Instructional and Assessment Practices Used in Chemistry Courses at Two-Year Institutions: Results of a National Survey

Studies on the teaching and learning of chemistry at two-year institutions are sparse compared to studies at four-year institutions. Two-year institutions, though, serve a sizable number of students taking chemistry courses that eventually enter the workforce directly or seek advanced studies at four-year institutions. There is little understanding of the instructional and assessment practices enacted at two-year institutions compared to peer-reviewed studies on the instructional and assessment practices at four-year institutions. Our work in this study provides a starting point for understanding such practices. A national survey was administered to faculty members at two-year postsecondary institutions in the United States with a focus on three key chemistry courses: general chemistry, organic chemistry, and general-organic-biochemistry (GOB). Descriptive statistics are provided for discussing the use of instructional and assessment practices and their implications for teaching and learning. We found that instructional and assessment practices used by two-year institutions mirror those used by four-year institutions: for example, lecture-based instruction and summative assessment predominate enacted practices. Results of our work suggest there is an opportunity to reflect on the practices used in chemistry course contexts at two-year institutions and a call for increasing collaboration between two-year and four-year institutions to best support students across all postsecondary chemistry courses.