Queensborough Community College
DEPARTMENT:
Year-end Report – Teaching Department
Chemistry
June 2013
YEAR: 2013-2014
A. DEPARTMENT SERVICES/ACTIVITIES REPORT IN 2013-14
1.
Department-sponsored services (fall and spring semesters combined)
Area of Service
Through an NSF grant, we have been able to offer free tutoring in the department since 6 years
ago for most of our classes. Dr. Paris Svoronos has been the PI for the grant.
Number Served
Roughly about 1000 students
per academic year
Area of service (for example): a department-run learning laboratory (not laboratories for which students register as part of their courses), the reference desk or reserve area of the Library, department
tutoring program, etc. (Note: Do not report courses or laboratories for which students register.)
2.
Department-sponsored faculty/staff development activities
Type of Activity and Topic
Date
Number
Attending
Faculty Development Seminars in Chemistry:
Dr. Wayne E. Jones Jr. State University of New York at Binghamton; Fluorescent Conjugated Polymer
Chemosensors for the Environment Based on Inorganic-Organic Hybrid Structures
2-7- 2014
30
Prof. Peter Diaczuk, John Jay College, Chemistry in Crime Scene Reconstruction
3-21-2014
30
Dr. Dr. Ronald Breslow, Columbia University
How did it all get started? Prebiotic chemistry. The Origin of Terrestrial Homochirality in Amino Acids and
Nucleosides
Dr. Dr. Yolanda Small, York College, CUNY, "Water Splitting Chemistry using Photocatalytic Semiconductors and
Molecular Co-Catalysts"
Undergraduate Research symposium, St. John’s University, We had 15 research students who presented their work
at this local section of the American Chemical Society.
Nichols Symposium: Professor Amos B. Smith was the key note speaker. QCC had a showing of …between
faculty and students.
Chemistry challenge: Students along with faculty, from colleges in tri-state area come to QCC to participate in
chemistry challenge
4-3-2014
100
3-6-2014
50
5-3-2014
100
3-28-2014
200
4-25-2014
100
Note: Faculty and staff development activities (grants, presentations, exhibitions, performances, publications, instructional improvement activities, laboratory development, curriculum development, etc.)
INSTRUCTIONS:
For each activity, please indicate
1. whether department members organized the activities or gave presentations or both
2. the topic and type of activity and name of organizer/presenter, if applicable
3. the date (if not the exact date, indicate the month)
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Year-end Report – Teaching Department
Queensborough Community College
June 2013
4. the number attending the event
B. COURSE CHANGES IN 2013-14
INSTRUCTIONS: For each course that changed, indicate:
1. whether the course is new, revised, or deleted
2. the course number
3. the course title
4. the semester the change was approved at the Academic Senate
5. for revised courses, in the Comments section, describe the type of change(s)—i.e., course title, description, pre/co-requisites, credits, hours,
designation
None
C. PROGRAM CHANGES IN 2013-14
Program
Program change*
Effective Date (Semester and year)
Comments
None
*Key: (a)=initiated, (b)=closed, (c)=renamed, (d)=modified
INSTRUCTIONS:

Use the full title of the program, i.e. A.A. in Visual and Performing Arts.

Indicate whether the program change is initiated, closed, renamed, or modified. (If a new program has been approved by the CUNY Board (or is expected to
be approved by June 2013), use fall 2013 as the effective date.)

Describe the exact status (i.e., proposal submitted to CUNY Board; approved by CUNY Board; etc.) in the Comments.
D. DEPARTMENT CHANGES IN 2013-14
Type (see menu below)
Personnel
Description of Change
Dr. Sujun Wei was hired to
begin Fall 2013.
Reason for Change
To fill the vacancies
when John Regan and
Juli Pigza resigned.
Date/Semester
Fall 2013
Evaluation of Change*
*Please note that, if change has been too recent to evaluate, you may indicate NA.
MENU
Type of change
Personnel or organizational change
Facilities/space
Equipment
Other
Description
New hires, retirees, resignations, promotions, department name changes, etc.
