Christopher F. Bauer

Professor
Chemistry Education
Department of Chemistry
University of New Hampshire
Durham, NH 03824-3598 U.S.A.
Phone: 603-862-3619
Fax: 603-862-4278
cfb@cisunix.unh.edu

Education and Achievements

B.S., 1974, University of Notre Dame
M.S., 1976, University of Illinois at Urbana
Ph.D., 1979, Colorado State University
Postdoctoral Research Associate, 1979-81, Water Resources Research Center, University of Wisconsin
Visiting Professor, 1991-91, University of Northern Colorado
UNH Jean Brierley Teaching Award, 1991

Research Interests

Students' naive chemical conception, student attitudes, curricular development for general and analytical chemistry.

Research in Chemistry Education - New Option Program in Ph.D.
Preparation for College Teaching in Chemistry - Future Faculty Program

Current Research Interests

Growth in our understanding of how people construct knowledge confronts chemistry with a serious challenge. Traditional models of teaching at the college and high-school level are failing to promote analytical thought and to develop conceptual understanding of the particulate nature of matter. My research investigates how factors such as course structure, learning expectations, and instructional strategy may facilitate learning. Specific investigations include ways to personalize the large lecture, student attitudes toward learning, and diagnosis of alternative chemical conceptions.

One type of probe into student thinking is a multiple choice survey that relies on qualitative understanding of the behavior of atoms and molecules. In the example below, it would seem obvious that the correct answer is 15 ions. Yet only 30 percent of students who complete a year of a traditonal general chemistry course respond correctly. Forty percent prefer response D: 600 ions. The answer can be determined by calculation, but calculation is entirely unnecessary. The distribution of student responses is about the same as before instruction. This leads to questions such as: To what extent do students really conceive of this problem as a process of moving ions? Why is it that traditional instruction fails to help most students understand this simple everyday chemical manipulation? What sort of hands-on lab experiences or bridging analogies will move students toward a better understanding?

Group Members

Professor: Christopher F. Bauer

Graduate Student: Cary Kilner, Ph.D. student, carypq@aol.com

Publications

C.F. Bauer and C. Kheboian, "Accuracy of Selective Extraction Procedures for Metal Speciation in Model Aquatic Sediments," Anal. Chem. 1987, 59, 1417-1423.

C.F. Bauer, S.M. Koza, and T.F. Jenkins, "Collaborative Test Results for a Liquid Chromatographic Method for the Determination of Explosives Residues in Soil," J. Assoc. Off. Anal. Chem. 1990, 73, 541-552.

K. Kull, M. Andrew, C.F. Bauer, and S. Oja, "The Effect of a Mathematics-Science Curriculum Integration Project," J. Res. Middle Level Educ. Quart. 1995, 19, 59-84.

C.F. Bauer, "Probing College Students' Understanding of Particulate Nature of Matter," paper presented at the American Chemical Society Meeting, Anaheim, 1995.

C.F. Bauer, "Making the Large Lecture Chemistry Classroom Seem Small," paper presented at the American Chemical Society Meeting, New Orleans, 1996.

C.F. Bauer, "College Students' Post-Hoc Attitudes toward and Descriptions of their High School Chemistry Learning Environments," paper presented at the National Association for Research in Science Teaching, Chicago, 1997.

C.F. Bauer, "What Students Think: College Students Describe Their High School Chemistry Class", The Science Teacher, 2002, 69(1), 52-55.