ChemicalEducationResearch,Practice,Innovation,Evaluationand Scholarship * PaulCYates CentreforProfessionalStaffDevelopment,KeeleUniversity,Keele,Staffordshire ST55BG Introduction InthispaperIwillbeconsidering someoftheactivitieswhichthoseof uswhoareinvolvedinchemical educationmayengagewithfrom timetotime.

Ihopetoexplorethe relationshipsbetweenthese activities,particularlywithaviewto identifyingthosewhichmaybe classedasresearch,orthat particularlydifficultactivityto define:scholarship. InnovationandResearch Inrecentyearsmanymore practitionershavedeveloped innovativeteachingmethods, particularlyasfundingforsuch projectshasbecomemore widespread.Ontheotherhand,the numberofpeopleengagedin chemicaleducationresearchseems tohavedeclined.Ithasbeensaid thattheessentiallinkbetween innovationandresearchis evaluation.Therefore,afundamental questionseemstobetowhatextent doesonehavetoevaluatean innovationprojectinorderforitto beregardedastrueresearch?1 SupportandAssessmentof LaboratoryWorkinChemistry Thisinnovationprojectwasfunded bytheKeeleUniversityTeaching EnhancementFundin20002.The philosophybehinditwasbasedon thetraditionalassessmentregime consistingofanexamination,
*

courseworkandlaboratorysessions. Absencefromthefirstoftheseis easilydealtwithasareany reassessmentrequirements. Studentsmisslaboratorysessions forbothacceptableand unacceptablereasons,butthenet effectisthesameandinmostcases runningrepeatlaboratorysessions forasmallnumberofstudentsis uneconomic.Thisprojectwas designedtoaddressthisproblemin thosecaseswherestudentsdidnot passthelaboratorycomponentof theircourse. Theexperimentselectedfor simulationwasthatofthe determinationofthepartialmolar volumeofsodiumchloride3.One reasonforchoosingthiswasthatthe practicaltechniqueconsistedof makingupaseriesofsolutionsof sodiumchlorideandweighinga specifiedvolumeofeach.These techniquesareeasilydevelopedin otherexperiments,solittlewaslost intermsofstudents'practicalskills. Thesimulationwasimplementedas webbasedmaterialsallowing remoteaccess,anddifferentroutes wereprovidedthroughthematerials basedonstudents'namesand birthday.Thisreducedthelikelihood ofplagiarismwhileretainingroutes whichledtoresultswhichcouldbe checked,andisabasic implementationofmore sophisticatedschemes4,5whichhave

The material in this paper is based on that presented in the Chemical Education Research Group Lecture, given at the Variety in Chemistry Education meeting in Plymouth, UK in September 2004.

beenusedindisciplinessuchas statistics.Itsohappenedthat developmentofthesematerials coincidedwithlaboratory refurbishmentandsotheywere trialledwiththewholeclassin 20002001priortobeingusedfor actualreassessmentin20012002. Usewiththewholeclassallowed evaluationofthematerials,which wouldnothavebeenpossiblehad theybeenuseddirectlyfor reassessment.Someofthefeedback receivedincludedthecomments Clearstructureallows calculationstobeperformed insteps Easyaccess Workedexamplehardto follow Doingtheactualexperiment wouldbetedious Studentscannotbepenalised fordefectivematerialsand othercircumstances

