Chemistry Majors Research Articles

Finding a Job: An Intersectional Analysis of Search Strategies and Outcomes Among U.S. STEM Graduates.

Many STEM degree holders, especially women and minorities, are not employed in STEM occupations in the United States, and transitions into the STEM labor force among recent graduates have been declining since the 1980's. We examine transitions from school to work at two large U.S. universities in 2015-16, focusing on the internship experiences and job search strategies of graduating chemistry and chemical engineering majors. Surprisingly, 28% of our STEM respondents had no post-graduation plans, though women were significantly more likely than men to already have a job. Overall race differences in post-graduation plans were insignificant, though Black and Hispanic students were more likely to have no post-graduation plans compared to Whites and Asians. While Black, Hispanic, and LGBT students reported fewer job search behaviors overall, potentially explaining this pattern, no gender differences in job search behaviors or internship experiences emerged to explain women's employment advantage. However, better grades led to early job offers, reducing most of women's initial hiring advantage along with positive internship experiences, which did not alter men's likelihood of a job offer but were associated with a higher likelihood of a job offer among women.

The Electronic Structure of the Atom: (Mis)Interpretations of Quantum Concepts by Brazilian University Chemistry Students

Students’ understanding of the electronic structure of the atom has been investigated by many authors. This study outlines students’ conceptual and representational understanding of quantum concepts explored in lower and upper level chemistry courses, in three different chemistry majors, identifying learning obstacles and monitoring student development. Structured questionnaires were applied at the beginning and end of the semester, aiming to assess student learning related to the interpretation of the electronic structure of the atom through quantum chemistry concepts. Students in upper-level courses achieved better averages than students in lower-level courses. Generally, students showed better understanding of the topics through a representational rather than a conceptual approach. The number of students able to conceive a mental model of the atom based on quantum concepts increased by the end of the semester. However, the number of students who imagined the atom according to the Bohr model, invoking both classical and quantum ideas, remained the same, suggesting no meaningful learning occurred.

Measuring student motivation in foundation-level inorganic chemistry courses: a multi-institution study

The association between student motivation and learning, and changes in motivation across a course, were evaluated for students enrolled in one-semester foundation-level inorganic chemistry courses at multiple postsecondary institutions across the United States. The Academic Motivation Scale for Chemistry (AMS-Chemistry) and the Foundations of Inorganic Chemistry American Chemical Society Exam (i.e., a content knowledge measure) were used in this study. Evidence of validity, reliability, and longitudinal measurement invariance for data obtained from the AMS-Chemistry instrument with this population were found using methodologies appropriate for ordinal, non-parametric data. Positive and significant associations between intrinsic motivation measures and academic performance corroborate theoretical and empirical investigations; however, a lack of pre/post changes in motivation suggest that motivation may be less malleable in courses primarily populated by chemistry majors. Implications for inorganic chemistry instructors include paths for incorporating engaging pedagogies known to promote intrinsic motivation and methods for incorporating affect measures into assessment practices. Implications for researchers include a need for more work that disaggregates chemistry majors when evaluating relationships between affect and learning, and when making pre/post comparisons. Additionally, this work provides an example of how to implement more appropriate methods for treating data in studies using Likert-type responses and nested data.

Exploration on Teaching Reform of Comprehensive Chemistry Experiment in Normal Universities

Comprehensive chemistry experiment is a compulsory course for college chemistry majors, which is in a connecting position in the curriculum system. In view of the shortcomings in the traditional comprehensive chemistry experiment teaching, this paper discusses the reform from the aspects of the selection of teaching content and the evaluation method of the innovative experiment course of teaching methods. On this basis, the students' comprehensive chemistry experiment literacy, innovation consciousness and comprehensive experiment ability are comprehensively cultivated. Cultivating normal college students with both applied ability and practical teaching ability. Keywords: comprehensive chemistry experiment, innovation consciousness, experiment ability DOI: 10.7176/JEP/14-3-04 Publication date: January 31 st 2023

Attendance Matters! Supporting First Year Students’ Success with a Structured Attendance Policy

This work reports the effect of a revised attendance policy on attendance and course outcomes for two populations of students: introductory general chemistry students and upper-level chemistry majors. Initially, the attendance policy highlighted students’ responsibility for the material covered in class. This was changed to a policy with a specified reduction in the course average for excessive absences. Attendance and final exam scores were tabulated for each group. Implementation of the new policy increased attendance and final exam scores for introductory students, but it had no effect on attendance and final exam scores for upper-level majors. This result suggests that introductory students would benefit from course policies with specific expectations for attendance.

