• Overview of tool/method: Including its: purpose/use; intended audience; administration/implementation issues; revisions/adaptations

• The tool/method itself + variations
  • look at the tool/method in now in your browser
  • download the tool/method as an MS-Word 7.0 document
• Analysis/interpretation of findings
• Sample results:  Including findings written-up in reports and/or comments on the lessons learned or information gained from use of the tool/method.

• Who designed and tested the tool
• Name and location of original designer and tester
• Others who have used this tool: Including names, locations and feedback from users including questionnaire results pertaining to the tool.
  
• Upon downloading the tool the user is strongly encouraged to provide their email address and advised that x months later they will be queried for feedback in the form of an on-line questionnaire.

• Links to other sites

Overview of the tool/method
The Center for Technology in Learning (CTL) at SRI International was contracted to design an evaluation of the Molecular Science project. The Molecular Science project was funded by the National Science Foundation's Division of Undergraduate Education through its initiative for Systemic Changes in the Chemistry Curriculum. The NSF chemistry initiative supports fundamental changes in chemistry course content, teaching methods, and laboratory experiences to improve scientific literacy and the attitudes of students and to develop superior scientists and science educators. Through this initiative, five coalitions of postsecondary institutions received major, multi-year grants to develop and implement chemistry education reform.

The Molecular Science Project is a collaboration between the University of California at Los Angeles, California State University at Fullerton, three Los Angeles area community colleges (East Los Angeles College, Mt. San Antonio College, and Pasadena City College), and a high school (Crossroads High School). These schools will participate in the development and implementation of the project during its first phase. In the second phase of the project, the materials will be made available to a larger group of five to eight additional institutions.

The Molecular Science Project focuses on applications of technology to improve undergraduate chemistry education and on innovative approaches for assessing student achievement of pedagogical goals. The project will result in a network-delivered curriculum that includes instructional modules and embedded assessment measures.

In executing this contract, CTL staff members worked with Molecular Science Project staff during the first year of the project to:

Clarify pedagogical goals on which the project will be evaluated.

• Specify an evaluation design that will guide formative and summative data collection over the period of the project.
  
• Specify guidelines for the design of innovative goals, tasks, and scoring rubrics for assessing student performance.
  
• Provide advice on the extent to which assessment approaches can be designed into the software.
  
• Develop and pilot test instruments for some of the modules developed during the first year to serve as models for subsequent units.

Correspondingly, CTL reviewed the pedagogical goals for the project and presented recommendations for the evaluation design, a framework for systemic assessment, and a set of guidelines for the development of student assessment activities. CTL then illustrated how these guidelines could be applied to student activities utilizing computer simulations developed by the Molecular Science Project staff such as "Molecule Exploration," "Aldol Condensation," and "Toxic waste site remediation."

CTL collaborated with the project staff in the early stages of development of the guidelines. They conducted workshops in which they trained module developers in the use of the guidelines in their early form, and worked with project staff on the use of the guidelines in conducting training workshops. The project staff subsequently applied and tested the guidelines with the first modules developed for the project. This report and the guidelines were revised on the basis of this testing. Revisions were also made in response to suggestions from other Chemistry Initiative project evaluators, and from outside experts in chemistry education, assessment, and program evaluation who reviewed an early draft of this report.

• Analysis/interpretation of findings
  Not yet available.

• Sample results
  Not yet available.

• Who designed and tested the tool

This tool was developed by Robert Kozma and Edys Quellmalz from the Center for Technology in Learning(CTL) at SRI International in cooperation with the faculty participating in Molecular Science Project.

• Name and location of original designer(s) and tester(s)
  

Dr. Robert Kozma--Principal Scientist

Dr. Edys Quellmalz

Center for Technology in Learning--SRI International

333 Ravenswood Ave.--Menlo Park, CA 94025

phone: 650/859-3997; fax: 650/859-4605

email: rkozma@unix.sri.com

email: quelmalz@crvax.sri.com

• Others who have used this tool
  

• Links to other sites
  Center for Technology in Learning website-- http://www.sri.com/policy/teched/welcome.shtml