Dr. Gabriela Weaver
Contact Information
gweaver@purdue.edu
Purdue University
Department of Chemistry
560 Oval Drive
West Lafayette, IN 47907
(765) 496-3055
Research Focus
Chemical Education
Research in the Weaver Chemical Education group is focused on
developing, implementing and assessing innovative instructional
materials and methods. Our goal is to use these to achieve greater
retention of students in the sciences, to help them develop a better
understanding of the material, and to motivate their interest in the
subject.
One aspect of our work is to examine how instructional technologies can
be designed and used in the classroom. Some of this work involves
evaluating technologies that already exist, and determining ways that
they can be used for greatest educational impact. In other cases, we
are involved in designing instructional technologies, or materials that
will be used with instructional technologies. The development is often
carried out in collaboration with researchers and developers with
specific expertise in those areas. We have developed an interactive DVD
as a supplement for Physical Chemistry, including video programs,
animations and problems for students to solve. We have also designed,
developed and tested a computer game that has embedded chemistry
challenges within a larger storyline that challenges the player/student
to solve an overall mystery.
In another area of our work, we are involved with student inquiry and
"authentic science practice." This work builds on a constructivist
framework of learning and endeavors to provide opportunities for
students to develop their reasoning and experimental design skills. Our
research in this area is quite varied, involving design of new "wet
chemistry" experiments, analysis of student discourse, assessment of
students' conceptions of the nature of science, and examination of
models to bridge the research and educational missions of higher
education. The CASPiE initiative has resulted
from this arena of our work. An interesting component of this project is
our remote instrumentation network, which allows students and faculty
from schools anywhere in the world to run their samples on our
instruments via a standard Internet connection.
Our group also looks at the more theoretical aspects of learning
chemistry. For example, some of our research has explored the effects of
student discourse, group collaborative work, peer instruction and
context-situated learning. We use a combination of quantitative and
qualitative research methods - standard statistical analysis software as
well as a variety of ethnographic qualitative methods, including
interviews, surveys, observations and document analysis.
Overall, the goal of our research is to understand how to improve the
teaching and learning process in chemistry, especially as the
demographics and learning styles of college students change.
Related Materials
Projects
Recent Publications:
- 2005: G. C. Weaver, P. Varma-Nelson, D. Wink, R. Morris, F. Lytle "Experiencing Research in a First or Second Year Science Course – Preliminary Results and Reflections on the Goals and Progress of the Center for Authentic Science Practice in Education (CASPiE)." The Chemical Educator. 11, 125-129.
- Accepted; In Press: A. K. Bentley, G. C. Weaver, C. B. Russell, W. L. Fornes, S. Shih, K.-S. Choi, "Modifying Optical Properties of ZnO Films by Forming Zn1-xCoxO Solid Solutions via Spray Pyrolysis." J. Chem. Educ.
- Accepted; In Press: D. Danforth, E. Elkin, S. Emberton, K. Martinez-Hernandez, N. Nattam, R. Pedela, K. Maicher, C. R. Morales, G. C. Weaver, "The Design Process of a Chemistry Video Game." American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Conference Proceedings.
- Submitted: K. F. Green, A. M. Rahman, G. C. Weaver, "A Comparative Analysis of Online and Face-to-Face Discourse in General Chemistry." Journal of Research in Science Teaching.
- Submitted: E. M. Epp, K. F. Green, A. M. Rahman, G. C. Weaver, "Analysis of Student-Instructor Patterns in Real-Time Online Discourse." Chemical Educator.
- Submitted: G. Ashkenazi, G. C. Weaver, "Interactive Lecture Demonstrations as a Context for Classroom Discussion: Effective Design and Presentation" Chemistry Education Research and Practice.
- For a complete list of publications, please refer to my C.V.
Recent Presentations:
- Working Toward Unattended Student Access to Remote Instrumentation. 19th Biennial Conference on Chemical Education, West Lafayette, IN; D. Steffen§, F. Lytle, P. Wyss, G. C. Weaver. 2006
- Peer-led Team Learning in a Research-based First-year Laboratory Course: A Novel Implementation. 19th Biennial Conference on Chemical Education, West Lafayette, IN; A. Bentley, W. Fornes, C. Russell, P. Varma-Nelson, D. Wink, G. C. Weaver. 2006
- Comparative Analysis of Online and Face-to-Face Discourse in General Chemistry. 19th Biennial Conference on Chemical Education, West Lafayette, IN; K. Green, G. C. Weaver. 2006
- How Effective is the Computer Game Model for Teaching Chemistry? Phase II Findings. 19th Biennial Conference on Chemical Education, West Lafayette, IN; K. Martinez-Hernandez, C. R. Morales, G. C. Weaver. 2006
- Student Perceptions of the Purpose and Function of Lab. 19th Biennial Conference on Chemical Education, West Lafayette, IN; C. Russell, G. C. Weaver. 2006
- Implementation and Study of e-Learning in a Laboratory Course: Issues, Solutions and Findings. 19th Biennial Conference on Chemical Education, West Lafayette, IN; E. Epp, K. Jennings, G. C. Weaver. 2006
- Can Video Games Contribute Meaningfully to the Chemistry Curriculum? (Poster) 19th Biennial Conference on Chemical Education, West Lafayette, IN; K. Martinez-Hernandez, D. Danforth, N. Nattam, P. Robertson, G. C. Weaver. 2006
- Undergraduate Research-based Laboratory Implementations. 19th Biennial Conference on Chemical Education, West Lafayette, IN; C. Russell, G. C. Weaver. 2006
- Inquiry Is…:Secondary Science Teachers’ Conceptions of Inquiry. 19th Biennial Conference on Chemical Education, West Lafayette, IN; J. Steward, G. C. Weaver. 2006
- Physical Chemistry in Practice DVD: Development and Implementation. 19th Biennial Conference on Chemical Education, West Lafayette, IN; K. Jennings, E. Epp, M. Towns, G. C. Weaver. 2006
- Development and Testing of a Chemistry-based Video Game. 19th Biennial Conference on Chemical Education, West Lafayette, IN; G. C. Weaver, D. Danforth, K. Martinez-Hernandez, C. R. Morales, K. Maicher. 2006
- For a complete list of presentations, please refer to my C.V.
Curriculum Vita