Field-Based Environmental Chemistry Course for Interdisciplinary, Project-Based Learning

Faculty in the Chemistry and Environmental Science programs at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas, collaborated to develop an undergraduate course in Field-Based Environmental Chemistry. The course was developed and implemented as a 2-semester, 1-semester, and online, synchronous course offered during the 2020/21 COVID-19 pandemic. As part of the course, chemistry and environmental science majors designed and executed a sampling and laboratory analysis plan for monitoring the physical and chemical conditions of soil and/or water in a local, urban setting. As part of a goal to help students develop communication skills, they presented their work to stakeholders from the local community. Through participation in an active learning model, students demonstrated significant gains in the student learning outcomes. Students in the 2-semester sequence showed gains in their understanding of the scientific process, more comfort with the uncertainty and the ambiguity of natural environments, and appreciation for the importance of statistics in data analysis. The online course and COVID-19 pandemic restrictions did not allow for student field or laboratory work but did engage students in a project typical of a work environment.

How Participation in a Research Experiences for Undergraduate Program Transforms Chemistry and Biochemistry Majors’ Understanding of Research and Scientific Inquiry

Little is known concerning chemistry and biochemistry majors’ understanding of research and scientific inquiry. In this three-year qualitative research study, chemistry and biochemistry majors were interviewed before and after participating in a National Science Foundation-sponsored Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program at a private urban research university in the Northeastern United States to learn about their conceptions of research, its purpose, and process. Participation in undergraduate research was found to inform students’ understanding of the structure and practice of research, promote the resolution of several well-known misconceptions (theory vs hypothesis and proof), and understanding of research as an inherently social human endeavor. Nonetheless, evidence was also found that their understanding of some research elements, including the role of publication and the ethical and sociocultural dimensions of research, may be limited. This gap may be due to the students’ limited opportunities for active engagement in these areas during the relatively short 10 week REU time frame. These findings can potentially impact the practice of undergraduate research as they relate to student researchers’ epistemic development and call for further investigations into how undergraduate research informs students’ understanding of research and scientific inquiry.

Creating Our Gendered Selves-College Experiences, Work and Family Plans, Gender Ideologies, and Desired Work Amenities Among STEM Graduates.

Studies often cite climate issues in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) employment to explain the lack of diversity by gender and race. Yet, little research directly attends to gender and racial differences in the college experiences, expected family roles, and ideological beliefs about gender that create the racialized "gendered selves" graduates bring to STEM occupations. We examine the experiences and beliefs of graduating chemistry and chemical engineering majors at two U.S. universities, showing where they coalesced into intersectional gender groups whose work and family involvement and desired working conditions substantially differ. Gendered family expectations and workplace beliefs at labor market entry subsequently predict career confidence and family-based limits on job searching, both important factors affecting retention in STEM employment. We find that women at career entry are more likely to have lower confidence and more limits on their job search, though patterns differ by ethnicity. This occurs in part because both male and female graduates who report greater expected family responsibility also report lower confidence and more limits in job searching. Overall, aspirational fulfillment is easier for men whose intersectional gender identities fit the dominant STEM workplace culture, and harder for women and non-white graduates with more flexible gender ideologies and greater anticipated household responsibilities.

Reactions

EDUCATION Reactions ShareShare onFacebookTwitterWechatLinked InRedditEmail C&EN, 2022, 100 (16), p 5May 9, 2022Cite this:C&EN 100, 16, 5Letters to the editorMemorizing the periodic tableRe: Newscripts, April 18, 2022, page 40Some years ago at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, I taught a one-semester inorganic course for BS chemistry majors. During the class we covered all the noncarbon elements in a systematic way, illustrating group relationships. The periodic table was our map, and a giant version hung above the blackboard for reference.At the end of the semester and as a part of the final exams, I covered the chart and passed out blank periodic tables for the students to fill in the chemical symbol of each element in its appropriate place. Every correct answer (up to 100) added a point to their final grade.The average score was about 50, heavily skewed to the s- and p-block elements. Only a few diligent students got more than a couple of the rare earths in their proper places.I agree with Martin Galpin at the University of Oxford that chemistry students need to understand elements’ place in the periodic table.Philip RakitaPhiladelphiaBromine sourcesI am responding to a letter to the editor (C&EN, March 28, 2022, page 3) that was a response to the eagle-killing aetokthonotoxin article (C&EN, Feb. 28, 2022, page 6). Wallace Fu asked in his letter, “Where does the hydrilla find bromine to incorporate into this toxin?” He goes on to postulate that the likely source is from “minerals in the ground or freshwater lakes in Arkansas.” I believe he is correct! Wallace goes on to refer to the situation as an “environmental disaster” that could also “affect the health of our domestic animals and humans.” It turns out there is a lot of bromine in Arkansas. In fact, one of the bromine extraction hot spots in the US is a mine in Arkansas south of DeGray Lake. But, if the bromine is naturally occurring, can we really consider that an environmental disaster? Wallace should be doubly concerned in this particular case since another region with a history of bromine extraction is his home state of Michigan.Ken SavinIndianapolis CorrectionsAug. 24, 2020, page 8: The paper that was the basis of a news article on an iridium catalyst’s functionalization of remote C–H bonds has been retracted (Science 2022, DOI: 10.1126/science.abq4856).April 18, 2022, page 28: The cover story about radioconjugates incorrectly describes indium-111. It is a ɣ emitter, not a positron emitter.April 25, 2022, page 5: The news article on buckyballs in ethylene glycol synthesis incorrectly describes C60’s role in solar cells. The fullerene acts as an electron acceptor, not an electron buffer, in that context.

