Department of Chemistry

Education

• Ph.D., Science Education, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 2007. Dissertation: The beliefs and practices of general chemistry students and faculty members regarding knowledge transfer: A phenomenographic study.
• MS, Chemistry (Chemical Education), Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 2001. Thesis: Distance education: Bridging the gap between chemistry and chemical engineering.
• BA, Chemistry with ACS Certification, Knox College, Galesburg, IL, 1998.

Interests and Expertise

My research interests are in the field of chemical education. I am interested in exploring the variety of ways that students think about, learn and apply chemical knowledge, both in the classroom and in the lab. In particular, I am fascinated by the phenomenon of knowledge transfer, or the process by which students can take information learned in one context and apply it to another.

Courses

• CHEM 101 Chemistry for Elementary Teachers
• CHEM 115 Chemistry and Society
• CHEM 121 and 122 General Chemistry I lecture and lab
• CHEM 312 Teaching Elementary Chemistry
• CHEM 407 Nature of Science for Elementary Teachers

Publications and Presentations

• Odeleye, O.O., and Johnson, A.F. (Manuscript submitted for publication). The relationship between students' definitions of chemistry and their attitudes towards the discipline. Journal of Chemical Education.
• Johnson, A.F. (in press). Chemistry for elementary and middle school teachers. Washington, DC: American Chemical Society.
• Armitage, R.A., Bates, J., Johnson, A.F., and Lindsay, H. (2011). A creative scientific inquiry experience in organic chemistry and quantitative analysis: Pharmaceuticals in the river raisin. In M.A. Benvenuto, E. S. Roberts-Kirchhoff, M. N. Murray, and D. M. Garshott (Eds.), It's all in the water: Studies of materials and conditions in fresh and salt water bodies (pp. 51–60). Washington, DC: American Chemical Society.
• Johnson, A.F., and Rutherford, S. (2010). Transfer of knowledge in science courses for elementary education majors. Journal of College Science Teaching. 39(4), 80–88.

Grants, Honors and Awards

• Ronald W. Collins Distinguished Faculty Award, Teaching I, 2010

Professional Affiliations

• American Chemical Society
• National Association for Research in Science Teaching
• National Science Teachers Association