Chemistry as if students matter: from student to student’s learning outcomes

Abstract

As a tribute to the legacy of Dr. Margaret-Ann Armour, we report on an initiative that involves university undergraduate students directly and meaningfully in the articulation and implementation of student learning outcomes for their chemistry programs. Student learning outcomes describe what a student should know, do, and value at the end of a learning experience. The initiative was carried out over several years at the King’s University in Edmonton, a small undergraduate liberal arts and science institution with a Chemical Institute of Canada accredited B.Sc. chemistry program. Senior students were involved in articulating their own learning outcomes for their chemistry program and mapping them onto the courses in the program. The resultant heat map provided an interesting visual tool to help the learning community assess strengths and gaps in coverage, as perceived by students. The authors then led a workshop at the Chemistry Education program of a Canadian Society for Chemistry national chemistry meeting to share experiences among Canadian chemistry programs on the diverse ways faculty and programs articulate, implement, and assess student learning outcomes. We conclude with suggestions for steps that departments and programs can take to meaningfully implement student learning outcomes in the design, review, and modification of chemistry programs, including benchmarking those learning outcomes with international outcomes published as a result of an IUPAC project.