Stephen and Nate participate in CSIE|UM Chemistry Education Symposium

Stephen and Nate, both future faculty GSIs for the Snow Chemistry CHEM 125 lab course taught last fall, recently attended and presented a poster at the 2nd annual Chemistry Education Symposium organized by CSIE|UM (Chemical Sciences at the Interface of Education). This year's symposium was all about chemistry laboratory courses, which was a fitting topic for us as we continue to develop and improve our snow chemistry course for its second offering this fall. The event included in-depth discussions and workshops dealing with the purpose and goals of the chemistry lab course, as well as new ways to innovate and understand how our efforts eventually affect the students who enroll in them. The symposium brought together students, faculty, and staff from across the department and from nearby universities, including Eastern Michigan University, Michigan State University, UM-Flint & Dearborn, and Wayne State University. Prof. Marcy Towns from Purdue University, the invited guest speaker for the afternoon, gave a fantastic seminar on her research in assessing the students' learning in chemistry lab courses and her team's recent innovations in tracking students' development of laboratory skills. Overall, it was a great opportunity to discuss new ideas, meet other educators, and learn about the interesting chemistry education projects taking place at Michigan and elsewhere!