About

Dr. Shirly Avargil’s chemistry education research group focuses on understanding and improving teaching and learning chemistry at high school and higher education levels.

Discipline-Based Educational Research combines expert knowledge of a science discipline and the challenges of learning and teaching in that discipline.

Within this broad field, we investigate (a) students’ conceptual understanding of core ideas in chemistry education, (b) science and chemistry teachers’ views, concerns, and assessment knowledge in a setting of educational reform, (c) alternative learning methods and learning environments to enhance chemistry learning and 21st-century skills – chemistry-based escape room.

We study how (a) students learn chemistry concepts, what instructional approaches might improve their understanding, and why they choose chemistry as their major (b) teachers developed expertise and ways of thinking in science and chemistry education, and (c) how educators and researchers can contribute to classroom practice.

There is ongoing interest in teachers’ knowledge and educational assessment, specifically in teaching and assessing students through alternative instruction and assessment methods. Paper and pencil assessments do not meet the advanced needs of the 21st century. Alternative ways of teaching and assessment promote meaningful and active learning and prepare students to cope with the challenges of the 21st century, however, teachers’ pedagogical approaches do not always support the development of such competencies. In chemistry, alternative methods of assessment are particularly important due to their abstract nature and the difficulty of developing conceptual understanding.