A Challenge: Can Mathematics Aid Development of the Process of Operational Research?

Some of the structures developed by operational researchersto help clients explore a problem-situation and design a wayforward are described briefly. The difficulty of getting appropriatemathematical support for the analysis, interpretation, and developmentof these structures is discussed.     

Testing for Conceptual Understanding in General Chemistry1

Conceptual understanding involves being able to represent and translate chemical problems using three forms of representation—macroscopic, particulate, and symbolic. In addition to research on chemical problem solving, a great deal of work on student misconceptions involving chemical phenomena has been conducted. Both the representational formats, and the work on student misconceptions, served as framework for a team of chemical educators to develop a general chemistry standardized exam focused on conceptual understanding that is now available from the ACS Examinations Institute. Several of the item formats differ fromt he conventional single answer multiple choice question currently used on such tests. This article will report the background of the test, the structure of the test, and on-going work of the group.Presented at the 213^th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society, San Francisco, CA, April, 1997, (CHED #811)     

Results of a National Survey on College Chemistry Faculty Beliefs and Attitudes of Assessment-of-Student-Learning Practices

Why is assessment of student learning important? The National Science Education Standards chapter on Assessment in Science Education states that assessment is “primary feedback” [1]. Assessment of learning supplies instructors with feedback on how well their students are learning course material, and students are provided information about how well they are meeting teachers’ expectations. Assessment of learning is useful for communicating the expectations of an educational program. Communication helps instructors know what to teach, how to teach, and where to find the material to teach. Assessment of student learning can also be used for program planning and improvement. For example, placement tests can be used as advising tools. Student work, in the form of portfolios, might serve as partial evidence of the quality of an undergraduate chemistry program. In summary, assessment of learning can provide information to:

Students, about the extent of their learning and possibilities for success in future courses.

Faculty, about the extent to which their teaching practices are facilitating student learning, and how they might make modifications to those practices.

Administrators and other stakeholders, about course articulation, program effectiveness, and what students are able to do as they complete a program.

A comprehensive literature review about assessing learning in K-12 science education has examined assessment of learning techniques as well as policy-related issues [2].