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Undergraduate research is a high-impact educational practice for which effective mentoring has been identified as a key factor in determining its success. Some researchers have argued that effective mentors help increase students' independence and ownership of the research project. This case study used conversation analysis to examine recorded interactions between an early-career postdoctoral mentor and a first-year undergraduate research student within the context of "mentoring by questioning" in a biochemistry research group. The study was based on three guiding research questions: What norms of discourse frame conversations about independence and ownership of research? How are the norms of discourse established? What impact do these conversations have on the undergraduate research experience? Analysis of the data collected in this study suggested three ways in which the mentor used the discursive tool of question-asking to guide conversations with the undergraduate research student: encouraging scientific observations, shifting responsibility, and encouraging critical thinking.

The goal of this study was to analyze the science and technology questions with respect to science process skills (SPS) included in the "Transition from Primary to Secondary Education" (TEOG) examination developed for use with 8th-grade students in Turkey. The 12 TEOG exams administered in the course of three academic years from 2014 through 2016 that included 238 science and technology questions were subjected to document analysis to determine whether the process is being made toward incorporating science process skills in this high-stakes exam. The number of science and technology questions that incorporated SPS increased from 49 in 2013-2014 to 53 in 2014-2015 and 76 in the most recent processing/modeling/hypothesis skills (n = 2). The document analysis showed that basic science process skills were included in science and technology questions more or less as often as integrated science process skills.

Reports of the results of research within the emerging field of biochemistry education are appearing at an ever-increasing rate. Capturing an image of the landscape of Biochemistry Education Research (BCER) is complicated, however, by the interdisciplinary nature of biochemistry courses that may be taught at different levels and in different departments, even at the same institution. To develop a model that provides a sense of what research has been done, so far, we have investigated the literature on biochemistry education research within the contexts of the traditional biochemistry lecture and laboratory environments as well as courses taught within the health sciences, medicinal chemistry, chemical biology, and molecular biology, as well as courses that combine biochemistry with other topics in chemistry, such as general chemistry and organic chemistry. We found that existing BCER has focused primarily on the lecture/classroom environment. Only about one-fourth of the BCER literature has been based on research in the laboratory setting. We also noted that the primary focus of research done so far has been on the structure/function properties of proteins. The goal of this review was a holistic understanding of the results of BCER that could be used by instructors to shape classroom practice as well as to provide BCER practitioners with an idea of the gaps in the existing literature that could be filled by future research. To transform the results of our analysis into a publishable form, we have used a format in which brief summaries of the topics of the BCER papers are presented.

Open-ended interviews were used to study differences in Grade 7-8 teachers' beliefs about exemplary classroom practices produced by exposure to in-service professional development programs based on different theoretical frameworks. Teachers who had participated in an intensive, inquiry-based, in-service professional development program that focused on preferred teaching methodologies from a constructivist, inquiry-based perspective described in the "best practices" literature were compared with teachers who had been through traditional in-service professional development workshops. Analysis of interviews based on the teachers' responses to both conceptual and algebraic questions that involved the concept of density revealed insight into the teachers' preferred teaching methodologies, their beliefs about how students learn, their attitudes toward their own learning, and their depth of understanding of the concept of density. This study suggests that, for some teachers, extensive in-service professional development can produce a substantive change in teachers' beliefs about optimum teaching practice. But this change can have unforseen consequences; in this case, the formation of a set of beliefs or values that forgot the importance of building quantitative skills as well a conceptual understanding of the concepts being taught.

This paper describes results from a study on the career choices of women earning doctorates in chemistry in the United States. Presented here are findings related to the participants' identification with traditional female gender roles and expectations for behavior in the male-dominated field of chemistry. Underlying a career decision-making model are the traditional gender roles women participants struggled with as they evaluated different careers in chemistry. Many of the participants envisioned being the primary caretakers for their future families and wanted careers that would accommodate this lifestyle. Findings of note include the freedom from traditional female gender roles exhibited by the lesbian participant, the views towards future familial responsibilities exhibited by both the participants in a relationship and those who were single, and the conflict between feminine personality traits and observed mannerisms of women faculty members. The challenge for research-focused chemistry departments in the United States lies in making departmental culture more supportive of families, more accommodating of the need for work-life balance, and more accepting of traditionally feminine mannerisms and behaviors. (Contains 1 table.)

