A Survey of Industrial Organic Chemists: Understanding the Chemical Industry’s Needs of Current Bachelor-Level Graduates

Fair, Justin D.; Kleist, Elyse M.; Stoy, Dylan M.

doi:10.1021/ed400570f

Cited by 34 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Effective communication skills are no longer considered a luxury in chemical enterprise. Instead, meaningful writing and persuasive speaking for a broad range of audiences have become integral parts of the standard core professional skills required for scientific and professional success in the workforce 1 − 7 and graduate school. 8 − 17 Despite recent discourse emphasizing the importance of scientific communication, especially in a scholarly sense, it is a perennial problem originating at the undergraduate level.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Scientific Method as a Scaffold to Enhance Communication Skills in Chemistry

et al. 2022

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Scientific success in the field of chemistry depends upon the mastery of a wide range of soft skills, most notably scientific writing and speaking. However, training for scientific communication is typically limited at the undergraduate level, where students struggle to express themselves in a clear and logical manner. The underlying issue is deeper than basic technical skills; rather, it is a problem of students’ unawareness of a fundamental and strategic framework for writing and speaking with a purpose. The methodology has been implemented for individual mentorship and in our regional summer research program to deliver a blueprint of thought and reasoning that endows students with the confidence and skills to become more effective communicators. Our didactic process intertwines undergraduate research with the scientific method and is partitioned into six steps, referred to as “phases”, to allow for focused and deep thinking on the essential components of the scientific method. The phases are designed to challenge the student in their zone of proximal development so they learn to extract and ultimately comprehend the elements of the scientific method through focused written and oral assignments. Students then compile their newly acquired knowledge to create a compelling and logical story, using their persuasive written and oral presentations to complete a research proposal, final report, and formal 20 min presentation. We find that such an approach delivers the necessary guidance to promote the logical framework that improves writing and speaking skills. Over the past decade, we have witnessed both qualitative and quantitative gains in the students’ confidence in their abilities and skills (developed by this process), preparing them for future careers as young scientists.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Scientific Method as a Scaffold to Enhance Communication Skills in Chemistry

et al. 2022

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“…23−26 A survey of industrial professionals highlighted the importance of these soft skills. 27 However, these soft skills are often lacking in chemistry curricula, according to a number of employers. 28 Intentionally designing interventions in the laboratory curriculum can improve scientific communication skills, which can help students be more successful in their future career endeavors.…”

Section: ■ Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Service-learning activities can cover a plethora of chemical topics, laboratory skills, and soft skills. ,, The term soft skills refers to a set of attributes that allow a person to effectively work and interact with others. − A survey of industrial professionals highlighted the importance of these soft skills . However, these soft skills are often lacking in chemistry curricula, according to a number of employers .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Service-Learning for a Multiple Learning Modality Environment

2021

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Chemistry curricula have been severely impacted by social distancing, the need for hybrid and remote learning, and the reduction of resources that many institutions have encountered since the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak. Educators have had to be extremely creative and innovative with their pedagogical approaches in order to offer a quality learning experience. Instructors have used a plethora of interventions to convey course material or aspects of a class that typically would have been carried out in-person, such as live streaming laboratories, virtual simulations, and Zoom classes. Herein, we have identified a service-learning project as a means to engage students in chemistry, complement laboratory activities, and enhance students’ soft skills. During the project, students in a nonmajors chemistry course and upper level majors course presented a science activity to elementary students using Google Meet. Herein, we present the results and benefits of the interactive virtual service-learning project.

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“…Applied chemical laboratory training is a key aspect of chemical education because it can strengthen the connection between academia and industry and help students study fundamental chemical theories in a hands-on setting. − However, under circumstances when students have no access to a lab, special arrangements are required for students to receive these laboratory trainings, such as virtual teaching, or sending experimental kits to students to perform practical work at home. − The global COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 provided such an example. During this outbreak, a majority of the in-person university teaching activities were suspended for at least one semester in the United States and other countries, including laboratory classes. − To respond, we transformed our lab modules “on-line” for a novel interdisciplinary laboratory class covering areas of chemical engineering, chemistry, and biopharmaceutical processing.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Designing a Hybrid Biopharmaceutical Laboratory Course to Enhance Content Flexibility and Access

et al. 2020

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Herein we report the design of an upper-level hybrid laboratory course in the area of applied biopharmaceuticals, which has high scheduling flexibility, and utilizes both virtual and in-person educational elements to enhance students’ learning experience. This newly developed course applies chemical engineering knowledge, practical and theoretical, in the bioprocess and pharmaceutical industry, including crystallization, chromatography, and mass transport. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we transferred this lab course to a completely virtual mode during midsemester of Spring 2020. Despite the lack of in-person experiments during the second half of the semester, we introduced various additional elements including modeling, simulation, literature review, and added lectures to the virtual version of the course to improve students’ learning experience. These additional elements introduced during the virtual period enriched the course content and exposed students to more advanced applications of the knowledge in this course, which can be implemented in future hybrid modes. Although the student performance on quizzes and lab reports remained consistent after the transition to online format, the instructors noticed students struggling with data mined from previous groups. The root cause of this was not being able to create and observe their own data in real time, which could be improved by developing better remote data collection methods. Another lesson we learned during this experience is the value of keeping an experimental video archive for all of our laboratory modules, regardless of plans for remote learning.

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A Survey of Industrial Organic Chemists: Understanding the Chemical Industry’s Needs of Current Bachelor-Level Graduates

Cited by 34 publications

References 7 publications

The Scientific Method as a Scaffold to Enhance Communication Skills in Chemistry

The Scientific Method as a Scaffold to Enhance Communication Skills in Chemistry

Service-Learning for a Multiple Learning Modality Environment

Designing a Hybrid Biopharmaceutical Laboratory Course to Enhance Content Flexibility and Access

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