As chemists, we understand that science is more than a set of disconnected facts. It is a way of investigating and understanding our natural world that involves things like asking questions, analyzing data, identifying patterns, constructing explanations, developing and using models, and applying core concepts to other situations. This paper uses the concept of threedimensional (3D) learning, presented in A Framework for K-12 Science Education, to reconceptualize and develop assessment items that require students to integrate chemistry core ideas with scientific practices and crosscutting concepts. Developing 3D assessments from scratch is time-consuming and beyond the scope of most faculty work. Here we present an alternate approach: We provide a detailed description of ways in which instructors can take current assessment questions and modify them to align with three-dimensional learning by focusing on the evidence that is sought about what students know and can do with their knowledge.

Although the chemistry laboratory is an essential element of the majority of introductory college and university chemistry courses, labs are often criticized for the lack of student learning that occurs. Research concerning teaching effectiveness indicates the factors involved in teaching effectiveness; however, most of this research focuses on classroom instructional methods. Our research identifies qualities that students and teaching assistants perceived to be important for effective instruction within the introductory university chemistry laboratory context. Students and teaching assistants involved with a large enrollment, introductory chemistry laboratory course were asked to complete a two-part questionnaire containing both Likert and free-response questions. Analysis of the questionnaires indicated good, though not complete, agreement between students and teaching assistants as to the qualities considered to be most important in determining effective instruction. A general picture of an effective introductory chemistry laboratory teaching assistant begins to emerge. This article discusses results of the questionnaire, possible implications these findings have for preparing chemistry laboratory teaching assistants, and directions for future work in this area.

An institutional effort to transform gateway science courses is evaluated using a novel approach based on course assessments.

Over the past 20 years research on reform efforts aimed at the chemistry laboratory has focused on different aspects of students’ experiences including increasing content knowledge, improving student attitudes toward chemistry, incorporating inquiry activities, and providing students a hands-on experience related to the chemistry concepts learned in lecture. While many of these efforts have been designed to incorporate inquiry activities, because this term is somewhat nebulous, it can be difficult to identify which aspects of the laboratory support inquiry. The Scientific and Engineering Practices outlined in the Framework for K–12 Science Education provide a new way to identify and characterize laboratory activities more precisely. This work compares two laboratory curricula in terms of the extent to which the curricula as a whole provide opportunities for students to engage in scientific practices and characterizes in which sections of a laboratory activity (prelab/procedure, data manipulation/analysis, conclusions/report out) students most frequently engage specific scientific practices. Further, this study demonstrates how a modified version of a published protocol for evaluating incorporation of science practices into assessment items (the 3-Dimensional Learning Assessment Protocol) can be used to evaluate laboratory activities in a systematic way. Ways in which such an analysis can inform and support the revision of laboratory curricula are also discussed.

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