Biochemistry education relies heavily on students' abilities to conceptualize abstract cellular and molecular processes, mechanisms, and components. From a constructivist standpoint, students build their understandings of these abstract processes by connecting, expanding, or revising their prior conceptions and experiences. As such, biochemistry instructors often use analogies to teach difficult or hard-to-visualize topics to their classes by relating these target concepts to more commonplace analogs with which their students may already be familiar. For example, the binding of an enzyme to its substrate is often compared to a lock and a key; and ATP is frequently referred to as a cellular energy currency in discussions of metabolism and reaction coupling. Although the use of analogies in biochemistry classrooms is fairly common, the specific ways biochemistry instructors use analogies differ from instructor to instructor and class to class. In this article, we discuss biochemistry instructors' perceptions of the use of analogies in their classroom instruction. Specifically, we discuss (1) biochemistry instructors' objectives for using analogies, (2) their perceptions of the potential disadvantages associated with analogy use, (3) the sources of the analogies they use in their classes, and (4) the ways they perceive that analogies should be presented in class to promote student learning of biochemical concepts.

Although one of the presumed aims of graduate training programs is to help students develop into practitioners of their chosen fields, very little is known about how this transition occurs. In the course of studying how graduate students learn to solve organic synthesis problems, we were able to identify some of the key factors in the epistemic development from student to practitioner. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with four first-year organic chemistry graduate students enrolled in a course on organic synthesis and two third-year organic chemistry graduate students who were in the process of preparing an original research proposal in organic synthesis as a component of their Ph.D. oral qualifying exams. Three interconnected factors that fostered the students' development into practicing organic chemists were identified: (1) the students needed to perceive the material they were asked to learn in the course lectures and in other interactions with the professor as "real;" (2) they needed to work on authentic activities that provided concrete instruments for knowledge construction; and (3) the students needed scaffolding with a more-knowledgeable other in the form of feedback on the authentic activity.

This study examined the understanding of chemical equations developed by three students with blindness who were enrolled in the same secondary-school chemistry class. The students were interviewed while interpreting and balancing chemical equations. During the course of these interviews, the students produced diagrams using Braille symbols that provided insight into how they visualized the various components of the equations used to represent chemical reactions. The results of this study suggested that these students all possessed views of the symbolic representations of chemical reactions that differed from those of practicing chemists. The alternative views the students had of these symbols, however, did not differ significantly from the results of previous studies conducted with students with sight. The results of this study suggest that current pedagogical practices should be revised to enhance the conceptual understanding that all students develop of the symbolic representations used to describe chemical reactions.

This study investigated the views of the nature of engineering held by 6th-grade students to provide a baseline upon which activities or curriculum materials might be developed to introduce middle-school students to the work of engineers and the process of engineering design. A phenomenographic framework was used to guide the analysis of data collected from: (1) a series of 20 semi-structured interviews with 6th-grade students, (2) drawings created by these students of "an engineer or engineers at work" that were discussed during the interviews, and (3) field notes collected by the researchers during the interviews. The 6th-grade students tended to believe that engineers were individuals who make or build products, although some students understood the role of engineers in the design or planning of products, and, to a lesser extent in testing products to ensure that they "work" and/or are safe to use. The combination of drawings of "engineers or engineering at work" and individual interviews provided more insight into the students' views of the nature of engineering than either source of data would have offered on its own. Analysis of the data suggested that the students' concepts of engineers and engineering were fragile, or unstable, and likely to change within the time frame of the interview.

Research has shown that an increase in students' interest in science and engineering can have a positive effect on their achievement (Baird, 1986; Eccles & Wigfield, 2002; French, Immekus & Oakes, 2005; Schiefele, Krapp, & Winteler, 1992; Schwartz Bloom & Haplin, 2003; Weinburgh, 1995). Whereas many NSF-funded programs in materials science and nanotechnology have included efforts to develop curriculum materials for use in secondary or tertiary classrooms, relatively little work has been done to determine the topics that increase students' interest in science, engineering, and technology. As part of the work done by the National Center for Learning and Teaching in Nanoscale Science and Engineering (NCLT, 2008), we examined middle-school and high school students' interest in topics and phenomena from the field of nanoscale science and engineering (NSE). Analysis of both quantitative and qualitative data suggested that students were most interested in topics and phenomena that related to their everyday lives, were novel, and involved manipulatives. Conversely, students were least interested in topics and phenomena they viewed as irrelevant to their lives, they believed they had learned previously, and in which they were not actively involved. These results were used to inform the development of curriculum materials for middle school and high school students aimed at enhancing the learning of NSE topics.

