@article{gallardo-williams_dunnagan_2022, title={Designing Diverse Virtual Reality Laboratories as a Vehicle for Inclusion of Underrepresented Minorities in Organic Chemistry}, volume={99}, ISSN={["1938-1328"]}, DOI={10.1021/acs.jchemed.1c00321}, abstractNote={Equal access to an instructor’s time and attention can be a barrier experienced by many underrepresented minorities. An instructor’s own biases will determine the nature of their interaction with students, and even well-meaning instructors can interact with students in differential ways, which might prevent certain students from having access to the material in the class. This is an insidious problem, which may or may not be recognized in peer and student evaluations, and an issue that might escape self-reflection even in educators that are committed to diversity and inclusion. This issue conflates both actual and perceived biases, introducing a complex dynamic between instructor and student. Virtual reality (VR) provides an avenue to generate materials that can be used to enhance or replace classroom instruction with a great degree of realism. Our approach at NC State University was to design VR laboratories that were as inclusive and diverse as possible. This encompassed sourcing content and tapping talent from students that represented a broad range of races, gender identities, and ethnicities. These realistic simulations offer the advantage of minimizing instructor bias (since the instructor generates the material in the absence of the students) while offering students that might struggle with the instructor in a personal setting the opportunity to experience the best that the instructor has to offer. Analysis of the data collected in a user study of VR materials created for organic chemistry laboratories offers insights into the way that students interact with VR instructors. Comments provided by underrepresented minority students point to the perceived impartiality of the instructor, ability to engage with the material independently, and remote access as some of the desirable features of the experience.}, number={1}, journal={JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION}, author={Gallardo-Williams, Maria T. and Dunnagan, Cathi L.}, year={2022}, month={Jan}, pages={500–503} }
 @misc{paye_dunnagan_tredwell_gallardo-williams_2021, title={Connecting the Dots: Lewis Structure Builder Web App as a Review Tool for Organic Chemistry}, volume={98}, ISSN={["1938-1328"]}, DOI={10.1021/acs.jchemed.1c00213}, abstractNote={Lewis structures are a very important, foundational concept in chemistry. Students usually acquire this knowledge in General Chemistry and need to review it in preparation for Organic Chemistry. However, many students find the task of drawing Lewis structures to be challenging, and not all instructors can budget enough time in class to review this material when they start Organic Chemistry. To address this issue, we created a web application (web app; Lewis Structure Builder) that lets students review Lewis structures in their own time, allowing them to position individual atoms, build and break bonds, and get real-time feedback on the accuracy of their structures. The web app was designed to be intuitive, requiring very little training to use, and students could use desktops, laptops, or mobile devices to participate. In working through a sequence of target molecules to build, students had the freedom to try out different atomic structures to see what works and receive real-time feedback about their decisions. Upon successful completion of a molecule, students received visual and haptic feedback as a form of positive reinforcement. Afterward, students saw their solution next to the same molecule shown as an extended structure and as built using a model kit. A pilot study was conducted with 37 students who were enrolled in Organic Chemistry I. Participants were given an assessment to determine their level of proficiency in drawing Lewis structures, followed by an opportunity to use the web app and a post-test. After using the web app, 21% of the participants showed improved outcomes, and most students reported satisfaction with the user interface and perceived benefits from the experience.}, number={8}, journal={JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION}, author={Paye, Ciana L. and Dunnagan, Cathi L. and Tredwell, David A. and Gallardo-Williams, Maria T.}, year={2021}, month={Aug}, pages={2704–2708} }
 @article{dunnagan_gallardo-williams_2020, title={Overcoming Physical Separation During COVID-19 Using Virtual Reality in Organic Chemistry Laboratories}, volume={97}, ISSN={["1938-1328"]}, DOI={10.1021/acs.jchemed.0c00548}, abstractNote={As a result of the COVID-19 disruption experienced in Spring 2020 many institutions had to close their doors and move their courses online. Our team used an existing set of virtual reality (VR) organic chemistry laboratory experiences developed for students with accessibility challenges as an online replacement for the face-to-face Organic Chemistry I laboratory. Although the materials used had been tried with a limited number of distance education students prior to their wide release, some technical challenges were experienced due to the large scale of the class, such as the inability to provide VR viewers for all the students enrolled, and lack of student access to reliable wifi for streaming videos after moving off-campus. In addition to technical difficulties, students experienced attitude challenges due to the global pandemic conditions and a very fast change from face-to-face instruction to online delivery of materials. This paper describes how these circumstances were overcome in order to finish the course, and how the VR experiences were shared with other institutions in an open access model.}, number={9}, journal={JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION}, author={Dunnagan, Cathi L. and Gallardo-Williams, Maria T.}, year={2020}, month={Sep}, pages={3060–3063} }
 @article{dunnagan_dannenberg_cuales_earnest_gurnsey_gallardo-williams_2020, title={Production and Evaluation of a Realistic Immersive Virtual Reality Organic Chemistry Laboratory Experience: Infrared Spectroscopy}, volume={97}, ISSN={["1938-1328"]}, DOI={10.1021/acs.jchemed.9b00705}, abstractNote={Using virtual reality (VR) in educational settings is becoming increasingly popular. The feasibility of replacing an instrumentation-based organic chemistry lab with a VR experience has been evalua...}, number={1}, journal={JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION}, author={Dunnagan, Cathi L. and Dannenberg, Devran A. and Cuales, Michael P. and Earnest, Arthur D. and Gurnsey, Richard M. and Gallardo-Williams, Maria T.}, year={2020}, month={Jan}, pages={258–262} }
 @article{box_dunnagan_hirsh_cherry_christianson_gibson_wolfe_gallardo-williams_2017, title={Qualitative and Quantitative Evaluation of Three Types of Student Generated Videos as Instructional Support in Organic Chemistry Laboratories}, volume={94}, ISSN={["1938-1328"]}, DOI={10.1021/acs.jchemed.6b00451}, abstractNote={This study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of student-generated videos as a supplement to teaching assistant (TA) instruction in an undergraduate organic chemistry laboratory. Three videos covering different aspects of lab instruction (experimental technique, use of instrumentation, and calculations) were produced using student-generated scripts. A laboratory classroom was outfitted with video cameras and sound recording equipment that allowed the research team to monitor all TA–student and student–student interactions. Six course sections led by three randomly assigned TAs were selected. Two sections from each TA were observed (control and treatment), each at the same time of day, 1 week apart. Students in the control group had their TA conduct the lab briefing and supervise the lab, but were given no access to the instructional videos. The treatment group had videos available to supplement the TA’s lab briefing but was otherwise identical to the control group. Both groups were given a questio...}, number={2}, journal={JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION}, publisher={American Chemical Society (ACS)}, author={Box, Melinda C. and Dunnagan, Cathi L. and Hirsh, Lauren A. S. and Cherry, Clinton R. and Christianson, Kayla A. and Gibson, Radiance J. and Wolfe, Michael I. and Gallardo-Williams, Maria T.}, year={2017}, month={Feb}, pages={164–170} }