what is faculty action research?
Faculty action research (FAR) is a model of inquiry into the learning and instruction of a course that is personal to the faculty involved. In this model, the faculty work with experts in discipline-based education research (DBER) to examine and understand the current state of student understanding in the courses. With this understanding, the team is then able to explore ways to address the curriculum to address the needs of the students. The figure below shows an example of how researchers in our lab have collaborated with faculty to engage in action research in the UCF chemistry department.
Investigating Student and Faculty Perspectives in Organic Chemistry
Historically, the organic chemistry course sequence has proved difficult for undergraduate students (Grove, Hershberger, & Bretz, 2008). To gain a greater understanding of the factors that contribute to the difficulty of the course, we are conducting interviews with instructors and students of Organic Chemistry I and II courses. By assessing where student and faculty perspectives align and differ, we aim to select specific interventions that can be used in FAR initiatives in organic chemistry. This work is an extension of the biochemistry curricular redesign (described below) and is a piece of a larger program-wide look into how students shape chemistry understanding as they progress through introductory courses into advanced classes.
Biochemistry Curricular Redesign Addressing Gaps in Student Foundational Understanding
It is common for students in advanced classes to struggle to build on prerequisite knowledge needed to master integrated subjects, like biochemistry (Wolfson, Rowland, Lawrie, & Wright, 2014). Research on how people learn provides insight into how to help students prepare for upper level classes but that information is rarely utilized by curriculum committees.
We are investigating ways to identify where gaps in understanding exist, measure the impact of a customized curricular intervention, and devise a model for how departments can modify curriculum to improve knowledge retention by undergraduate students enrolled in chemistry courses. Specifically, we are interested in:
- How do creative exercises influence student conceptual understanding?
- How do students engage in creative exercises?
- How are the student approaches to the creative exercises shaped by the modality of the exercises?
- What experiences have shaped how the faculty teach biochemistry?
- What do faculty experiences as they engage in a collaborative action research project?
Related Publications:
- Nix, C. A., Hughes, H., Saitta E. K. H. Exploration of Student Approaches to Creative Exercises in Undergraduate Biochemistry. Journal of Chemical Education (2023) 100(10), 3784-3794. DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.3c00175
- Francom, E. R., Saitta, E. K. H. Speaking of Organic Chemistry: A Faculty Metaphor Analysis in Organic Chemistry Education. College Teaching (2024). DOI: 10.1080/87567555.2024.2343488
- Nix, C., Nottolini, I., Caranto, J., Gerasimova, Y., Kolpashchikov, D., Saitta, E. Championing the Involvement of Practitioners in the Biochemistry Educational Research Process: A Phenomenological View of the Early Stages of Collaborative Action Research. International Journal of Higher Education (2022) 11(6), 114-139. DOI: 10.5430/ijhe.v11n6p114
- Saitta, E. K. H., Donnelly, J. The Role and Influence of the Discipline-Based Education Research (DBER) Community on STEM Faculty Development. In S. M. Linder, C. M. Lee, S. K. Stefl, & K. A. High (Eds.), Handbook of STEM Faculty Development (pp. 61-70) (2023).