Theauthoringoftextbookswould not,quiterightly,beregardedasa researchactivity.However,itcould bearguedthatthemuchlarger readershipoftextbooksrelativeto journalpapersmeansthattheir impactisfarhigher,andthatthis activityshouldbemorehighly rewarded. Ihavealwaysbeenintriguedby studieswhichsuggestthatthe averagereadershipofapublished academicjournalarticleisaround 1.5.However,alternativefiguresof 0.5,3and200havealsobeen claimed6.However,eventhehighest ofthesefiguresismuchlowerthan thatofatextbookwithevenmodest sales. In1997ChapmanandHallpublished thetextbook"Chemical Calculations"7.Thiswasaimedat thosestudentswhoenterchemistry degreeprogrammeswithoutanA levelqualificationinmathematics; coursesforsuchpeopleareoften referredtoinformallyas"remedial maths"bythestaffwhoteachthem andthisishowtheyareoften perceived.Anumberofbookson thistopichadprecededthisvolume andmanyhavebeenpublished since. Theusualapproachinsuch textbooksistoorderthematerial accordingtothelogicalpedagogyof mathematics."Chemical Calculations"tookadifferent approachinthatthematerialwas orderedaccordingtochemical topics,muchasonewouldfindina physicalchemistrytextbook(see Table1).Thisledtoanumberof consequences: materialwasavailableas requiredwhenstudyinga particularchemistrytopic

Thereassessmentin20012002was undertakenbythreestudents.They weregivenstrictinstructionsto contactmeiftheyhadanyproblems accessingthematerial,andonein factdidsobyemail.Allsubmitted theirreassessmentontimeand passedthemodule. Thisprojectthuscontainedthe innovationandevaluationelements whichapparentlyconstitutea researchproject.However,I wouldn'tforonemomentregardthis asachemicaleducationresearch projectandclearlyamorerigorous formofevaluationsupportedby appropriateeducationaltheory wouldberequired1. Textbooks

mathematicaltopicswere repeatedthusreinforcingthe materialandpresentingitin differentchemicalcontexts thematerialwashighly relevantandrelateddirectly tothechemistrywhereitwas required

Thisapproachhasremainedunique andrepresentsamajorchangeinthe pedagogyofthistopic. Iwouldconsequentlysuggestthat thisisanexampleofwherea textbookhasprovidedinnovationin theteachingofatopic.Thiscouldbe developedintoapieceofchemical educationresearchifsuitable evaluationwascarriedoutinthe institutionswherethebookhasbeen used.Itwillbeappreciatedthatthis wouldbequitedifficulttodoin practicalterms.Averycrude measurethattheapproachhadsome successisthatthebookhasnow appearedinitssecondedition. LearningHierarchiesand KnowledgeStates Thisistheprojectdiscussedinthis paperwhichprobablycomesclosest tochemicaleducationresearch.For many
2Thermodynamics 2.1TheBornHabercycle 2.1.1Combiningerrors 2.2Heatcapacity 2.2.1Expansionofbrackets 2.2.2Polynomialexpressions 2.2.3Functions 2.3Clapeyronequation 2.3.1Differentiation 2.4ClausiusClapeyronequation 2.4.1Logarithms 2.4.2Theequationofastraightline 2.4.3Plottinggraphs 2.5Theidealgasequation 2.5.1Interconversionofunits 2.5.2Constantsandvariables 2.5.3Proportion 2.5.4Functionsoftwovariables 2.5.5Partialdifferentiation

2.5.6Thedifferential 2.6ThevanderWaalsequation 2.6.1Expansionofbrackets 2.6.2Combininglimits 2.7Equilibriumconstants 2.7.1Quadraticequations 3Solutionchemistry 3.1TheNernstequation 3.1.1Straightlinegraphs 3.2TheDebyeHuckelequation 3.2.1Logarithms 3.3Ostwald'sDilutionLaw 3.3.1Discontinuities 3.4Fick'slaws 3.4.1Proportion 3.5Densityofsolutions 3.5.1Functions 3.5.2Stationarypoints 3.6Partialmolarvolumes 3.6.1Functions 3.6.2Stationarypoints Table1:ContentsofthetextbookChemical Calculations Nameofproblem type (a)Givenan equationinxandy, determinethe gradientand interceptofagraph ofyagainstx. (b)Rearrangea givenequationinto theformy=mx+c. Exampleofinstance Determinethe gradientand interceptofagraph ofyagainstxify=2x +3. Rearrangethefirst orderequation lnclnco=kt intotheformy=mx +c. (c)Givenan equationwith specifiedvariables, identifythetypeof plotwhichwillgive astraightline. (d)Givenan equationinthe formy=mx+cwith specifiedvariables, determinethe gradientand interceptofa specifiedplot. Table2.Questionsusedtotestthelearning hierarchy. Whattypeofplot wouldgiveastraight linerepresentingthe relationship lnclnco=kt? Determinethe gradientand interceptoflnc againsttif lnc=kt+lnco.