Renovations or development of office space or new facilities (i.e., computer laboratories)
Acquisition of new or disposition of old equipment
Other changes affecting the department not included above and including interactions with other departments
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Queensborough Community College
Year-end Report – Teaching Department
June 2013
E. DEPARTMENT ASSESSMENT IN 2013-14
1.
Departmental procedures for conducting assessment
The fundamental elements of standard 14 (assessment of student learning) of the Middle States Commission on Higher Education include: clearly
articulated statements of expected student learning outcomes…at all levels (institution, degree/program, course) and for all programs that aim to
foster student learning and development; a documented, organized, and sustained assessment process to evaluate and improve student learning;
evidence that student learning assessment information is shared and discussed with appropriate constituents and is used to improve teaching and
learning.
Describe below the department’s ongoing procedures for assessing student learning and using assessment results to improve teaching
and learning. In your description, please explain how the department fulfills each of the Middle States fundamental elements
above.
We have had an ongoing course assessment for nearly all our course offerings: CH-103, 127, 151, 152, 251, and 128. In all the
documents we have addressed the Middle States fundamental elements mentioned.
2a.
Departmental participation in self-study/program review during 2012-2013, if applicable
Program(s) reviewed: (GIVE FULL TITLE, i.e., A.A.S. in Digital Art and Design)
External Agency or Reviewers: (GIVE NAME OF AGENCY OR NAME OF REVIEWER[S])
Date of site visit
Major conclusions of self-study
Major conclusions of external reviewers
Resulting action plan
2b.
Program review follow-up
Action item from program review Timeline for completion
Accomplishments during current year
To conform with Pathways, the LS program underwent restructuring. The new and revised
program is academically more vigorous. For instance, there is more math requirement, more
sciences in the core, and higher level of science in the concentration.
3.
Course assessment
Courses assessed
(list individually)
CH 103
Relevant QCC Educational
Objectives
2. Use analytical reasoning to
identify issues or problems and
evaluate evidence in order to
make informed decisions.
3. Reason quantitatively and
Relevant Curricular Objectives (cite both
curriculum and objectives)
1. Observe, analyze and solve problems of arts
conservation (AM1).
2. Use analytical reasoning to identify issues or
problems and evaluate evidence in order to
make informed decision (LA1).
Evaluation of Assessment Results
This semester's assessment was the second
consecutive one to use a multiple-choice
format for the tool. As in the previous
semester, some students opted to leave
questions blank, despite being offered extra
Action plan
The decline in performance on the more
technical questions from Spring 2013 to
Fall 2013 is striking and deserves
investigation. A Fall course may contain
a larger proportion of first-semester
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Queensborough Community College
mathematically as required in
their fields of interest and in
everyday life.
Year-end Report – Teaching Department
3. Reason quantitatively and mathematically as
required in their fields of interest and in
everyday life (LA1).
4. Employ concepts and methods of the natural
and physical sciences to make informed
judgments (LA1).
credit for correct responses. The average
score among the 57 students completing the
assessment was 3.9 correct out of 8 questions.
This overall performance was significantly
better than random guessing would achieve,
but was somewhat below our expectations
and the results from the Spring of 2013.
Questions related to students’ understanding
of graphical representation of subtractive
color mixing were asked. Students scored 19
percentage points lower than expected (56%
actual outcome) in simply remembering
which two colors should be combined to give
a red color. Question 2 asked students to
identify the correct absorption plot for the
mixture of red paint. Only 37% of the
students correctly identified this plot (13
percentage points below our expectations). A
partially correct answer was the most
common incorrect response. On question 3,
this group of students underperformed
expectations by 17 percentage points, unlike
the Spring 2013 cohort who outperformed
expectations by 12 percentage points in their
understanding that absorption peaks appear
where light is absorbed, and thus we do not
see these colors, and that there are no
absorption peaks where light is reflected, thus
we do see these colors. Slightly more than
half of students correctly interpreted
reflection plots of combining artists’ blue and
yellow pigments, in line with expectations.
