Chemistry Infographics: Experimenting with ... - ACS Publications

Chapter 7

Downloaded by UNIV OF FLORIDA on November 16, 2017 | http://pubs.acs.org Publication Date (Web): October 31, 2017 | doi: 10.1021/bk-2017-1266.ch007

Chemistry Infographics: Experimenting with Creativity and Information Literacy Deborah Gale Mitchell,*,1 Julie A. Morris,2 Joseph M. Meredith,3 and Naomi Bishop4 1Department

of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Denver, 2190 E Iliff Avenue, Denver, Colorado 80208, United States 2Department of Biological Sciences, University of Denver, 2190 E Iliff Avenue, Denver, Colorado 80208, United States 3Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Boise State University, 1910 University Drive, Boise, Idaho 83725, United States 4Cline Library, Northern Arizona University, 1001 S Knoles Drive, Flagstaff, Arizona 86011, United States *E-mail: [email protected].

Incorporating creative assignments and information literacy practice directly into the science curriculum has many benefits. These types of assignments can improve student perception of the relevance of science information literacy, increase overall engagement in general science curricula, and improve learning outcomes overall. In this project, students in a sophomore analytical chemistry course were instructed to create infographics explaining a chemical reaction of their choice to a general audience. The primary goals for this assignment were to provide students an opportunity to practice information literacy, creativity, and communication skills and to improve their understanding of specific chemistry content. A variety of instruction and activities were designed to help students reach these goals. We are still exploring methods of assessment, which have so far included both peer and instructor review of the infographic using a rubric, as well as more traditional assessments covering chemistry content and basic information literacy skills. Although our results thus far are mainly qualitative, we have observed that the majority of students demonstrate basic competency in information literacy © 2017 American Chemical Society Kloepper and Crawford; Liberal Arts Strategies for the Chemistry Classroom ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2017.

and communication skills at the end of this assignment, and we have some evidence of increased engagement overall. We were also very interested to observe that many of the students who produced outstanding infographics were not top performers on traditional assessments like summative exams. This outcome suggests that this type of assignment might disproportionately benefit students that struggle with more traditional instruction and assessment methods, and we plan to explore this possibility more formally in future iterations of this assignment.


Introduction Motivation Science courses at all levels, but particularly introductory courses, frequently focus too heavily on memorizing innumerable facts and often fail to instill a basic understanding of the philosophy and process of science (1). This misplaced focus often leads students to incorrectly think that science literacy is memorizing facts rather than understanding the context and applications of those facts. As a result, many students have difficulty seeing the value of scientific thinking in their daily lives and fail to appreciate the critical relationship between information, science, and society (2, 3). Information literacy is the ability to find, evaluate, and apply information, which is a critical skill in the practice of science, as well as everyday life (4). Additionally, the scientific method is a creative process, and the ability to think creatively is another important skill that should be practiced. Consequently, incorporating creative assignments and information literacy directly into the science curriculum has many benefits. These types of assignments can also improve student perception of the relevance of science information literacy, increase overall engagement in general science curricula, and improve learning outcomes (5). Students need opportunities to engage with authentic, meaningful, and creative information literacy and critical thinking assignments and learning activities, including co-curricular activities. Because infographics communicate information through visual art, we decided this assignment would help our students meet multiple learning outcomes, including information literacy and practicing creativity. Assignment Overview Working collaboratively with the science librarian, we developed an infographic project to teach students how to search literature effectively and communicate complex scientific topics to a broad audience. This assignment also required students to use their artistic imagination to create an infographic that would visually communicate these topics. This project was incorporated into sophomore-level chemistry courses. Working in groups of two, students were asked to create a 20”x30” digital infographic explaining a chemical reaction or chemical process with a general audience in mind. Students chose topics like “The 114 Kloepper and Crawford; Liberal Arts Strategies for the Chemistry Classroom ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2017.

Chemistry in Handwarmers” and “Caramelization Chemistry.” Students were also asked to include information on the kinetics and equilibria of the chemical process chosen. The specifics of this assignment are outlined in a later section.


