Daisy
Haas
Chapman Universary, Orange, CA
Major: Chemistry BS
Daisy is a rising senior, majoring in chemistry at Chapman University. Both of her parents are teachers (kindergarten and sixth grade), so she says she has grown up surrounded by the love of fostering education and instilling the importance of academia. In high school she fell in love with chemistry and now in college her interest in STEM education has grown. She has worked in a cancer research center, something she became interested in, as her father is a cancer survivor. Although she loved the research, she missed the social aspect on human interaction. Given that, one of her professors helped her find an education research program and she became part of the RIT REU program this summer.
Working with Tina Goudreau as a faculty STEM education research mentor, Daisy is studying the results of a re-designed lab, which Goudreau has designed to increase engagement between students with each other and students with their instructor. Utilizing the Meaningful Learning in the Laboratory Instrument (MLLI), Daisy is looking at survey results from 600 valid data points dating back to 2016 given to students in their first semester of organic chemistry from various universities before and after delivery of this new lab style to assess the benefits.
She says she has learned much from working with Dr. Goudreau, who demonstrates her commitment to caring about how her students learn. Goudreau’s lab workbook provides inquiry-learning exercises that replace traditional pre-lab instructor lectures. The method encourages problem solving with peers, and “stop signs” throughout the workbook signaling when to engage with their instructor before going forward. This is an alternative to a lab delivery utilizing solely the experimental procedure.
Upon graduating, Daisy would love to be a college chemistry professor, own her own business providing professional development for K-12 teachers, specifically in STEM education. She wants to give teachers a resource to help improve their students’ confidence and critical thinking skills.