Pedagogy
Section 5.3

An approved program should use effective pedagogies in classroom and laboratory course work. Programs should teach their courses in a challenging, engaging, and inclusive manner. Additionally, a program should provide opportunities for faculty to maintain their knowledge of effective practices in chemistry education and modern theories of learning and cognition in science. An approved program should regularly review its pedagogical approaches to ensure that they promote student learning and build the skills needed to be an effective professional.  

Critical Requirements

Programs must:

  • Provide opportunities for faculty to maintain and improve their knowledge of evidence-based practices in chemical education and modern theories of learning, cognition, and social psychology in science.
  • Regularly review its pedagogical approaches to ensure that they promote student learning and build the skills necessary to be an effective professional.
  • Regularly evaluate its curriculum and pedagogy, faculty development opportunities, and infrastructure needs relative to the program’s teaching and research mission.

Normal Expectations

Programs should:

  • Use effective pedagogies in classroom and laboratory course work.
  • Ensure that courses are taught in a challenging, engaging, and inclusive manner that helps improve learning for all students.

Faculty should: 

  • Incorporate pedagogies that have been shown to be effective in undergraduate chemistry education and address the cognitive, affective, and social aspects of learning.
    • Examples include, but are not limited to, problem- or inquiry- based learning, peer-led instruction, learning communities, technology-aided instruction such as the use of personal response systems and hybrid classes, and classes where active-learning is the dominant in class instructional mode.

Markers of Excellence

  • Data are collected in a way that allows for a continuous process of evaluation, analysis, and improvement.
  • Thoughtful and thorough self-evaluation has led to improved or modernized course content or pedagogy identification of areas in which the curriculum may be strengthened, and student outcomes improved.
  • Program evaluation provided a strong infrastructure to support the educational and scientific missions of the program.