Information Literacy The ability to critically evaluate information and media is an essential skill in our rapidly-changing global society. Information literacy and critical thinking skills contribute to academic achievement, engaged citizenship, and continued learning after graduation. It is becoming increasingly clear that acquiring and practicing these skills should be an integral part of students’ learning throughout their entire academic careers (6, 7). The Association of College and Research Libraries recently created a new Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education in an effort to recognize the evolving missions of higher education and the rapidly-changing environments in which information is acquired and distributed (4). The new framework recognizes that students are beginning to have a greater role in the entire information/research cycle, from knowledge creation through evaluation and dissemination. Information literacy is traditionally defined as a set of abilities requiring individuals to recognize when information is needed and the ability to find, evaluate, and communicate high-quality information. More recently, the definition of information literacy has been updated by the Association of College and Research Libraries. This new definition encompasses the older definition but also includes the understanding of how information is produced and valued, that information is evolving, and the importance of participating ethically in communities of learning. Information literacy skills require practice within as well as outside the classroom. There is evidence that integrating information literacy instruction within disciplines is more effective than teaching information literacy separately (8, 9). Although this is still not widely practiced, it is becoming more common (10). We cannot overstate the benefits of collaborations between science instructors and librarians. In the science classroom, we have questions to be answered and information to be found. In the science classroom, we can provide an authentic context for students to learn more about a specific discipline like chemistry. However, when students need information beyond our expertise, librarians have the tools and knowledge to find appropriate and quality information. Librarians can help us teach the information literacy skills that will be invaluable to students regardless of their path or profession. Because information is rapidly evolving, we as scientists and instructors are not always aware of the new tools and strategies available. Librarians are experts in the field of information science. They are aware of the best strategies for finding, evaluating, and communicating information. Faculty and librarians can assess student learning and collaborate with each other to improve teaching and learning outcomes. 115 Kloepper and Crawford; Liberal Arts Strategies for the Chemistry Classroom ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2017.


Creativity One common misconception is that science is a rigid analytical process that does not involve creativity (11). Critical steps in the scientific process include making observations, asking questions, formulating hypotheses, and designing experiments to test those hypotheses. All of these steps require imaginative skills. Perhaps the most creative step of the scientific method is the ability to develop general theories and models consistent with data obtained. Scientists recognize the importance of creative skills, but they are often not given appropriate focus in science curricula because it is challenging to teach and assess. Just as information literacy should be incorporated into every course, we also believe that creative assignments should be incorporated in the science curriculum whenever possible to allow students to practice these necessary skills in a scientific context. Both scientific discovery and art are the result of human creativity. Chemistry is a branch of science that studies the properties of matter, specifically on the molecular level. Many types of visual art—photography, painting, sculpting—require an understanding of the properties of the matter/media used to create art. Thus, a chemical understanding of the materials used to create art can enhance science. But just as chemistry is essential to artists, art is also essential to chemists. Chemistry is an abstract science; without high-powered microscopes, most molecules cannot be visualized. Chemists use models (often visual models) to make predictions about chemical properties. There are many types of models in chemistry, each with benefits and limitations. This includes Lewis dot structures, molecular orbital diagrams, and many others. These models often require students to either draw or interpret visual depictions of the electronic structure of atoms and molecules. These drawings require practice and skill—not unlike the skills that a student would develop in any other illustration class—to accurately represent and communicate information. Because of the necessity of models, there is inherently an artistic side to chemistry. The conceptual nature of fundamental chemical principles often acts as a barrier to student engagement. Students struggle to see the applications of chemical principles in their everyday lives. One way that chemistry instructors increase engagement is by incorporating creative and interdisciplinary assignments into courses (12). Art is frequently used to enrich curriculum because it is believed to foster learning. According to Young (13), science and the fine arts share several qualities, especially imagination and critical thinking. Because art enhances imagination and critical thinking, it can be a useful tool for increasing overall engagement in chemistry. Using the fine arts in the chemistry classroom has gained popularity over the last couple decades. Two recent examples of enhancing engagement in the chemistry classroom are: teaching the history of chemistry through the lens of opera (14) and using Shakespearean plays to reinforce concepts in instrumental analysis (15). Professors can help students overcome the knowledge gap and enhance science literacy instruction by incorporating creative assignments into science courses.

116 Kloepper and Crawford; Liberal Arts Strategies for the Chemistry Classroom ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2017.

