Challenges in Preparing Professional Chemists: Imparting

and Assessing Student Skills

Joel Shulman

University of Cincinnati

ACS Committee on Professional Training

BCCE Symposium on The Evolution of the ACS Approval Process: Moving beyond the 2008 Guidelines

July 31, 2012

What Do We Mean By “Student Skills?”

Can be termed: Process skills Soft skills Employability skills Nontechnical professional competencies

Characteristics: Generic and transferable Marketable and lifelong Wide applications that go beyond course

content alone

Examples of Student Skills and Abilities

Problem solving/Critical thinking

Laboratory safety

Chemical-literature skills

Communication, both oral and written

Team skills

Professional ethics and social responsibility

What Do The ACS Guidelines Say?

“Students should go beyond course content alone to be effective and productive scientists. They need to master a variety of skills that will allow them to become successful professionals.”

“Both dedicated courses and integration of learning opportunities throughout the curriculum can be used to develop student skills and provide a means for assessing them.”

Problem Solving/Critical Thinking “The ultimate goal of chemistry education is to

provide students with the tools to solve problems.”

– Problem solving skill is what students will need to develop further in graduate school and the reason they are hired by industry.

– But even if they have the tools, students don’t necessarily know how and when to use them.

– Need to integrate knowledge across chemistry and apply this knowledge appropriately to solve a problem.

What Do Students Need To Demonstrate?

PROBLEM SOLVING/CRITICAL THINKING

Define and analyze problems clearly

Develop a testable hypothesis

Design and execute experiments

Sort through data and draw appropriate conclusions

Demonstrate the ability to critically evaluate literature articles

Understand the fundamental uncertainties in experimental measurements

Laboratory Safety Skills: A Lifelong Impact

HAZARDS occur daily!

Laboratory Safety Teaches Students about:

- Minimizing hazard risks and what to do when they occur - How to Use prudent practices and

protective equipment

Ultimately, Lab Safety Skills teach students to:

Create a safer/healthier environment for all

Live safer, healthier, longer lives

What Do Students Need To Demonstrate?

LABORATORY SAFETY

“Students [should] understand the concepts of safe laboratory practices and how to apply them.”

Begin safety awareness in the first lab course

Understand responsible disposal techniques

Comply with safety regulations

Understand and use MSDS

Recognize and minimize potential chemicaland physical hazards in the laboratory

Laboratory SafetyDemonstrate Understanding of:

Safety rules (food/drink) Dress regulations (shoes/clothing/goggles) Physical safety Safety/Emergency equipment and their use What to do in case of accident/Injury/Illness Handling, storage, and disposal of chemical waste When to work in fume hoods Awareness of Occupational Safety and Health Administration

(OSHA) requirements Access and ability to use Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) Proper techniques for each experiment

Library & Information Literacy

“Set of abilities requiring individuals to recognize when information is needed, and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information.”

American Library Association (ALA)

What do students need to demonstrate?

CHEMICAL-LITERATURE SKILLS

“Students should learn how to retrieve specific chemical information from the chemical literature.”

Determine and access needed information

Retrieve specific information

Journal articles, reviews, handbooks, etc.

Variety of online data bases, such as Chemical Abstracts

Use both library and electronic sources

Evaluate technical articles critically

Written and Oral Communication

“Effective communication is vital to a scientist.”

Industry has identified “outages” in new-hire bachelor-degree chemists, especially

Communication skills

Team skills

What Do Students Need To Demonstrate?

COMMUNICATION

Present information in a clear and organized manner

Use appropriate technology (e.g., poster preparation, PowerPoint, word processing, chemical drawing

programs)

Write well-organized and concise reports in a scientifically appropriate style

Respond effectively to questions in an oral presentation

Team Building

“The ability to work in multidisciplinary teams is essential for a well-educated scientist.” Enhances student learning Is social, less competitive—not a solo race Allows for sharing of ideas; increases listening, learning,

and communication skills Develops cooperation and reciprocity Uses active/interactive learning techniques Stimulates interpersonal collaboration Develops people skills

Industry uses the team approach to solve problems.

What Do Students Need To Demonstrate?

TEAM SKILLS

Work effectively in a group to solve scientific problems

Able to lead portions of an activity and be effective followers

Interact productively with a diverse group of peers

ETHICS: Professional Conduct of Research

Chemistry, like any discipline, has a social structure with a code of practices that govern acceptable/unacceptable behaviors.

Progress in chemistry, as in all sciences, relies on complete honesty, openness, trustworthiness, and reproducibility of experimental results.

ACS has recognized the importance of ethics in chemistry by

Adopting an ACS Code of Conduct.

Constituting a Council Committee on Ethics.

What Do Students Need To Demonstrate?

PROFESSIONAL ETHICS & SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

• “Ethics should be an intentional part of the instruction in a chemistry program.”

Display high personal standards and integrity

Demonstrate an awareness of contemporary issues related to chemistry

Recognize applications of chemistry in industrial, governmental, and/or societal settings

How Can Chemistry Programs Impart and Assess These Skills and Abilities?

Incorporate into existing courses throughout the curriculum

Design a culture of safety into all lab courses Consciously design team projects into courses Require some use of the literature in early chemistry

courses Design exams that go beyond knowledge to demonstrate

integration and utilization of information Emphasize the absolute importance of ethics

All instructional staff must be role models and exemplify responsible conduct in their teaching, research, and all other professional activities.

How Can Chemistry Programs Impart and Assess These Skills and Abilities?

Develop separate “mini” courses Safety Writing and/or use of the literature Ethics Capstone seminars

Use advanced courses to assess skills A senior lab course Poster session based on project, with literature

component

How Can Chemistry Programs Impart and Assess These Skills and Abilities?

Undergraduate research: a unique Undergraduate research: a unique opportunity to develop and assess student opportunity to develop and assess student skillsskills

Written and oral reports Poster presentation Critical use of the literature Team skills

Possible Content of a One-Credit Capstone Seminar Course*

Advanced literature searching Scientific ethics, with case studies Writing a scientific paper Effective oral scientific presentations Effective poster presentations Societal impacts of chemistry Graduate school considerations Job searching Resume preparation Interviewing skills

*Such Courses Are Not Usually Considered as In-Depth by CPT

CPT Expectations

Departments are expected to

Define important student process skills.

Describe activities that will develop these skills.

Evaluate whether (and how well) these skills are being developed.

CPT does not look at individual student outcomes, but rather at how a department imparts and accesses process skills.

See Student Skills Supplements at acs.org[Education CPT ACS Guidelines/Supplements]

A Word About Mentoring “Effective advising and mentoring of under-

graduates are central to student achievement.”

Successful mentors provide guidance for a student’s Ethical behavior

Development of independence

Networking

Ability to apply what she has learned

Career planning

Career preparation