Addressing persistence and retention of chemistry and biochemistry majors with engagement seminars beyond the first year

Undergraduate persistence and retention are two measures widely used by institutions to measure student success. In 2020, the national rate at which newly enrolled full‐time students persisted decreased for the first time in 7 years with the largest decrease in persistence rates for Hispanic students. The recent declines in both persistence and retention are attributed to the global pandemic. The University of the Incarnate Word (UIW), a Hispanic‐serving institution, is home to the Cardinal Chemistry Scholars (C2S) program that is supported by an NSF S‐STEM grant. The C2S program provides financial and academic support along with mentoring and career plan development to a financially disadvantaged cohort of chemistry and biochemistry majors. While over the last 20 years, most institutions have adopted first‐year seminars or experiences known to have positive impacts on both retention and persistence for first time freshman, we developed a series of engagement seminar courses that our C2S scholars take each semester until graduation. The engagements seminars include various activities that address the specific needs of students as they progress through their college years including skills development, career planning, academic engagement, and community building. Our preliminary data suggests that our continuous seminar series results in higher levels of persistence and retention among participating students compared to non‐participating students with no declines during the pandemic.

Investigation on Enhancing Students' Learning Positivity in the Course of Physical Chemistry

Physical chemistry is the main course of chemistry and chemical industry majors, and it is in the connecting position of the curriculum system. According to the characteristics of physical chemistry course, this paper tried to investigate on enhancing students' learning positivity through employing interactive teaching methods, building the overall framework of physical chemistry course, using multimedia to assist in teaching, and connecting theory with experiment and practice. On this basis, inspire students' thinking, develop students' innovation ability, enhance learning positivity, and then improve the quality of teaching. Keywords: course of physical chemistry, learning positivity, teaching quality DOI: 10.7176/JEP/13-15-05 Publication date: May 31 st 2022

Teaching the Use of Micropipettes through Direct Visualization of Data: An Experiment Focusing on Technique, Skill, and Accuracy

The correct use of micropipettes has been investigated in an undergraduate, introductory lab experiment intended for chemistry and biology majors. This lab experiment involves the use of micropipettes for accurately mixing, transferring, and applying a specific amount of dye to a cotton bandana. The data resulting from this experiment is a color wheel that displays the amount of dye transferred based on the volume of the micropipette set by the student. Student learning outcomes for this experiment include the ability to choose the correct micropipette for the volume needed, set the correct volume on a micropipette, properly draw up solutions, and use proper dispensing technique. The development of experimental foresight and improvement in students’ planning was an unintentional learning outcome. A prelab survey assessing students’ confidence in accurately using micropipettes shows that a majority of first-year students had not used micropipettes in high school (85%) but did in their first-semester science course (60%) before taking this course. The majority of those students have confidence in their ability to choose the correct micropipette, draw up the liquid, and dispense it properly. There was less confidence in setting the correct volume on the micropipette. The postlab results show that some students still had issues in setting volumes on micropipettes correctly and in dispensing the liquid. Additionally, the postsurvey suggests that setting the correct volume on the micropipette was the most learned skill from performing the lab. Overall, after performing the lab exercise, 92% of the students were confident in their ability to choose the correct micropipette and load and dispense liquid properly compared to 62% before performing the exercise.

