Sonia M. Underwood | Florida International University (original) (raw)

Papers by Sonia M. Underwood

Journal of Chemical Education, 2021

Many calls to improve science education in college and university settings have focused on improv... more Many calls to improve science education in college and university settings have focused on improving instructor pedagogy. Meanwhile, science education at the K-12 level is undergoing significant changes as a result of the emphasis on scientific and engineering practices, crosscutting concepts, and disciplinary core ideas. This framework of " three-dimensional learning " is based on the literature about how people learn science and how we can help students put their knowledge to use. Recently, similar changes are underway in higher education by incorporating three-dimensional learning into college science courses. As these transformations move forward, it will become important to assess three-dimensional learning both to align assessments with the learning environment, and to assess the extent of the transformations. In this paper we introduce the Three-Dimensional Learning Assessment Protocol (3D-LAP), which is designed to characterize and support the development of assessment tasks in biology, chemistry, and physics that align with transformation efforts. We describe the development process used by our interdisciplinary team, discuss the validity and reliability of the protocol, and provide evidence that the protocol can distinguish between assessments that have the potential to elicit evidence of three-dimensional learning and those that do not.

A key to effective teaching is an awareness and accurate understanding of the thinking and implic... more A key to effective teaching is an awareness and accurate understanding of the thinking and implicit assumptions that students bring to the subject to be learned. In the absence of extensive Socratic interactions with students, one strategy to assess student thinking involves the use of concept inventories (CIs). CIs are typically multiple-choice assessments, constructed based on research into student thinking

Models for higher education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are under... more Models for higher education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are under pressure around the world. Although most STEM faculty and practicing scientists have learned successfully in a traditional format, they are the exception, not the norm, in their success. Education should support a diverse population of students in a world where using knowledge, not merely memorizing it, is becoming ever more important. In the United States, which by many measures is a world leader in higher education, the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) recommended sweeping changes to the first 2 years of college, which are critical for recruitment and retention of STEM students (1). Although reform efforts call for evidence-based pedagogical approaches, supportive learning environments, and changes to faculty teaching culture and reward systems, one important aspect needs more attention: changing expectations about what students should learn, particularly in college-level introductory STEM courses. This demands that faculty seriously discuss, within and across disciplines, how they approach their curricula.

Intermolecular forces (IMFs), or more broadly, non-8 covalent interactions either within or betwe... more Intermolecular forces (IMFs), or more broadly, non-8 covalent interactions either within or between molecules, are central to 9 an understanding of a wide range of chemical and biological 10 phenomena. In this study, we present a multiyear, multi-institutional, 11 longitudinal comparison of how students enrolled in traditional 12 general chemistry courses and those in a transformed general 13 chemistry course (Chemistry, Life, the Universe and Everything, or 14 CLUE) represent intermolecular forces in the context of small 15 molecules. For multiple cohorts of students at two different 16 universities, we found that students who participate in the CLUE 17 curriculum were significantly more likely than those in a traditional 18 curriculum to indicate (correctly) that intermolecular forces occur 19 between, rather than within small molecules. In a longitudinal study, 20 we followed the students from one cohort through the subsequent year of organic chemistry and found that the differences 21 between the CLUE and traditional students persisted over the course of two years of chemistry instruction. In general, students 22 who are enrolled in the transformed general chemistry curriculum have a more scientifically correct and more coherent 23 understanding of IMFs. The finding that a majority of students leave general chemistry without a coherent understanding of the 24 difference between covalent and noncovalent interactions must certainly impact their subsequent understanding of chemical and 25 biological phenomena. 26

Journal of Chemical Education, Jun 16, 2010

Because Lewis structures provide a direct connection between molecular structure and properties, ... more Because Lewis structures provide a direct connection between molecular structure and properties, the ability to construct and use them is an integral component of many chemistry courses. Although a great deal of time and effort has been dedicated to development of ...

Science (New York, N.Y.), Jan 16, 2015

Journal of Chemical Education, 2015

ABSTRACT

ACS Symposium Series, 2014

Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 2013

ABSTRACT The connection between the molecular-level structure of a substance and its macroscopic ... more ABSTRACT The connection between the molecular-level structure of a substance and its macroscopic properties is a fundamental concept in chemistry. Students in college-level general and organic chemistry courses were interviewed to investigate how they used structure–property relationships to predict properties such as melting and boiling points. Although student difficulties in this area are well documented, they are usually classified as individual misconceptions. However our studies showed that student problems appear to arise from a complex interplay of problems involving a number of different sources: (1) models of phases/phase change, (2) use of representations, (3) language and terminology, and (4) use of heuristics in student reasoning. No two students used the same sets of ideas to perform the task at hand, and while we did see some recurrences of a single idea or heuristic, the ways that students combined them were different. We believe that, at least for high-level complex tasks such as determining structure–property relationships, student understanding is best understood as a set of loosely connected ideas, skills, and heuristics that are not well integrated. These are not single “misconceptions” that can be reconstructed in isolation. What is clear is that students who have done everything we ask of them, and who have earned high grades in chemistry courses are unable to address a core concept in chemistry. Typical assessments often mask the difficulties that students have with core concepts, since many students may correctly answer a question using heuristics, but have faulty reasoning. We recommend that instruction should include a scaffolded progression of ideas, and opportunities to construct and connect their understanding that will allow students to construct a more coherent framework from which to make predictions about the behavior of matter.

Journal of Chemical Education, 2010

Journal of Chemical Education, 2012

Chemistry Education Research and Practice, 2012

Lewis structures are a simplified two dimensional “cartoon” of molecular structure that allow a k... more Lewis structures are a simplified two dimensional “cartoon” of molecular structure that allow a knowledgeable user to predict the types of properties a particular substance may exhibit. However, prior research shows that many students fail to recognize these structure-...