CHED 1438 |
| A persistent and pervasive issue in undergraduate education is how to attract and retain more science majors in the face of a challenging and extensive curriculum. We hypothesized that a major problem contributing to this issue is that the starting point of course instruction is usually not the students' interests in science. In addition, while America is the global leader in graduate education, we fall significantly behind other nations in undergraduate education. We attributed the success of graduate education in the United States to the structure of the scientific research group and the strong presence of peer mentoring in most graduate programs. To test these hypotheses, we implemented a four-year course called Chemistry and Biology of Everyday Life in Spring 2003. The course uses the students' interests as the starting point of instruction and models a research group. Peer mentoring involving students from freshmen to seniors, an important element that is missing in most courses, is also implemented. Assessment through the Classroom Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) survey indicates dramatic gains in a number of areas valuable in scientific research. |
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Chemistry Education Research
8:30 AM-11:55 AM, Tuesday, April 8, 2008 Hilton New Orleans Riverside -- HEC A, Oral
Division of Chemical Education |