yearsIhavetaughtmathematicsfor chemistrycourses,andbeen intriguedathowstudentscanfollow anargumentsofarbutthen suddenlybecomelost.Iwas interestedindeterminingthispoint, asitmightgiveusefulinformation onhowbesttoteachthetopic.After all,surelythisistheultimategoalof chemicaleducationresearch. Awayofdoingthisseemedtobethe learninghierarchyapproach originallyformulatedbyGagn8. Thisinvolvesadministeringateston aseriesofprogressivelymore sophisticatedskills,thentestingthe pairwisedependenceofskillsusing statisticaltechniques9. Anexampleofsuchatestisshown inTable2,whichalsocategories eachspecificquestioningeneral terms.Theresultinglearning hierarchyappearsinFigure1,where forexampleP(c|a)givesthe probabilityofastudentpossessing skillconcetheypossessskilla. Oneofthedisadvantagesin developinglearninghierarchiesis thatrelationshipshavetobe postulatedandtested,anditiseasy tooverlookrelationshipswhen severalskillsareinvolved. SubsequentlyIcameacrossthework ofFalmagneetal10which concentratesonwhichgroupof skillsispossessedbyastudent. Thesegroupsareknownas knowledgestatesandalsoneedto beidentifiedbytheresearcher. However,interestinglyFalmagneet alsuggestthe"useofseasoned teachersortextbookwriterstofind theknowledgestates".Thisisan interestingstatementfortwo reasons.Firstitsuggestsacommon senseapproachtoresearchwhich buildsonpractitionerexperience. Second,it

Pr(c|a)=0.79 Pr(c|b)=1.00 Pr(c|ab)=1.00 Pr(d|c)=0.59 N=31

Figure1:Learninghierarchybasedon questionsinTable2

{a} {b} {c} {d} {ab} {ac} {ad}

2 6 0 0 1 0 5 0

{bc} {bd}

0 0 4 0 5 0 8

{abc} {abd} {acd} {bcd} {abcd}

Table3:Actualknowledgestatesforthe learninghierarchydefinedinTable2.

providesanalltoorarelinkbetween researchandpractice. Asanauthorofatextbookinthis areaIthusfeltqualifiedtospecify theexpectedknowledgestatesas showninTable2.Thesewere comparedwiththoseactually obtainedandshowninTable3.Itis notablethatmorethanonestudent hadthe"zeroknowledgestate". Oncetheactualknowledgestates havebeendetermined,itispossible toproducealikelihoodmapofthe

formshowninFigure2,showing howmanyskillshavebeen developedbyeachstudent.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 0 1 2 No. of problems 3 4

mathematicalabilityofthe chemistrygraduatesthey employ arithmeticisanessentialskill withstatisticsoftenrequired calculuswasregardedas usefulbyhalfofemployers applicationofmathematicsis desirable someemployersrequireonly basicmathematicalskills automatedprocedures reducetheneedfor mathematicalskills deficienciesinEnglishand chemicalknowledgearemore importantthanthosein mathematics

Figure2:Likelihoodmapbasedonthe questionsdefinedinTable2

Ithinkmostpeoplewouldregard thisasanexampleofchemical educationresearch.Someofits characteristicsarethatit wasexternallyfunded wasbasedonpublished literature analysesstudentdata couldresultinimproved teachingandlearning