Undergraduate chemistry and biochemistry majors' perceptions of careers in chemistry

In recent years there has been an increased emphasis on recruiting and retaining STEM students in order for the United States to retain its position as a leader in STEM fields (President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, (2012), Report to the president, engage to excel: Producing one million additional college graduates with degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics; Chen, X. (2013), STEM attrition: College students’ paths into and out of STEM fields). Knowing that choice of major and choice of career are closely related (Negru-Subtirica O. and Pop E. I., (2018), Reciprocal associations between educational identity and vocational identity in adolescence: a three-wave longitudinal investigation, J. Youth Adolesc., 47, 703–716; Negru-Subtirica et al. (2018), Good omens? The intricate relations between educational and vocational identity in adolescence, Eur. J. Dev. Psychol., 15(1), 83–98), it is important that we understand what students know about careers available in the field of chemistry as well as what they know about what those careers are like. In this study, qualitative methodology was utilized using narrative inquiry and case study analysis methods in order to capture the lived experiences of six senior-status chemistry and biochemistry majors at a mid-sized, Midwestern university. Participants were interviewed, narratives were constructed from their interview transcripts, and the narratives were used as case studies that were compared to one another. It was found that students are not fully aware of the careers available to them with a degree in chemistry or biochemistry or what the career options they did identify were like on a day-to-day basis. It was also noted that resources are not distributed evenly to all students and that there were resources that were missing that students would have liked to have access to. Suggestions for improvement in chemistry career education are discussed along with limitations of the study and ideas for future work.

Exploration and Practice of Ideological and Political Teaching in Organic Chemistry Courses in Colleges and Universities

In recent years, under the promotion of the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, the construction of ideological and political in colleges and universities has been in full swing. The purpose is to use the long-term operation and collaborative innovation mechanism of the new teaching model to guide college students in the new era to form a correct world outlook, outlook on life and values. Organic chemistry is a compulsory course for students majoring in chemistry, chemical engineering, materials, medicine and other related majors in colleges and universities, and it is a necessary way for students to establish basic knowledge. Taking the organic chemistry course as an example, this paper analyzes the current situation and existing problems of ideological and political teaching, puts forward strategies and suggestions for the implementation of ideological and political teaching in colleges and universities, and tries to provide a useful reference for the ideological and political education of professional courses in colleges and universities.

Discussion on Cultivating the Innovative Literacy of Chemistry Majors in Colleges and Universities Combined with the Tutor System

In order to cultivate the innovative literacy of college students majoring in chemistry, the college student tutor system is introduced in this paper, aiming at the current situation and existing problems of college students' innovative literacy training, focusing on the innovative practice ability, teamwork ability and tenacious will literacy of college students. The advantages and significance of the tutor system in cultivating the innovative literacy of college students majoring in chemistry are also discussed.

Investigation and Practice of Interdisciplinarity Facilitates Cultivation of Innovative Talents in Analytical Chemistry Majors

Investigation and Practice of Interdisciplinarity Facilitates Cultivation of Innovative Talents in Analytical Chemistry Majors

Investigating students’ argumentation when judging the plausibility of alternative reaction pathways in organic chemistry

Building scientific arguments is a central ability for all scientists regardless of their specific domain. In organic chemistry, building arguments is a necessary skill to estimate reaction processes in consideration of the reactivities of reaction centres or the chemical and physical properties. Moreover, building arguments for multiple reaction pathways might help students overcome the tendency toward one-reason decision-making and offer them an authentic perspective on organic processes. Reasoning about multiple alternative organic reaction pathways requires students to build arguments and then judge and weigh the plausibility of these pathways. However, students often struggle to build strong arguments and use scientific principles appropriately to justify their claims. In the present study, the argumentation patterns of 29 chemistry majors students were analysed using a simplified version of Toulmin's argumentation model (claim–evidence–reasoning). The students solved various tasks related to alternative reaction pathways of a substitution reaction. They supported their claims with evidence and justified the evidence through reasoning. We investigated (a) the extent to which the students use evidence and reasoning in their argumentation (referred to as their argumentation approach), (b) how students with different argumentation approaches rationalised changes in their initial claims, and (c) how students used reasoning to justify their arguments. The results indicate that students need further support to appropriately use evidence and reasoning and to apply conceptual knowledge to build well-grounded arguments.

A Survey and Proposals on the Curriculum of Inorganic Chemistry Discipline for Chemistry Majors in China

A Survey and Proposals on the Curriculum of Inorganic Chemistry Discipline for Chemistry Majors in China

Investigation and Improvement Suggestions on the Construction of “Emerging Engineering” in Domestic Chemistry Majors

Investigation and Improvement Suggestions on the Construction of “Emerging Engineering” in Domestic Chemistry Majors

Suggestion for Teaching Contents and Teaching Requirements of Analytical Chemistry Course for Chemistry Majors

Suggestion for Teaching Contents and Teaching Requirements of Analytical Chemistry Course for Chemistry Majors