June 2013
students, for example, and some students
adjusting to college may weaken the
performance of the group. Continued
assessment will address whether
systematic differences between Spring
and Fall cohorts persist.
Instructors who are teaching this course
must continue to stress concepts of
subtractive color mixing and
interpretation of graphical representations
to improve student learning. One
instructor has now conducted a WritingIntensive (WI) sections of Chemistry and
the Arts for two semesters, and student
evaluations have been positive. It would
be interesting to assess WI and non-WI
sections separately, particularly with
regard to students ability to interpret
written work at the interface between
chemistry and art.

Look for systematic
differences between Spring
and Fall results

Renewed emphasis on core
concepts regarding light and
color
Future assessments may consider WI and
non-WI separately
Question 5 assessed students understanding of
balancing chemical equations. Only 58% of
students answered correctly, compared to our
expectation of 70%. We note that this
concept is among the most challenging in the
course, and that students have exceeded
expectations here in the past.
Question 6-8 assessed students’ ability to read
and interpret articles on art authentication.
Because these questions required more time,
students skipped them more frequently than
other questions. This spring semester there
was a 10 percentage point decrease from
expectations (60% of students in all, and
similar to the previous semester's result) that
correctly read and identified features from a
painting which can be observed by an
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Queensborough Community College
CH 151
 Use analytical reasoning to
identify issues or problems
and evaluate evidence in
order to make informed
decisions
 Reason quantitatively and
mathematically as required
in their fields of interest and
in everyday lifelong learning
Year-end Report – Teaching Department
1. Demonstrate proficiency in factual
knowledge and conceptual
understanding required for transfer to
the junior year in a baccalaureate
program in natural science,
mathematics, engineering, or computer
science or any other program in health
sciences. (LS1, PE1)
2. Demonstrate skills in mathematics to the
minimum level of basic calculus
concepts, including their applications to
science and/ or engineering. (LS1)
3. Demonstrate proficiency in acquiring,
processing and analyzing information in
all its forms as related to the field of
concentration. (LS1)
4. Use analytical reasoning skills and apply
logic to solve problems. (PE1)
5. Use quantitative skills and mathematical
reasoning to solve problems. (PE1)
6. Students will demonstrate competency in
the concepts and methods of the
foundation general chemistry courses
required for transfer to the junior year in
Forensic Science at John Jay College.
(SF1)
7. Demonstrate mastery of mathematics
and science required for transfer to the
junior year in a baccalaureate program
in Environmental Health or a related
program. (EH1)
analytical method. Fewer students (23%, less
than half of the expected 50%) correctly
understood why analytical methods or one
form of energy can penetrate a painted layer
and our eyes cannot. In reading and
understanding why the author concluded that
both artists must have sat next to each other to
complete both paintings at the same time, 22
percentage points above expectations (72% of
students in all) correctly mastered this skill.
Overall results on these question have so far
been consistent across semesters.
 Apparent decline in quantitative skills
compared to previous semester
 Typically uneven performance in critical
reading
Question #1: The most commonly chosen
response indicates that the students have learned
the names of common polyatomic ions but that
they have either not memorized the associated
charges or, if they know the charges, they are
unable to use them in conjunction with the
chemical formula to determine the charge on the
counter-ion.
From 2012 to 2014, the percentage of students
who picked the correct choice decreased by nearly
7 percentage points. In addition, the number of
students who picked the worst choice increased by
almost 13 percentage points. Finally, the number
of students who could correctly name the ions, but
could not determine their charges decreased by
nearly 10 percentage points.
Question #8: Furthermore, most of the students
consistently picked the “worst” response and very
few picked the two “second-best choices (which
are equivalent to each other). This suggests a
widespread misunderstanding of fundamental
chemical definitions (mixtures, pure substances,
elements, compounds).