Assignment Details Learning Outcomes


For this assignment, our primary objectives were to use a creative project to increase engagement and conceptual understanding and to ultimately improve students’ information literacy and science communication skills. The specific learning outcomes for this assignment were divided into three areas: information literacy, creativity and communication, and chemistry content (outlined below). A variety of instruction and activities were designed to help students reach these outcomes.

Information Literacy Students should be able to: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

determine the extent of information needed access the information needed through a variety of databases, such as Scifinder, Web of Science, and Google Scholar evaluate information and sources critically use information literacy to accomplish a specific purpose access and use information ethically and legally

Creativity and Communication Students should be able to: 1. 2.

create visual aids and/or analogies in a thoughtful way to help the general audience understand the chemistry associated with their topic use software to lay out information using colors and fonts that enhance the topic and make the presentation readable, interesting, and easy to follow

Chemistry Content Students should be able to: 1. 2.

communicate content accurately demonstrate an enhanced understanding of the course material: kinetics and thermodynamics of chemical reactions


Assignment Description Working in groups of two, students were asked to create a 20”x30” digital infographic explaining a chemical reaction or chemical process with a general audience in mind. Students were also asked to include information on the kinetics and equilibria of the chosen chemical process. In this case, students were asked to create this infographic from “scratch” and were not allowed to use an infographic design application (such as Piktochart, https://piktochart.com/); however, we recommended Compound Interest (16) as inspiration for their infographics.


Specific Assignment Requirements: 1.

2. 3. 4.

5.

Create an infographic incorporating an accurate explanation of a chemical process (including chemical equilibria and kinetics) for a general audience. Create at least four original images and/or data visualizations to help describe the topic. Cite at least three primary and two secondary sources (using ACS style), and include these as part of the text in the infographic. Produce an annotated bibliography (using ACS style) including a brief description of the source following each citation. This description should include the type of source (primary v. secondary); the relevance, accuracy, and quality of the source; and what information from the source was used to produce the infographic. Produce a brief description of each image used in the infographic and explicitly state which images are original and which are borrowed from other sources. All borrowed images must have an open access or creative commons license and be cited properly.

Peer Review: A peer review was added during the second administration of this assignment. Students were asked to use the same rubric that we used in the final assessment of their infographics and supporting documents. They were instructed to pay special attention to the types of sources and images used in the infographics and the way that those sources and images were cited. The goals of the peer-review were (1) to give the students the opportunity to analyze each other’s sources and continue to practice the information literacy skills presented during the information literacy instruction, (2) to provide students the opportunity to practice getting and giving feedback, and (3) to allow students to learn from feedback and improve their infographic.


Assignment Timeline: University of Denver uses a quarter system, and this assignment was given during a typical 10-week session. Students were given the full assignment description and requirements at the end of Week 1 and were required to submit a first-draft at the end of Week 7. They were then given one week to complete a peer review and were asked to revise and resubmit the final draft of their infographic and annotated bibliography by the end of Week 10.


Course Context This assignment was worth ~14% of each student’s final grade, which is the same weight as any one of the four exams administered. Prior to this assignment, students had a varied background with using the library at DU. Most students had not used SciFinder Scholar. We taught library instruction with the assumption that students had used the library before but were not familiar with many databases typically used in chemistry, such as SciFinder Scholar, Web of Science, Knovel, etc. Instruction This sophomore analytical chemistry class met for 50 minutes three times per week, with one 50 min “recitation” session each week. We used the recitation sessions to deliver information literacy, copyright law, and Adobe Illustrator instruction. This chemistry course was a partially-flipped class. Students watched videos outside of class at least once a week to provide more time in class to work through problems. During the Week Two recitation, library staff conducted a workshop that focused on strategies for effectively searching the literature using search tools such as SciFinder, Google Scholar, Knovel, Academic Search Complete, and other library databases. Students were provided instruction on how to find relevant and accurate information, how to properly cite information, the difference between primary and secondary sources, the CRAAP (Currency, Relevancy, Authority, Accuracy, Purpose) Test for evaluating sources (developed by librarians at California State University-Chico) (17), copyright law, and creative commons licenses. During the workshop, students worked in small groups to practice applying the CRAAP Test to evaluate several different types of sources. During a regular class period in Week Three, students received instruction regarding copyright law, including the different types of creative commons licenses. The librarian created a library guide (posted on the University of Denver library webpage) to help students find and evaluate sources throughout the quarter. During Week Three, students attended a workshop with the Digital Media Center at University of Denver to learn the basics of Adobe Illustrator. They were provided instruction on the difference between pixel-based Photoshop and vectorbased Illustrator. They were shown how to make basic patterns and shapes and how to vectorize pixel-based images. Students were also informed of alternative 119 Kloepper and Crawford; Liberal Arts Strategies for the Chemistry Classroom ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2017.

