Generative artificial intelligence (GAI) is here; now what? In this commentary, we discuss the potential impacts of GAI text-based systems for the chemistry community. The recent launch of ChatGPT, a free GAI text-based system by OpenAI, has sparked concerns regarding academic integrity and student assessment across all educational levels. However, the capabilities of these systems will impact more than the teaching and learning of chemistry; GAI systems can serve students, faculty, and administrators for teaching and learning, research, and professional activities. Herein we explore various ways students and faculty might use GAI systems, identify potential benefits and risks, and consider equity and accessibility issues. We hope to inspire productive discussions on leveraging GAI technology’s capabilities while recognizing its limitations.
As is true for virtually all of higher education, chemistry departments are often required to provide evidence of student learning at both course and curricular levels through evaluation and assessment. The ACS Exams Institute conducted a needs assessment survey of 1500 chemistry faculty members from across the country to investigate motivation, role, instrument use, and challenges associated with assessment efforts. For the more than 70% of participants who reported departmental efforts related to assessment, these findings emerged: motivations were primarily external factors related to accreditation and certification, ACS Exams and in-house exams were the most common instruments used, and time management associated with grading and reporting assessment results was the most frequently cited challenge. Summary results for each survey question related to these aspects of departmental assessment efforts are provided, along with logistic regression analyses of responses based on institution type. Logistic regression analyses were also used to identify differences among sex, years teaching, and chemistry subdiscipline for responses to departmental assessment efforts and instrument use. ABSTRACT: As is true for virtually all of higher education, chemistry departments are often required to provide evidence of student learning at both course and curricular levels through evaluation and assessment. The ACS Exams Institute conducted a needs assessment survey of 1500 chemistry faculty members from across the country to investigate motivation, role, instrument use, and challenges associated with assessment efforts. For the more than 70% of participants who reported departmental efforts related to assessment, these findings emerged: motivations were primarily external factors related to accreditation and certification, ACS Exams and in-house exams were the most common instruments used, and time management associated with grading and reporting assessment results was the most frequently cited challenge. Summary results for each survey question related to these aspects of departmental assessment efforts are provided, along with logistic regression analyses of responses based on institution type. Logistic regression analyses were also used to identify differences among sex, years teaching, and chemistry subdiscipline for responses to departmental assessment efforts and instrument use.
Chemistry departments have felt pressure in recent years to produce quality data on student achievement of learning outcomes. External (e.g., accreditation agencies) and internal (e.g., academic deans) entities are demanding regular review of student achievement. It is thus necessary for the chemistry community to develop valid and reliable instruments to assess student learning. With chemistry faculty members' integration into assessment practices, it is important that these faculty members have a sufficient understanding of the quality of and limitations to the interpretation of assessment data. As part of a larger national survey, 1505 chemistry faculty members from a diverse array of postsecondary institutions and teaching experience responded to a series of questions regarding their familiarity with assessment terminology. Advanced confirmatory factor analysis was conducted via structural equation modeling to represent an overall structure of faculty members' assessment knowledge. ABSTRACT: Chemistry departments have felt pressure in recent years to produce quality data on student achievement of learning outcomes. External (e.g., accreditation agencies) and internal (e.g., academic deans) entities are demanding regular review of student achievement. It is thus necessary for the chemistry community to develop valid and reliable instruments to assess student learning. With chemistry faculty members' integration into assessment practices, it is important that these faculty members have a sufficient understanding of the quality of and limitations to the interpretation of assessment data. As part of a larger national survey, 1505 chemistry faculty members from a diverse array of postsecondary institutions and teaching experience responded to a series of questions regarding their familiarity with assessment terminology. Advanced confirmatory factor analysis was conducted via structural equation modeling to represent an overall structure of faculty members' assessment knowledge.
Results of a national survey of faculty usage of assessment tools are presented and framed within the concept of the technology adoption life cycle. Specifically, the use of classroom response systems as reported by survey participants suggests that the adoption of this technique in chemistry is still at the "early adopters" stage, or perhaps is just beginning to cross into the "early majority" category. This transition is viewed within this model as a chasm to be crossed, and data from this work suggest that transition is not yet fully achieved.
As chemistry courses across the country transitioned to remote instruction during the Winter/Spring 2020 term because of the COVID-19 pandemic, teaching teams with undergraduate Learning Assistants (LAs) faced unique challenges to maintain active, collaborative, and inclusive class experiences. While technology access and limitations presented challenges, the technology available through learning management systems, group text-based messaging apps, and video conferencing enabled instructors and LAs to offer synchronous sessions during normally scheduled class time, delivery of asynchronous content, and continued student support. In this article, the collective experiences from general and organic chemistry courses taught with LAs at four institutions are described. Challenges, successes, and lessons learned at these institutions are summarized based on four themes: technology with general remote learning, changes in course structure teaching with LAs, changes in the ways LAs interact with instructors and students, and changes in the lives of the LAs. In many cases, LAs were essential to student success in these novel learning spaces.
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