Complementing your current research efforts with pedagogical research
The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) can play an important role in the research agenda of faculty at teaching-focused colleges or universities. In this post, Dr. Jimmy Franco, Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Merrimack College shares his strategy for integrating SoTL into his research and teaching.
Working at a primarily undergraduate institution (PUI) can be drastically different than the experience most of us had during our doctoral work, since the emphasis is often shifted from research to teaching. Even though most of us gained valuable teaching experience in graduate school as teaching assistants (TA), this experience typically pales in comparison to the teaching loads at most PUIs. Similar to many of my colleagues, I gravitated toward a PUI because of my passion for teaching. Additionally, I have continued to be research active, as have many of you. Maintaining a vibrant research program has enabled me to engage undergraduates in research and stay current in our field. However, this can often be an arduous task with the habitually demanding teaching and service loads at most PUIs, especially when coupled with limited research resources.
Why integrate pedagogy into research?
One area of research that instructors at PUIs should consider adding to their research interest is pedagogical work. Most faculty members who gravitate to a PUI select this avenue because of their passion for teaching and consequently invest a significant amount of time and energy to provide students with the best experience possible. The idea of having teaching and research converge is particularly advantageous, since being research active enables faculty to stay current in their field while creating research opportunities for students. Although, when most faculty members think about research, the first thing that typically comes to mind is the more traditional avenue of research. For me it’s the vision of setting up a reaction in a fume hood with a hotplate and round bottom flask. However, complementing your research interests by including pedagogical work can be extremely beneficial for a plethora of reasons: a) it allows faculty to synergistically intertwine their passion for the teaching and research, b) it enhances an educator’s pedagogical approach, since they will constantly be engaged in current literature about best educational practices, c) pedagogical research enables faculty to receive scholarship credit for the enormous amount of time they typically spend on their courses, d) this is an avenue of research that isn’t typically hindered by the necessity of exceedingly expensive instruments. Additionally, this genre of research can create advantageous research opportunities for students interested in pursuing a career in STEM education.
The idea of having teaching and research converge is particularly advantageous, since being research active enables faculty to stay current in their field while creating research opportunities for students.
The shift in thinking about designing your courses in a manner that will facilitate the ability to conduct pedagogical research does require some strategic forethought. For example, when I am conducting research in the area of organic synthesis I have never had to stop and consider if I need IRB approval or if I need to design pre- and post-exams/questionnaires before setting up a reaction. However, these items are commonly beneficial, if not required, when conducting pedagogical research. Some pedagogical research projects are years in the making, as they may require many semesters worth of data. Even though this may sound daunting at first glance, most educators routinely collect data each semester in the form of exam grades, homework assignments and laboratory scores already. With careful planning this regularly collected data can be leveraged when conducting pedagogical research.
Several opportunistic areas for pedagogical research in chemistry exist, such as chemical education research (CER), research on laboratory experiments or activities and pedagogical technology development, among others.
Different types of pedagogical research
I am not advocating that researchers abandon their traditional research interests, but rather complement their current research efforts with pedagogical research. Several opportunistic areas for pedagogical research in chemistry exist, such as chemical education research (CER), research on laboratory experiments or activities and pedagogical technology development, among others. CER generally refers to an in-depth analysis of any of a myriad of teaching and learning topics. This is typically the most intense type of educational research since it includes detailed literature background work, a clearly stated hypothesis, and research methods that collect and analyze data on a desired topic. The next type of pedagogical research is the development of a laboratory experiment or activity. As educators we are constantly looking to improve the student experience, and we often use experiential learning to improve student learning. Thus, many of us are constantly looking to create unique and innovative experiences. If you have recently created a novel laboratory experiment or activity for one of your courses, it’s worth considering thinking about doing assessment on the experience and expanding your research into this genre of work. As scientists, most of us often leverage technology to enhance our teaching and research. If you have developed or identified a particular piece of technology that would be beneficial for other educators, you should consider sharing your experiences with the greater community. For example, some of my pedagogical work in recent years includes examining the use of multi-touch books in an organic chemistry course, and using the computer game, Foldit to help students understand protein folding. There are also opportunities for departmental initiatives in the area of pedagogical research. Currently, I am working with my department to investigate the pedagogical differences between the traditional chemistry introductory sequence and what is often referred to as the 1-2-1 curriculum.
Personally, I have found the expansion of my research interests into the area of pedagogical work very rewarding. I am still actively researching a number of research topics in the area of medicinal chemistry and organic synthesis and I plan to continue this genre of work throughout my career. But I have found that evolving my research efforts to include pedagogical research has been advantageous to my academic career, as it has enhanced my teaching and bolstered my research productivity.
Dr. Jimmy Franco is an Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Merrimack College, a private college outside of Boston, MA. Dr. Franco is an organic chemistry with research interests in medicinal chemistry and chemical education. His recent efforts have been focused on the integration of technology and pedagogy, specifically the use of iBooks and virtual reality in the classroom.
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