free vector graphics editors like Inkscape. Students were encouraged to use Adobe Illustrator because of the availability at University of Denver, but students were also welcome to use other graphics editors. Throughout the course, students were periodically given examples of ways to communicate to general audience. Students were taught about the importance of limiting or defining jargon and using analogies to help the audience make connections to what they already understand.


Scaffolding Assignments/Activities In an effort to help students manage the multiple components of this assignment and to assist them with beginning a literature search, professors designed a scaffolding of assignments. This scaffolding included assignments on searching literature, evaluating sources, proper use of images (copyright law), and Adobe Illustrator. The first scaffolding assignment focused on guiding the students and giving them opportunities to practice searching and evaluating literature with the CRAAP method. Specifically, students were asked to work with their partner to choose a topic (the same topic that they would be using for their infographic). Once the students had chosen a topic, they were asked to use three separate search strategies to locate information about their topic: a primary scientific database, Google Scholar, and our campus library search engine (DU Compass). For each search strategy, students were asked to record their search terms and the number of search results. Once students had explored the three search strategies, they were asked to choose which search strategy was the best for helping them address their research question. Students then used the CRAAP method to evaluate five websites or sources located using this specific search strategy. Following the instruction on creative commons licenses, fair use, and copyright law, students were given an assignment to practice searching for images that could be used in their infographic and shared publicly. Specifically, students were told to use Flickr: The Commons (18) to search for three images related to their infographic topic/question. Students submitted a Word document including all three images and the appropriate ACS style citation. Students were also asked to describe how they might use the image (How can you use the image in your infographic?) and the type of creative commons license (What limitations are associated with this license?). Specifically, we wanted students to pay attention to whether or not modifications were allowed with the particular image. Students were discouraged from using an image if it had a “no derivatives” creative commons license, since this would prevent them from making any alterations to the image. In a third assignment, students were asked to explore Adobe Illustrator beyond what they had practiced during the workshop. Specifically, students were given the task of making a banner with a title. The goal of this assignment was to give students practice in making shapes and playing with color in Adobe Illustrator. Students were required to submit a PDF of the banner along with any other images they created during the Adobe Illustrator Workshop. 120 Kloepper and Crawford; Liberal Arts Strategies for the Chemistry Classroom ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2017.


Assessment Results and Discussion The goals of our assessment strategies were twofold: 1) to give our students a grade, and 2) to assess the assignments’ ability to help students meet our intended learning outcomes. The infographic and supporting documents were assessed using both a rubric (see Table 1) and a quiz (see Table 2), which are more traditional ways of assessing chemistry content and basic information literacy skills. This project was assessed twice (Winter 2016 & Winter 2017). The results reported below are primarily from the 2017 round of infographics. The rubric was adapted from “Undergraduate Research Presentation Rubric” by Dorothy Mitstifer (19). The rubric assesses the students’ success in meeting the learning outcomes described above. Overall, students performed at least “good” in all of the categories, with some issues specifically with the chemistry content and number of references. About 30% of students did not include a discussion of kinetics in their infographic, and 15% of students did not include a discussion of thermodynamics or kinetics. This was surprising because these concepts were an explicit part of the instruction. Roughly one quarter of the infographic submissions did not have enough primary references. This year, there were no copyright violations, which was a larger issue in the 2016 round of infographics. In 2017, a peer review component was added to the assignment. The peer review assignment served as an indirect assessment of information literacy. By reviewing their classmates’ infographics, students displayed their ability to check and evaluate sources. Students gave feedback on organization, copyright law, and sources. Students were then given the opportunity to resubmit. The addition of the peer review impacted the assignment positively. We observed large contrasts between the quality of the infographic assignments before and after the peer review, particularly in organization of material and preventing any copyright violations. A quiz was also used to assess students’ ability to identify primary and secondary sources as well as their knowledge of databases. This quiz was a low-stakes assessment; students were given 5 points for completion. Students were asked to answer the questions to the best of their knowledge (closed note). This quiz also functioned as a method to gain students’ consent to share their infographics publicly. The questions on the quiz and results to the questions can be seen in Table 2. 85% of students in the 2017 group demonstrated that they could correctly identify a review article as a secondary source. However, when actually creating the infographic, only 75% of students had the correct number of primary sources. Almost all of the students who did not fulfill the three primary source requirement mistook a review article as a primary source. Students assumed that because this source came from a scientific journal that it must be a primary source. This demonstrated that students’ knowledge of primary and secondary sources was greater than their ability to apply that knowledge. This discrepancy between knowledge and application shows us that further instruction on the purpose and identification of review articles should be added to the overall assignment.