Likelihood

IstheMathematicsProblem RecognisedbytheChemical industry? Chemistryhastraditionallybeen regardedasanumeratediscipline, althoughinrecentyearstherehave beenconcernsamonglecturingstaff aboutthemathematicalabilityof chemistrygraduates.InthisprojectI soughttoascertainwhether employersofsuchgraduatesinthe chemicalindustrystillregarded chemistryasanumeratediscipline. Of564questionnairessenttoawide varietyofchemicalcompanies110 werereturned.Thesehadbeen completedbyindustrypersonnel witharangeofjobtitles.Theoverall conclusionswerethat: fewcompaniesexpressed concernaboutthe

Thisworkwasexternallyfunded andpublishedinapeerreviewed journal11.Italsoprovidesthe possibilityofinformingcurriculum designalthoughitdoesnotdirectly addressmethodsoflearningand teaching.Iwouldsuggestthatthisis researchaboutchemicaleducation, ratherthanresearchinchemical education. TeachingversusResearch Asafinalexample,Isetoutto considerthequestion"towhat extentdojobadvertisementsfor chemistrylectureshipsreflectthe supposedimportanceofteaching relativetoresearch?".Myhypothesis wasthatatthecostlyjob advertisementstageemployerswill concentrateonwhatisreally important,sothisiswhereonecan seetowhatextentteachingfeatures inappointments.Imonitoredthe advertisementspublishedinvarious sources,withanemphasisonthose thatwereonline12.Therewere41

advertisementsduring2003;this includedtemporaryandpermanent lectureshipsindisciplineswhich couldlooselyberegardedas "chemistry".Asmallnumberof advertisementsduringthatperiod mayhavebeenmissed,butIam confidentthatthiswouldhavebeen insignificant. Eachadvertisementwasratedonthe crudescaleof0to5describedin Table4.Thesewerethenrelatedto thedepartment's2001Research AssessmentExercisescore13as showninTable5.Thegenerallylow scoresindicatethattheimportance ofteachingisnotreflectedininitial jobadvertisementsandonecan drawconclusionsastohowthis relatestotheactualrole.The greatestprominencetoteachingwas givenbydepartmentsrated3aand 5*;ifoneconsidersthesetobethe extremesoftheresearchactive departmentsitcouldbeconcluded thatteachingisoflesserimportance inthosedepartmentswhichare closerto,andthereforeaspireto become,5*. Afurthercomparisonwasdonewith theresultsoftheteachingquality
Score 0 1 2 3 4 5 Description Teachingnotmentioned Explicitstatementthatteaching islessimportant Teachingmentionedwithno furtherexpansion Qualityofteachingmentioned Teachingexplicitlygivenequal weightingtoresearch Onlyteachingrequired

wasalsoverycrude,withall chemistrydepartmentsbeingrated asexcellentorsatisfactory.Infact, thedifferencebetweenthesein termsoftheiradvertisementscores wasnegligible(2.0versus2.1). Furtherdatahasbeencollectedand itishopedtoperformamore detailedanalysisoveranumberof years. Thisworkmaybepublishableand thereforecouldfallintothecategory ofresearch.However,itcouldquite reasonablyberegardedasresearch intoemploymentratherthan researchinchemicaleducation. Nevertheless,researchofthistype couldhelptoraisetheprofileof teachingandthereforehavean impactonthelearningexperiencein chemistry.
RAEscore 0 2 3a 4 5 5* No.ofposts 2 1 3 15 10 10 Average score 3.5 5.0 2.3 1.9 1.4 2.2

Table5:RelationshipbetweenRAEscore andteachingimportance.

Conclusions Theexamplesabovehaveshown thatitispossibletoengageina rangeofscholarlyactivitieswithin thebroadheadingofchemical education,andthateachofthesecan beregardedashavingdifferent amountsofresearch.Research whichisrelevanttochemical education,however,isnot necessarilythesameaschemical educationresearch. 7thAugust2007

Table4.Classificationofteaching importanceinjobadvertisements

assessment14carriedoutin1993; thisdataisclearlyveryoutofdate andthereforeneedstobetreated withagreatdealofcaution.Thedata

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