Chemical Education

Chemical education as an area of scholarship seeks to better understand how people learn chemistry and to develop practices, learning materials, and educators to further the teaching and learning of chemistry at all levels. Stony Brook Chemistry has been at the forefront in introducing teaching innovations into its courses, particularly its entry-level courses. Eight members of the teaching faculty have been recognized by award of the SUNY Chancellors Award for Excellence in Teaching. Undergraduate and graduate students can develop as educators by serving as teaching assistants, and are provided with training and mentorship to support their development. Students seeking to conduct chemical education research can do so at the undergraduate, M.S., and Ph.D. levels within the chemistry department. Students seeking to pursue a Ph.D. with a focus on K-12 educational issues can do so through the Center for Science and Mathematics’ (CESAME) Science Education Ph.D. program (https://stonybrook.edu/sciedphd/), in which chemistry faculty participate.


	Katherine Aubrecht Assistant Professor. Development and assessment of learning materials connecting chemistry to issues of sustainability for chemistry majors, non-majors, high school students, and general audiences. Development and assessment of project-based teaching laboratories. Studies of the role of context in chemistry education. Studies of transfer of chemistry knowledge to non-chemistry courses.
	David Hanson Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus, Research Professor. Physical chemistry; development of lessons (incorporating interdisciplinary and real world perspectives) that enhance the understanding of concepts and promote learning and problem solving through the use of higher order thinking skills; enhancement of learning with computer-driven technology; development of process skills in key areas (learning, thinking, problem solving, communication, teamwork, management, assessment); and promotion of positive attitudes toward chemistry, science, and learning.
	Gregory Rushton Associate Professor. Conceptual change in tertiary chemistry learning environments; classroom discourse practices; policy reform in K-16 chemistry education; large-scale demographic analyses of K-12 STEM teaching populations; science teacher leadership; curricular reform through research-driven decisions; pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) in chemistry.
	Lisa Shah Research Assistant Professor . Promoting and evaluating quantitative reasoning in chemistry; Supporting inclusivity and excellence in chemistry teaching and learning; Using national STEM assessments to drive undergraduate curricular reform; Conceptual understanding and metacognitive awareness in undergraduate chemistry; Influencing policy in K12 STEM education.

Faculty