Most graduate students are expected to teach at some point during their graduate career, yet their professional development typically emphasizes research with minimal attention toward developing teaching skills. Often, TA training is brief and graduate students acquire teaching skills as they go. During this presentation we will discuss our research in understanding how graduate students develop Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) while teaching organic chemistry labs, with an overarching goal of developing efficient teacher training methods for incoming graduate students. This particular study focused on the development of PCK on the subject of thin layer chromatography. The study was conducted by posing open-ended questions to graduate students before and after teaching an introductory organic chemistry laboratory course. Questions were aimed at investigating content knowledge and topic-specific knowledge of students on thin layer chromatography. Responses were coupled with additional sources of data, including self-reports on teaching and research experience, attitudes, and sources of teaching knowledge.

Graduate student instruction in organic chemistry laboratory: How is pedagogical content knowledge of thin layer chromatography developed?

250th National Meeting (2015)

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