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Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Chemical Education Research

Chemical Education Research (CER) uses quantitative, qualitative, and mixed method techniques to investigate effective approaches to cognition, instruction, and assessment. Such investigations are important in aspiring future chemists, retaining people within the field of Chemistry, and broadening the wider public's understanding of Chemistry as a discipline and its applications to their everyday life.

With constantly improving curriculum and burgeoning technology affordances, there are many exciting opportunities for research in chemical education. Some examples of research areas include:

  • Assessment
  • Curriculum development
  • Game-based learning
  • Graphing instruction
  • Inquiry instruction
  • Laboratory instruction
  • Lecture instruction
  • Online learning platforms
  • Project-based learning
  • Representations
  • Simulation-based learning
  • Social media-based learning
  • Student-teacher interactions
  • Teacher professional development
  • Virtual laboratories
  • Students of underrepresented backgrounds

For further information on opportunities in chemical education, please contact Dr. Dermot Donnelly (ddonnelly@csufresno.edu) or Dr. Eric Person (eperson@csufresno.edu).

Chemical Ed
Faculty Advisor Areas of Interest
Dermot Donnelly, Ph.D. Assessment, curriculum development, educational technologies, student-teacher interactions
Eric C. Person, Ph.D.

Assessment and curriculum development to support experimental design in open-inquiry and project based introductory chemical laboratory programs.

Course based undergraduate research experiences (CURES).