Development of a Week-Long Mathematics Intervention for Incoming Chemistry Graduate Students

Abstract

A student-led mathematics bootcamp has been designed and implemented to help foster community building, improve confidence in mathematical skills, and provide mathematical resources for incoming physical chemistry doctoral students. The bootcamp is held immediately before the start of the first semester of graduate school and uses an active learning approach to review and practice undergraduate-level mathematics problems over 5 days in small student groups. This work includes the development and presentation of a new, publicly available mathematics curriculum for the bootcamp on select mathematics topics, including calculus, linear algebra, functions, differential equations, statistics, and coding in Python, aiming at improving students' confidence and learning experiences in graduate quantum mechanics and statistical physics courses. Surveys before and after the bootcamp showed an increase in students' confidence in problem-solving in key mathematical areas and social aspects of peer-led group learning. Qualitative and quantitative analyses demonstrate that the bootcamp reduced prior inequities in students' confidence metrics based on gender and mathematical background.

The Bohr Radius Activity as a Touchpoint between Chemistry and Mathematics: An Interdisciplinary Collaboration

“…These upper-level mathematics courses would be particularly beneficial for students who pursue graduate school or careers in physical chemistry or chemical engineering. For instance, a recent report on a “mathematics bootcamp” nicely highlights the importance of mathematical skills and knowledge for entering physical chemistry doctoral students. The delayed exposure to the rich mathematics and problem-solving of physical chemistry also represents a missed opportunity to attract some students to the field, who might find the mathematics in general chemistry relatively simple and less interesting.…”