CSU - Department of Chemistry and Physics Courses and Assessment

Courses offered in the current term can be found in the course bulletin. Courses taught by the department can be found in the course catalog. Chemistry majors desiring to sign up for a course advising time should use the chemistry advising page. Physics majors should contact the departmental office (x2180) to be connected to the advisor on duty.

Assessment is strongly linked to our classroom practices and many of the revisions in our classes have been guided by the results of these assessment tools. Faculty and students in our department write papers and give presentations on curriculum revision and our department has been successful in obtaining grants to revise our chemistry and physics courses. For more information on our teaching and learning innovations please click the teaching innovations page in the menu bar or click here. The department uses assessment formatively and summatively.

Formative assessment enables faculty to modify instruction to ensure students are comprehending content. For instance, several of the introductory physics and chemistry courses use "clickers" to gather real time data on student understanding. During lecture, a professor can pose a multiple choice question which students immediately answer using a clicker. The professor has immediate feedback on student understanding, and students are actively engaged in problem solving even in larger lecture classroom.

Summative assessment enable the department to reflect on teaching outcomes to improve courses each semester. The faculty actively engage in summative assessment or courses in the following programs: chemistry, physics, physical science general education, pre-service chemistry teaching, and pre-service physics teaching. Click on the following links to learn more about student accomplishment in our programs and means by which the department is improving it's educational programs.