Table 1. Rubric Used for Final Assessment and Peer Review Weight

3–2 Good– Satisfactory

Organization

Has a clear focus; organization supports content presented

Focus and organization could be improved

Lacks clear focus; disorganized

x2

Content -Audience

Targets general audience with language and/or analogies

May not define all chemical terms or acronyms. Too much jargon

Presentation is not appropriate for a general audience

x2

Content -Chemistry

Content is specific, informative, and accurate. Includes kinetics and equilibria

Content is not accurate or does not effectively incorporate kinetics/equilibria

Does not give adequate coverage of topic. No mention of equilibria or kinetics

x5

Citations and Copyrights.

Appropriate number of references are incorporated; images comply with copyright law

Primary and secondary references are not incorporated into content; images comply with copyright law

Not enough references OR copyright law is violated

x3

Original Images

At least 4 original images or data visualizations were created; images are high quality and contribute to understanding

At least 4 original images or data visualizations were created, but the connection between content and images is not clear

Fewer than 4 original images were included

x2

Creativity and Polish -Delivery

Presentation is polished, interesting, and easy to follow

Presentation is clear but may not be interesting

Presentation is unclear and boring

x2

Creativity and Polish - Font

The infographic includes appropriate fonts that complement content and make text readable

The fonts chosen seem inappropriate for the topic but are readable

The fonts chosen are not appropriate or are difficult to read

x2

Criteria


1–0 Unacceptable

5–4 Exemplary– Very good

Total__________/90* 100 points.

*

10 points will be awarded for peer evaluation for a total of



Table 2. Assessment Quiz and Associated Scores Learning Objective

Question

# Correct (2016, n=74)

# Correct (2017, n=59)

Identify primary & secondary sources.

1.) You begin your preliminary research on the Maillard reaction by consulting a Wikipedia article. Is this a primary or secondary source?

73 (99%)

59 (100%)

Identify databases used for literature search

2.) While researching the current advancements on the Maillard reaction, you use SciFinder to search “Maillard Reaction.” What is SciFinder?

70 (95%)

57 (97%)

Distinguish/ Identify between primary & secondary sources (Journal Article)

3.) From the SciFinder search, you find an article analyzing acrylamide (a product of the Maillard reaction): Tareke, E.; et al. Analysis of Acrylamide, a Carcinogen Formed in Heated Foodstuffs. J. Agric. Food Chem.. 2002, 50(17), pg 4998–5006. Is this a primary or secondary source?

73 (99%)

59 (100%)

Distinguish/ Identify between primary & secondary sources(Review Article)

4.) From your SciFinder search, you find an article by John Hodge, that reviews the organic mechanisms for the Maillard reaction. Hodge, J.E.; Dehydrated Foods, Chemistry of Browning Reactions in Model Systems. Journal of Agricultural Food Chemistry. 1953 1 (15) pg. 928–943. Is this a primary or secondary source?

50 (68%)

50 (85%)

Distinguish/ Identify between primary & secondary sources

5.) Because you want to replicate the Maillard reaction in your own kitchen, you decide to make bread. You find a recipe in Ree Drummond’s latest cookbook (an original). Is this a primary or secondary source?

65 (88%)

55 (93%)

Distinguish/ Identify between primary & secondary sources

6.) Next, you find a YouTube video that gives a general overview of the Maillard reaction. Is this a primary or secondary source?

