and chromatograms using Origin,
a research level graphing program. This work was profiled in a case study by
the OriginLab corporation: Teaching Scientific Graphing.
Scientific Instrumentation for Place-Independent Hands-On Learning
Chemistry is the study of matter and the transformations it undergoes. To properly identify and quantify matter, we need scientific instrumentation. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, I had to adapt my teaching of Instrumental Methods of Analysis so that students could have experience with real scientific instruments, whether they were at home or in a lab. To do this, I worked with colleagues to develop a line of scientific instrument kits that students could assemble and experiment with anywhere. Our first kit is a visible light spectrophotometer. The place-independent hands-on learning experience approach was so successful that we sought to make the instrument kits available to other universities. The kits are currently being investigated as part of the broader impacts effort in Rice University's recent NSF Center grant ("Adapting Flaws to Features," led by Prof. Christy Landes):NSF CAFF.