Norbert J. Pienta

Enhancing the role of assessment in curriculum reform in chemistry

The role of assessment in the chemistry classroom is ultimately tied to the nature of the assessments available for use. Because they provide data that can inform decisions about curricular changes, or new pedagogies, the incorporation of new assessment strategies can play an important role in how educational and curriculum reform is carried out. Several recent developments in assessment have been tied together to investigate the benefits of using multiple assessment strategies in decision making about teaching innovation. These new tools include measures of student problem solving, metacognition, cognitive development within the chemistry content at the college level and evaluation of students in affective aspects of learning. Summaries of how these new tools may be combined and what measures arise from such combinations are presented.

Permutation test for groups of scanpaths using normalized Levenshtein distances and application in NMR questions

This paper presents a permutation test that statistically compares two groups of scanpaths. The test uses normalized Levenshtein distances when the lengths of scanpaths are not the same. This method was applied in a recent eye-tracking experiment in which two groups of chemistry students viewed nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopic signals and chose the corresponding molecular structure from the candidates. A significant difference was detected between the two groups, which is consistent with the fact that students in the expert group showed more efficient scan patterns in the experiment than the novice group. Various numbers of permutations were tested and the results showed that p-values only varied in a small range with different permutation numbers and that the statistical significance was not affected.

What Do Editors Do All Day

The duties, responsibilities, and activities of the Editor are discussed in anticipation of the process to find the next editor-in-chief of the Journal.

Funding Innovation and Research in Chemical Education

Resources to enable innovation and research in chemical education are already limited and may be subjected to budgetary scrutiny. Chemistry faculty use grants to implement improvements or changes and to collect research data about them. The viability and health of the enterprise depend on sufficient funding.

Before We Cut the Cake...

This editorial reviews the Journal’s last year, the Editor’s first, and reflects on events and milestones.

Memories of Kindergarten Teachers

This editorial reflects on the value of primary school teachers and how people in the United States determine the worth of these teachers. The comparison is made to teaching chemistry.

The Digital Journal, or What Is an Issue, Anyway?

This editorial considers the organization of the Journal into issues and invites readers to think about Journal components in the digital age.

Innovate To Educate

The role of the Journal and its constituencies in a national campaign for excellence in science education is discussed.

Partners in Innovation: Teaching Assistants in College Science Courses (Seymour, Elaine; Melton, Ginger; Wiese, Douglas J.; Pedersen-Gallegos, Liane)

Partners in Innovation focuses on the roles of TAs and TA interactions with faculty and students when curricular or pedagogical changes are implemented in courses for which they have some responsibilities.

Chemical Education: Towards Research-Based Practice (Gilbert, John K.; Jong, Onno De; Justi, Rosaria; Treagust, David; Van Driel, Jan H.)

A recommended resource for those who teach courses and conduct research in chemical education.