72 (97%)

57 (97%)



The infographic and other activities demonstrate evidence that students gained content knowledge surrounding information literacy. Much of our evidence on the benefits of this type of creative assignment is anecdotal, but we are currently exploring ways of moving toward more formal assessments for this assignment. Specifically, anecdotal evidence suggests that this assignment increases engagement, but we did not formally assess engagement. We observed student engagement with the final projects through the display of the infographics on the walls of the library and witnessing students’ excitement for discussing the topics from the creative works. One student expressed gratitude for the assignment. She was grateful that she had the opportunity to learn how to use Adobe Illustrator. She expressed that she felt confident enough with this software to add it as a skill when searching for jobs. Another student with Type-2 diabetes researched the chemistry behind blood-glucose test strips. This student demonstrated excitement that she was able to learn more about the chemistry behind the medical device she uses every day. One benefit of using a creative assignment like the infographic is allowing students to experience an alternative way to learn and be assessed besides exams. Many of the students who produced outstanding infographics were not top performers on traditional assessments like summative exams. This outcome suggests that this type of assignment might benefit students that struggle with more traditional instruction and assessment methods, and we plan to explore this possibility more formally in future iterations of this assignment.

Student Work and Installation The most impressive results of this assignment were the infographics that were produced by students. The development of this assignment was partially funded by an internal grant through the library at DU called The Moreland Grant. This particular grant was created to motivate instructors to incorporate information literacy assignments into major-specific courses. Professors awarded this grant were required to present the results of our work to the librarians at DU. After presenting the results to the librarians, Special Collections at DU asked to create an installation of the students’ work (see Figure 1). The librarians at DU wanted to display the infographics in the library because they are a unique example of an artistic assignment that engages students and also builds information literacy skills. Below are some examples of infographics created by students in both the 2016 and 2017 Winter Quarter (see Figures 2-5). More examples can be seen on Twitter under the hashtag #DUChemInfo (http://twitter.com/). All images are shared with permission from students.



Figure 1. Installation of chemistry infographics located in the upper floor of the library at University of Denver. (Photo Courtesy of Deborah Gale Mitchell).



Figure 2. Bioluminescence by Amber Varela (major: Biology; minor: Chemistry) and Christine Krentz (majors: Chemistry & Biology; minor: Philosophy), Winter 2016.



Figure 3. Chemistry of Handwarmers by Audrey Adler (major: Biology, minors: Spanish, Chemistry) and Sonja Radosevic (major: Biology, minors: psychology, chemistry), Winter 2016.



Figure 4. The Chemistry of Acid Rain by Cameron Robertson (major: Biochemistry) and Kayla Yutrzenka (major: Biology, minor: Chemistry), Winter 2017.



Figure 5. Honey by Hannah Bradford (major: Biology, minors: Chemistry and Mathematics) and Jakob Holtzmann (major: Biology, minors: Chemistry and Business Administration), Winter 2017.

Future Work For future years, we hope to continue to develop the instruction, assessment, and application of this assignment. When designing this assignment, we did not explicitly design critical thinking learning outcomes into the instruction or assessment. However, our assignment did incorporate two aspects of the AACU critical thinking rubric, including: 1.) explanation of issues and 2.) selecting information to investigate a conclusion. We plan to develop further assessment to gauge student perception of the value of this assignment. Anecdotal evidence suggests that students see the benefit of this assignment, but no overall assessment of student perceptions was collected. This type of information could help us improve the instruction and delivery of the assignment. One idea that we are working on would create more direct connections between chemistry major courses and our general education courses for non-science majors. Our non-major science courses at University of Denver include a variety of chemistry topics. The assignment for chemistry majors could be directed to help with the specific purpose of helping non-majors understand topics like climate change, ozone pollution, or ocean acidification. By building this connection, we would create an authentic audience of peers for the chemistry majors, and the non-major students could then provide feedback to help improve the infographics. 129 Kloepper and Crawford; Liberal Arts Strategies for the Chemistry Classroom ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2017.


Conclusions Through this assignment, science professors and librarians at University of Denver witnessed the benefits of using a creative infographic assignment as a conduit to teach information literacy and chemistry content. This infographic assignment built science information literacy skills, improved overall engagement, and improved learning outcomes overall. The construction of this assignment also benefited faculty members that were working in an interdisciplinary team to generate a positive experience for students. This collaboration—between faculty in different departments along with a science librarian—was successful. This variety of contributors brought different perspectives on how to make the scaffolding assignments effective to build information literacy skills for students. This team approach made the instruction in both the chemistry and information literacy more effective. Our science librarian also made herself incredibly accessible to students who had questions about searching for information and evaluating sources. Because the scientific method is a creative process, it is important to incorporate innovative assignments into the chemistry curricula at all levels. It is also vital that students learn how to find and evaluate information. These types of assignments are critical for enhancing the education of the next generation of scientists.

