Introduction

The Chemistry Department offers lower division chemistry classes to chemistry novices as general education requirements, AA/AS degree candidates, pre-allied health students, pre-health professional students, and science majors. AS/AA degree candidates may choose to obtain an AS in physical science by completing the general chemistry and calculus based physics series at Columbia College or an AA in Liberal Studies: Emphasis in Physical and Life Science degree which can include classes in chemistry if one chooses.

The Chemistry Department serves 225 to 325 students annually.

Mission and Goals of the Department

The mission of the Department of Chemistry is to develop within our community a scientific realization of the underlying workings of the world around us by offering the highest quality chemical education available. We seek to:

Raise intellectual aspiration and educational achievement.

Develop knowledge and apply models to issues of social and economic importance.

Provide a diverse and comprehensive range of learning activities that utilize existing and emerging technologies.

Develop a sense of ethics and integrity within our students.

Contribute thinkers to the workforce.

Foster effectiveness in collaboration and interdisciplinary work.

Encourage understanding and respect in academic and human relationships.

 

Long-range goals of the Chemistry Department include:

Increasing the learning opportunities in a wet lab setting by

o Upgrading appropriate equipment

o Writing interesting and challenging laboratory curricula

o Continued Integration of internet delivery for pre-lab preparation

o Modernization of the laboratory facilities (new science building)

Design and implement a complete evaluation system that will be an ongoing process. It is envisioned that it will be done in stages as follows:

o Scheduling and class demand evaluation – Already in operation

o student learning assessment which contributes to:

curriculum assessment which contributes to:

program assessment

 

 

 

Student Learning Outcomes – Chemistry Department

All Classes in Chemistry will address the following:

Mastery of relevant theory and practice

Writing –

… will be able to express observed data, calculations, experimental results, and explanations of all of the above in an organized manner:

in written form composed in a bound notebook

o evaluated for completeness by an open notebook lab final designed to see if the student can obtain information from the notebook which should be included if the experiment was followed correctly and the data was recorded in a manner which allows the student to find such data.

in a typed form composed on a computer in the form of a formal report

o evaluated for completeness (all sections included and contain the right type of information), correctness (data magnitude, units, calculations, results), and logical thought (apply results to current theories being studied) as it relates to the text and lecture material.

Orally –

… will be able to present factual data and scientific explanations in front of a class of peers.

Evaluated for correct format (timing, subject, outline, aspects covered, as outlined in the assignment), chemical content as it relates to the subjects in the particular class, and appropriate preparation and research with works cited.

 

Reading –

… will be able to read science material and separate the factual data from the hypotheses or theories presented.

Evaluated as a passage type exam question during exams, on take home quizzes, and homework – various difficulty depending on course

… will be able to obtain material from books, magazines, scientific journals, and the internet and cite the material in a standard manner.

Evaluated as part of the in class presentation as works sited in outline

Evaluated as part of the formal lab report as works sited

Critical and Creative Thinking

… will be able to obtain, evaluate, and interpret information or data from lectures, printed materials, experiments, and other sources

Evaluated through written exams, take home open book quizzes, graded homework assignments from the text or publishers web site, and in the formal typed lab reports.

… will be able to apply the scientific method to problem solving and experimentation.

Demonstrated in the lab setting to varying degrees depending of the course. Evaluated for process through completion of the lab curriculum. Mistakes in technique, measurements, and analysis are not part of this evaluation. This is a "does the student understand how to apply the scientific method or not" type analysis – either they can or can’t demonstrate this. About 50% of lab score for each lab.

… will be able to generalize and apply acquired skills to new situations.

Demonstrated on written exams, take home quizzes and homework problems

… will be able to integrate and apply knowledge and experience from other disciplines to the study of chemistry.

Evaluated on written exams, take home quizzes, can be part of the oral presentation if the topic is amenable to this.

… will be able to apply chemical principles and models to other disciplines.

Evaluated on Exams, take home quizzes, and homework.

Civic, Environment, and Global Awareness

… will be able to verbalize the relationship of the natural environment and the improper handling of materials in our society.

Part of the oral presentation must include this aspect of any one material as explained by the MSDS for that substance (i.e. causes cancer, is extremely flammable. .etc) is evaluated for inclusiveness. Yes or no.

Individual and collective responsibility

… will be able to adopt ethical standards for professional and societal behavior including the unbiased assessment and reporting of data.

Part of the lab experience. Evaluated in the formal lab report. Data in the formal report must match hand written data in the notebook or the report must be redone before grading. This is a all or nothing evaluation.

… will be able to consider and respect the opinions and practices of others.

Part of the lab grade involves safe handling of materials and correct procedures for lab set up and clean up where the close proximity of neighbors may come into play. This is a self-evaluation in written form turned in at the end of the semester. The student grads themselves in 5 areas of lab responsibility from 1 to 10 (Self safety, lab partner safety, lab set up, lab clean up, lab preparation). This ends up being 5% of the overall course grade.
   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Departmental Assessment Activities

Assessment Activities: 2003-2005

a. Surveyed students for scheduling conflicts and adjusted times and ways classes are offered to allow for students to take math, physics, biology and chemistry courses with minimal conflicts.

i. Changed the lab format to allow for multiple classes to operate in the lab space at the same time by adding online video prelabs, prelab report sheets, and new check in/out procedures.

ii. Cross referenced most likely to be taken at the same time courses to ensure that lecture times were not in conflict

iii. This is ongoing so as to make sure trends are known

b. Surveyed students for interest in one semester organic biochemistry course

i. Designed, Wrote curricula, wrote labs, and implemented Chem 11 course.

ii. Many institutions have accepted the course for transfer etc.

Assessment Activities: current

c. Weekly "short" Pre and post knowledge surveys to evaluate outcomes of reading, lectures, and lab assignments.

i. Identification of students at-risk who are likely to fail or to withdraw from the course by analysis of data.

ii. Identification of current teaching methods and instructional materials and initiate changes as needed.

d. Assessment of the curriculum and making recommendations for reorganizing objectives to make them more assessable.

i. Formulation of learning objectives in each course and the development of measures to ascertain the degree to which students mastered these objectives.

e. Investigation of alternative ways to measure student learning using modern technology.

f. Analyze the laboratory curriculum in terms of its depth, content, techniques taught, use of technology, etc.

g. Figure out how to evaluate student learning and technical skills acquired in the laboratory and consider how these skills are applied to future courses to ensure maximum transfer of skills to future work.

 

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Learning Outcomes

 

  1. Describe the basic methods of science (method of repeated experimentation and method of historical science) and provide one example each of its application.

2.      What’s a hypothesis? Provide two examples of testable hypotheses, and an example of an untestable hypothesis.

  1. Provide two specific examples that illustrate why it is important to the everyday life of an educated person to be able to understand science.
  2. Describe two current examples of the relationship between physical/life science and public policy.