Simposia

Organizer: Maria Gallardo Williams, NC State University, mtgallar@ncsu.edu

Virtual reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) are exciting new technologies that have applications in the classroom as well as in distance education environments. Uniquely engaging, and with the potential to deliver content in an accessible manner, VR and AR are disrupting education and creating unique challenges and opportunities. This symposium aims to cover the current state of the field of VR and AR applications in STEM education, including technical aspects, instructional development, impact on diversity and inclusion, case studies, recent uses during the COVID-19 pandemic, and future developments.

Organizer: Stacey Lowery Bretz, Miami University, Ohio, bretzsl@miamioh.edu

Assessment has often been referred to as “the tail that wags the dog” because students can be extrinsically motivated to learn what we test. Therefore, chemistry teachers should carefully examine not only what students should know and be able to do, but also what we assess and how. This symposium will showcase chemistry education research focused on the development and/or implementation of classroom and program assessments.

Organizer: Joi Walker, Eastern North Carolina, WALKERJOI15@ecu.edu

A course based undergraduate research experience (CURE) is a popular, high-impact pedagogical approach, however many do not find their way into traditional research labs. Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) are an alternative that can serve all students, including those who may have implicit barriers to seeking position in a research lab, or who have jobs or financial constraints that prohibit them from devoting a significant amount of time to research. In this symposium, we want to hear from faculty who have developed and/or implemented CUREs in chemistry. Faculty in the early stages of developing a CURE are welcome to present course design and plans for implementation. Faculty who have already run the CURE are invited to share all aspects of the course, including what worked well, and obstacles (both expected and unexpected) that arose.

Organizer: Daniel Cruz-Ramires de Arellano, U. South Florida, dcruz5@usf.edu

The organic chemistry laboratory course remains an integral part of organic chemistry curricula all over the nation. While most chemical educators agree with the importance of the laboratory course component, there are a variety of approaches used to conduct and assess them, including project-based, guided inquiry-based, open inquiry-based, and others. Furthermore, the demand
for alternate ways of content delivery (mostly in online or virtual scenarios) and for the inclusion of real-world applications has catalyzed many innovative ways in which students are learning organic chemistry principles in a laboratory setting. This symposium invites papers from practitioners and researchers that describe any curricular innovation related to the organic chemistry laboratory. Topics can include but are not limited to: development of new experiments for specific learning objectives, development of digital resources, development of project-based or inquiry-based curricula, addressing safety and waste management in the laboratory, alternate ways of reporting laboratory data and assessing student performance, integrating spectroscopy into the laboratory, scaling laboratory experiments in large-enrollment courses, and incorporating
the principles of green chemistry to the organic chemistry laboratory.

Organizer: Carmen Valdez Gauthier, Florida Southern College, cgauthier@flsouthern.edu

This symposium will focus on the various ways that chemists have responded to the multiple challenges presented by the pandemic including the use of video conferencing and other technologies to foster new collaborations and promote learning. The symposium will highlight work that was carried out by student and international chapters to promote community outreach programs such as national chemistry week and chemists celebrate earth week.

Organizer: Dr. Will Lynch, Dr. C. Padgett and Dalice Pinero Cruz

This symposium will highlight the use of x-ray diffraction in the southeast region to evaluate inorganic materials, organic compounds and biomolecules. XRD plays a vital role in structure elucidation for scientists in all areas of chemistry from solid state to biochemistry. Topics of interest will include the use of crystallography and powder diffraction to further the understanding of complex structures and the role they play in chemical and biochemical processes.

Our target will be one full day 12-16 papers, plus a small poster session

We will attempt to get funding from: a) Coastal Georgia Local Section, Division of Inorganic Chemistry , Division of Organic Chemistry and our industrial partners Rigaku and Bruker.

Organizers: Jeffrey Raker, U. South Florida, jraker@usf.edu and Gonger Shultz, U. of Michigan, gshultz@umich.edu

This session will include talks that address how education research is being implemented in the context of chemistry courses at all education levels. Talks can be focused on conducting chemistry education research studies that lead to detailed and tangible implications for classroom practice, OR course, and curriculum reform projects that are informed by and rooted in the education research literature (both chemistry education and broader education literature). Potential speakers are encouraged, as well, to submit ‘paired’ talks where together the two talks address the research and practice components of a larger project; the two talks should have different presenters.

Organizer: José R. Almirall (FIU)

Organizer: Sonia Underwood, Florida International University, sunderwo@fiu.edu

Given the recent year of the COVID-19 pandemic, many faculty tried new teaching practices. Some of these newly implemented teaching practices will continue to be used moving forward. This symposium is meant to be a place where faculty can share these great newly implemented or developed teaching practices that are here to stay. Presenters for this session should use evidence gathered from their classroom to highlight both the teaching practice and its impact on themselves, students, or classroom culture. From this symposium the audience should take away new ideas for their chemistry courses to use in the future.

Organizer: Arthur Tinoco (UPR-RP)
Duration: One day