Professor of Teaching, Chemistry
School of Physical Sciences

Chemistry Education and Inorganic Chemistry

www.chem.uci.edu/people/faculty/rdarasas/

Instructional Technology Innovation Award, 2008
Lecturer of the Year Award, 2006
Teaching Excellence Award, 2003
School of Physical Sciences Award for Outstanding Contributions to Undergraduate Education, 2003
Campus Village Housing, Professor of the Month, March 2003
Faculty Career Development Award, 2002
Instructional Development Award, 1999
Favorite Professor in the School of Physical Sciences, UCI TEACH Manual, 1995
Clorox Award for Outstanding Graduating Ph.D., UC Davis, 1988

Postdoctoral Fellow, University of California at Santa Barbara
Member of the faculty, University of the Pacific
Joined UCI faculty in 1998

Research in our group is devoted to both chemistry education and inorganic chemistry. In chemistry education, our research focuses on exploring ways in which innovative instructional materials and methods can be used to enhance student learning in courses with very large enrollments. One aspect of our work examines the efficacy of server-based learning tools on student achievement, on facilitating understanding of complex scientific processes and concepts, and on developing effective problem solving skills. Student use of these technologies, and the learning outcomes, are assessed using quantitative and qualitative research methods. Another aspect of our work examines means of assessing student learning using knowledge structures (mental constructs of how information within a given domain of knowledge are organized) and how this structure changes during the learning process. By tracking student learning that is measurable through theories for the assessment of knowledge (drawing on theories of knowledge space), we are investigating approaches to assess students cognitive organization of conceptual chemical knowledge. We will use this information to understand difficulties that students new to chemistry have in setting up problems, in transferring knowledge to new settings, and in interpreting complex patterns.

Using Knowledge Space Theory to Assess Student Understanding of Chemistry, Taagepera, M.; Arasasingham, R. D. in Knowledge Spaces: Applications in Education, Falmagne, J. –C.; Dietrich, A.; Doble, C.; Hu, X., Eppstein, D. Eds., Springer–Verlag: London, 2013, pp 115–128.

Integrating Symmetry in Stereochemical Analysis in Introductory Organic Chemistry, Taagepera, M.; Arasasingham, R.D.; King, S.; Potter, F.; Martorell, I.; Ford, D.; Wu, J.; Kearney, A. M. Chem. Educ. Res. Pract., 2011, 12, 322.

Online Homework and Student Achievement in a Large Enrollment Introductory Science Course, Arasasingham, R. D.; Martorell, I.; McIntire, T. M. J. Coll. Sci. Teach., 2011, 40, 70.

Assessing the Effect of Web-Based Learning Tools on Student Understanding of Stoichiometry Using Knowledge Space Theory, Arasasingham, R. D.; Taagepera, M.; Potter, F.; Martorell, I.; Lonjers, S. J. Chem. Educ., 2005, 82, 1251.

Using Knowledge Space Theory To Assess Student Understanding of Stoichiometry , Arasasingham, R. D.; Taagepera, M.; Potter, F.; Lonjers, S. J. Chem. Educ. 2004, 81, 1517.

A Cross-Institutional Analysis of the Effect of Web-Assisted Tools on Visualization and Proportional Reasoning in General Chemistry, Gonzalez, B. L.; Arasasingham, R. D.; Wegner, P. A. Spring 2003 CONFCHEM on Non-Traditional Teaching Methods, ACS Division of Chemical Education, March 28 - May 9, 2003 (http://www.ched-ccce.org/confchem/2003/a/).

Following the Development of the Bonding Concept Using Knowledge Space Theory, Taagepera, M.; Arasasingham, R.; Potter, F.; Soroudi, A.; Lam, G. J. Chem. Educ. 2002, 79, 756.

Link to this profile
https://faculty.uci.edu/profile/?facultyId=4577

Last updated
08/30/2018