From 2012 to 2014, the number of students who
chose the correct answer further decreased by
nearly 10 percentage points. There was a slight
decrease in the number of students who picked
the worst choice. More encouraging were
increases of nearly 7 percentage points for both of
the “second-best” choices.
June 2013
From 2010 to 2014, students have improved
in the area of mole ratios and chemical
formulas. Results have been consistent and
satisfactory in the area of “classic” (massmass) stoichiometry. Results have worsened
in in the area of chemical nomenclature and
also in visual models and classification of
matter. It is possible that previous
recommendations have not been implemented
by all instructors. It must also be considered
that in spring 2014, CH-151 consisted of ten
sections taught by nine instructors. While
there is a common syllabus for the course,
Chemistry Department policy and culture
allows each instructor to run their section
independently and generally without
interference. The course coordinators still
recommend practice along with exposure to a
wider variety of problems as the best ways for
students to improve in all areas assessed.
Instructors will be specifically encouraged to
show students the proper application of the
“criss-cross” shortcut and also to spend more
time working with visual models and
diagrams. A synopsis of the findings, plus a
bulleted action plan will again be distributed to
the instructors and they will be urged to act on
the results and recommendations.
Question #16: While most students can
successfully convert mass to moles, they were
typically unable to determine how many moles of
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Queensborough Community College
Year-end Report – Teaching Department
June 2013
atoms are in that many moles of the compound.
From 2012 to 2014, not only has the percentage of
students choosing the correct answer increased,
but also the percentage picking the second best
answer (partial solution to the problem) has
decreased by nearly 11 percentage points. Since
the percentage that picked the other choices has
remained relatively constant, this can be
interpreted as an overall improvement of student
understanding of this concept.
Question #21: Most students picked the correct
choice and the actual outcome was close to the
expected outcome.
CH 152
 Use analytical reasoning to
identify issues or problems
and evaluate evidence in
order to make informed
decisions
 Reason quantitatively and
mathematically as required
in their fields of interest and
in everyday lifelong learning
1. Demonstrate proficiency in factual
knowledge and conceptual understanding
required for transfer to the junior year in a
baccalaureate program in natural science,
mathematics, engineering, or computer
science or any other program in health
sciences. (LS1, PE1)
2. Demonstrate skills in mathematics to the
minimum level of basic calculus concepts,
including their applications to science and/
or engineering. (LS1)
3. Demonstrate proficiency in acquiring,
processing and analyzing information in all
its forms as related to the field of
concentration. (LS1)
4. Use analytical reasoning skills and apply logic
to solve problems. (PE1)
5. Use quantitative skills and mathematical
reasoning to solve problems. (PE1)
6. Students will demonstrate competency in
the concepts and methods of the
From 2012 to 2014, the number of students who
chose the correct answer decreased by nearly 5
percentage points to slightly below the 2010 level.
The number who picked the “worst” answer
increased by 6 percentage points to slightly above
the 2010 level. The number of students who
picked the choice involving at least the simplest
mole calculations fell slightly to the 2010 level.
Also, the number of students who chose the
second-best response rose very slightly, generally
suggesting that they can perform the most
common types of mole calculations.
In all, there has been little change in the outcomes
of this problem from 2010 to 2014.
Question #7: From fall 2012 to spring 2013,
results improved significantly. A greater
percentage of students picked the correct
answer over any of the incorrect answers.
The number of students who chose the
correct answer (order of the particular
reactant) increased by approximately 13
percentage points, while there was a
decrease of 11 percentage points for the
most common incorrect answer (overall
order of the reaction). This suggests that not
only are the students able to solve this
problem, but also that more of them are
reading and answering the actual question
being asked. There were very slight
decreases in the results for the other
incorrect choices.