Acknowledgments The authors wish to thank Ty Doctor and Tommy Nagel from the University of Denver Digital Media Center for providing Adobe Illustrator workshops for our students. We would also like to thank J. Alex Huffman, Ph.D. for his early contributions to this project. Thank you to Virginia Pitts, Ph.D. and Christina Paguyo for support when developing the rubric and assessment used in this project. Extra special thanks to Amber Varela, Christine Krentz, Audrey Adler, Sonja Radosevic, Cameron Robertson, Kayla Yutrzenk, Hannah Bradford, and Jakob Holtzaman for the beautiful work that they created as students for this assignment.

References 1.

2. 3. 4.

Lederman, N. G. Students’ and Teachers’ Conceptions of the Nature of Science: A Review of the Research. J. Res. Sci. Teach. 1992, 29 (4), 331–359. AAAS; Science For All Americans. https://www.aaas.org/report/science-allamericans (accessed June 19th, 2017). Songer, N. B.; Linn, M. C. How do students’ views of science influence knowledge integration? J. Res. Sci. Teach. 1991, 28 (9), 761–784. Padron, K. ACRL Information Literacy Framework for Higher Education. 2017. 130 Kloepper and Crawford; Liberal Arts Strategies for the Chemistry Classroom ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2017.

5.

6. 7.


8.

9. 10. 11.

12.

13. 14. 15. 16. 17.

18. 19.

Bruce, C. Information Literacy as a Catalyst for Educational Change. A Background Paper. In Proceedings “Lifelong Learning: Whose responsibility and what is your contribution?” Danaher, P. A, Eds.; The 3rd International Lifelong Learning Conference, Yeppoon, Queensland, 2004; pp 8−19. Rockman, I. Integrating Information Literacy Into the Learning Outcomes of Academic Disciplines. Coll. Res. Libr. 2003, 64 (9), 612–615. Johnston, B.; Webber, S. Information Literacy in Higher Education: A Review and Case Study. Stud. High. Educ. 2003, 28 (3), 335–352. Macklin, A. S.; Culp, F. B. Successful strategies for integrating information literacy into the curriculum. In Competencies for science librarians; Stern, D., Ed.; Routledge: New York, 2009; pp 45−61. Lindsay, E. B. A collaborative approach to information literacy in the freshmen seminar. AEQ. 2003, 23–28. Scaramozzino, J. M. Integrating STEM Information Competencies into an Undergraduate Curriculum. J. Libr. Adm. 2010, 50, 315–333. McComas, W. F. The principal elements of the nature of science: dispelling the myths. In The nature of science in science education. Rationales and strategies; McComas, W. F., Ed.; Kluwer Academic: Dordrecht, 2002; pp 53–70. Danipog, D. L.; Ferido, M. B. Using art-based chemistry activities to improve students’ conceptual understanding in chemistry. J. Chem. Educ. 2011, 88, 1610. Young, J. A. Science and the fine arts. J. Chem. Educ. 1981, 58, 329–330. Andre, J. P. Viewing Scenes of the History of Chemistry through the Opera Glass. J. Chem. Educ. 2015, 92, 66–73. Kloepper, K. D. Bringing in the Bard: Shakespearean Plays as Context for Instrumental Analysis Projects. J. Chem. Educ. 2015, 92, 79. Brunning, A. Compound Interest. http://www.compoundchem.com/ (accessed March 1, 2016). California State University at Chico librarians. Evaluating Information: Applying the CRAAP Test. https://www.csuchico.edu/lins/jandouts/ eval_websites.pdf (accessed January 5, 2016). Flickr: The Commons; www.flickr.com/commons (accessed June 13, 2017). Mitstifer, D. Undergraduate Research Presentation Rubric. http:// rubrics.kon.org/rubric-documents/Undergraduate-Research-PresentationRubric-2006.pdf (accessed March 1, 2015).


Chemistry Infographics: Experimenting with ... - ACS Publications

Recommend Documents