Research has shown that self-efficacy beliefs are effective predictors of academic major and career choices in middle school, high school, and early college populations. There is little understanding, however, of how these beliefs develop and what influence they have on academic and career choices in women at the advanced undergraduate and graduate levels. This qualitative study identified key factors that contributed to women chemists' academic and career decisions. Participants completed a chemistry self-efficacy survey and participated in three in-depth interviews. The results indicated that the participants' efficacy beliefs were positively influenced primarily by mastery experiences and social support and were undermined by inaccurate social comparisons. Efficacy beliefs were found to help steer them towards different careers, but ultimately value judgments were more influential in directing their career choice. These women did not value the outcomes of chemistry research or find scientific research intrinsically fulfilling, which led them to choose careers that they felt more directly benefitted humanity. Suggestions for showing the value of chemistry research in the classroom and the laboratory are offered. (Contains 1 table.)

This paper examines what has happened over a period of 25 years since a separate Division of Chemical Education was created within the Department of Chemistry at Purdue University. It argues that the faith in the chemical education graduate program that was demonstrated when the division was created was well-placed, and that chemical education has been shown to be a legitimate area of scholarly inquiry. The chemical education program provides a useful model for other discipline-specific, content-based education research programs such as the School of Engineering Education at Purdue, which recently experienced its fifth anniversary. (Contains 1 tables.)

Differences in problem-solving ability among organic chemistry graduate students and faculty were studied within the domain of problems that involved the determination of the structure of a molecule from the molecular formula of the compound and a combination of IR and [to the first power]H NMR spectra. The participants' performance on these tasks was compared across variables that included amount of research experience, year of graduate study, and level of problem-solving confidence. Thirteen of the 15 participants could be classified as either "more successful" or "less successful." The participants in this study who were "more successful" adopted consistent approaches to solving the problems; were more likely to draw molecular fragments obtained during intermediate stages in the problem-solving process; were better at mining the spectral data; and were more likely to check their final answer against the spectra upon which the answer was based. Experience from research, teaching, and course work were found to be important factors influencing the level of participants' success. (Contains 3 figures and 2 tables.)

This paper reports results of a qualitative study of sixteen students enrolled in a second year organic chemistry course for chemistry and chemical engineering majors. The focus of the study was student use of the arrow-pushing formalism that plays a central role in both the teaching and practice of organic chemistry. The goal of the study was to probe how students made sense of the arrow-pushing formalism by examining their responses to seven organic chemistry problems that required the use of this formalism. This paper discusses common barriers to students' understanding of the arrow-pushing formalism, the concepts and ideas students apply when they use this formalism to solve mechanism problems, and implications of the observation that they used this formalism in a meaningless, mechanical manner. (Contains 4 figures.)

This paper is based on a qualitative study of seven students enrolled in a two-semester organic chemistry course for chemistry and chemical engineering majors that focused on the reasoning the students had used to answer questions on the course exams. Narrative analysis was applied to create case records for each participant that were then subjected to a cross-case analysis of similarities and differences among the participants. The data were found to be consistent with a theoretical framework that differentiates between instrumental and relational learning. The intense speed with which material was covered and the complexity of the material was found to drive even those students who valued a relational understanding towards functioning as instrumental learners. Particular attention is paid to one participant in the study, Parker, who had been a successful chemistry major until he entered the second year organic course. (Contains 6 figures.)

Science instructors and textbook authors often use analogies to help their students use information they already understand to develop an understanding of new concepts. This study reports the results of an analysis of the use of analogies in eight biochemistry textbooks, which included textbooks written for one-semester survey biochemistry courses for non-majors; two-semester courses for chemistry or biochemistry majors; and biochemistry courses for medical school students. We present an analysis of how analogies are used and presented in biochemistry textbooks, and we compare the use of analogies in biochemistry textbooks to the use of analogies in other science textbooks. We also compare the use of analogies in biochemistry textbooks with the factors known to promote spontaneous transfer of attributes and relations from analog concept to target concept.