Question #21: From fall 2012 to spring 2013,
the number of students who chose the
correct answer increased by approximately 5
percentage points. The number who chose
Our analysis and our experience indicates
that students often learn how to solve
specific problem types, rather than trying
to understand why they are set up as they
are, how to interpret their results, how to
make predictions, etc. Unfortunately, such
an approach results in students who
cannot proceed when confronted with
unfamiliar problems or scenarios. It is up
to the instructors to find a balance
between mechanical problem solving and
actual critical thinking. Overall, for
students to improve in the areas assessed,
the course coordinators recommend
practice (in and out of class) and exposure
to a wider variety of problems. This
should be coupled with an effort to
demonstrate how the math is connected
to the concepts and how concepts are
connected to each other. Students should
also be encouraged to reflect on their
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Queensborough Community College
Year-end Report – Teaching Department
foundation general chemistry courses
required for transfer to the junior year in
Forensic Science at John Jay College. (SF1)
7. Demonstrate mastery of mathematics and
science required for transfer to the junior
year in a baccalaureate program in
Environmental Health or a related program.
(EH1)
the “partial” solution (leaving out a step)
dropped significantly from ~22% in the fall to
~5% in the spring. While these results
indicate an overall increase in student
success, this was offset by an increase of
nearly 10 percentage points for students who
incorrectly dissociated the compound. There
was also a very slight increase in the
percentage of students who chose the
“worst” answer.
June 2013
work to determine if their answer “makes
sense”. This may serve to improve their
confidence and also help them to avoid
mistakes. Also important is that students
become comfortable with analyzing their
results by considering if they “make
sense”. A synopsis of our findings, plus a
bulleted action plan will be distributed to
the instructors who will be urged to act on
the results and recommendations.
Question #27: From fall 2012 to spring 2013,
the number of students who picked the
“worst” choice dropped by slightly more than
7 percentage points. However, this was
offset by slight drop in the percentage of
students who answered correctly, as well as
increases in the percent of students who
picked the other incorrect choices.
Question #30: From fall 2012 to spring 2013,
there was significant improvement in student
success on this problem. The number of
students who chose the correct answer
increased by 14 percentage points and there
were decreases in the percentages for all of
the incorrect choices.
Question #33: From fall 2012 to spring 2013,
student success improved for this problem.
There was not only an increase of 5.5
percentage points for the correct answer, but
also a decrease of approximately 15
percentage points for the “reverse” ranking.
But the number of students who chose either
of the “random” rankings also increased by
an average of 5 percentage points.
In this case, the data has been assessed for
two semesters in a row, first in the fall and
then in the spring. Results overall seem to be
better for the spring semester. This could be
because many of those students have just
completed CH-151 in the previous semester,
so they are well prepared for this course. In
contrast, students who take CH-152 in the
fall may have taken CH-151 in the spring.
Since more time has passed, they may be less
familiar with the prerequisite material.
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Queensborough Community College
Year-end Report – Teaching Department
June 2013
4.
Results of certification exams, employer and alumni surveys, student surveys, advisory board recommendations (if
applicable, please use the table below) Not applicable
5.
Other assessment activity Not applicable
F. DEPARTMENT GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
1.
Goals/objectives for 2012-2013
(Please indicate [Yes or No] if the objectives were part of the College’s Strategic Plan for 2011-2012.)
Departmental goals/objectives 2011/2012
Strategic Plan Y/N
Evaluation of achievement
Resulting action plan
Not completed.
2.
Goals/objectives for 2013-2014
(Explain how these goals/objectives align with the College’s goals and Strategic Plan for 2013-2014)
Departmental goals/objectives 2013-2014
1) We had requested in previous years (at least for 4 years) that 3 of our 4 teaching labs
are in real need for renovation. Many of the drawers are both outdated and too small
to fit glassware. No action has been taken in this regard.
2) As our research students are multiplying and faculty are taking on more students, it
would be ideal to think of building a 3rd research lab. Presently, there are too many
faculty and students who are sharing the limited lab space in S-406 and 410.
3) Our course assessment is ongoing and faculty update them per academic year.
Mission/Strategic
Plan
Planned method of evaluation
The best method of evaluating how
the research lab space has been
utilized productively is by the
number of students presenting at
various conferences as well as
faculty-led student co-authorship on
scientific articles.
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