Initiatives

Dr. Roy Tasker

Dr. Roy Tasker

STEER STEM Speaker Series
Roy Tasker
March 2, 2017
Increasing the Understanding of Chemistry through Interactive Visualizations of Molecular Models

Take-Home Lessons

  • The chemistry education research literature demonstrates that many student misconceptions are due to an inability to visualize substances and reactions at the molecular level, due mostly to misinterpretations of the meaning of chemical formulas and equations.
  • Chemistry faculty need to assist students to develop useful mental models of the molecular world to make sense of chemical concepts like equilibrium, entropy, chemical speciation, and hydrophobicity, and to make conventional symbolism meaningful. 

Dr. Roy TaskerProfessor of Chemical Education at Purdue University

This continuing series of seminars is part of the USF STEM education project, “Systemic Transformation of Education Through Evidence-Based Reforms” (STEER). This project is supported in part by the National Science Foundation (Grant DUE #1525574), the Coalition for Science Literacy, the College of Arts and Sciences, the Academy for Teaching and Learning Excellence (ATLE), and the Office of Student Affairs and Student Success.