This study investigated the ways in which beliefs about the nature of the science vary as a function of an individual's chemistry expertise and chemistry research experience across the range from high-schools students, whose exposure to chemistry occurs in the classroom, to practicing research chemists. Interviews conducted with a total of 91 participants probed three key research questions: Do the participants' epistemic beliefs vary as a function of chemistry expertise? Are there discipline-specific values and heuristics that guide chemistry research? How does research experience influence participants' epistemic beliefs? We found that participants' epistemic beliefs varied significantly with chemistry expertise and with exposure to authentic research in chemistry. Differences in both the duration and the nature of participation in research had a significant effect on how participants conceptualized science and scientific research. We noted that only the practicing scientists saw a productive role for empirical anomalies that arise in the course of doing research. We found that research chemists thought about their scientific work in terms of a building or "engineering" model of science, rather than the classic hypothetico-deductive model of science invoked by some science educators. We concluded that current characterizations of the nature of science in science education may underrepresent important discipline-specific aspects of science. These results are discussed in terms of implications for science education.

A study examined the way graduate students solved mechanism problems that were far removed from the simple systems in which mechanisms are traditionally presented. One aim is to probe the extent to which the students' experiences with the organic chemistry as undergraduates prepared them to solve mechanism problems they were likely to face as graduate students or practicing organic chemists.

A description of the three fundamental elements of a good research story- the theoretical framework, the methodological framework and the guiding research questions- is given and the process by which the choice of theoretical framework is made is examined.

Although the literature on both academic dishonesty and scientific misconduct is extensive, research on academic dishonesty has focused on quizzes, exams, and papers, with the virtual exclusion of the classroom laboratory. This study examined the distinctions undergraduate chemistry majors made between academic dishonesty in the classroom laboratory and scientific misconduct in the research laboratory. Across the spectrum of undergraduate chemistry courses, from the introductory course for first-semester chemistry majors to the capstone course in instrumental analysis, we noted that students believe the classroom lab is fundamentally different from a research or industrial lab. This difference is so significant that it carries over into students' perceptions of dishonesty in these two environments.

Presents the case study of a second-year middle school science teacher's beliefs about science and science teaching, and the influence of these beliefs upon classroom instruction. Discusses the teacher's struggle to reconcile conflicting beliefs affecting strategies and outcomes, and the conflict between classroom needs and roles resulting from both personal and institutional limitations. (24 references) (JJK)

A model for problem solving stressing both psychological and cultural influences is presented. This model is based on the analyses of how graduate students (n=10) solve organic synthesis problems, along with two models of problem solving and a constructivist epistemological stance. (KR)

Organic synthesis can also provide a metaphor for making changes in one part of the 'structure' without contemplating the effect these changes have on the whole. Typical graduate level synthetic classes focus on studentEs ability to complete one major synthetic project.

The present method for teaching introductory chemistry is inefficient. As well as discussing curriculum changes, it is important for teachers to recognize the need to change the way the material is presented. The traditional lecture then laboratory method separates types of learning and confuses students when they try to connect the two sources of knowledge. However, an interactive program with instructor participation can increase students' understanding.

Advantages for using 35mm slides to enhance a lesson rather than more expensive films and videotapes are considered. Includes information on: negative (black-on-white) slides; highlighting and opaquing; positive (black-on-white) slides; and white-on-colored background. Suggestions for film types and developing procedures are given. (DH)

Describes the metabolic processes of complex lipids, including saponification, activation and transport, and the beta-oxidation spiral. Discusses fatty acid degradation in regard to biochemical energy and ketone bodies. (TW)

Differentiates the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle (or Krebs cycle) from glycolysis, and describes the bridge between the two as being the conversion of pyruvate into acetyl coenzyme A. Discusses the eight steps in the TCA cycle, the results of isotopic labeling experiments, and the net effects of the TCA cycle. (TW)

Examines the hypothesis that there are preliminary stages in problem solving that are often neglected in teaching chemistry. Discusses correlations calculated between the student's ability to handle disembedding and cognitive restructuring tasks in the spatial domain and ability to solve chemistry problems. (TW)

Outlines the constructivist model of knowledge and describes how this model relates to Piaget's theory of intellectual development. Contrasts the constructivist model with the traditional views of knowledge. Discusses how this model can help explain some of the things that happen in chemistry classrooms. (TW)

Reports on a study which examined the relationship between spatial ability and performance in organic chemistry. Results indicated that students with high spatial scores did significantly better on questions requiring problem solving skills, as well as on those requiring the mental manipulation of two-dimensional representations of a molecule. (TW)