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Scientist, Educator, Researcher & Consultant
My name is Alan Szeto (in Chinese, my full name is pronounced "See-toe Kar Fai"). On this website, you will find
information and links to other websites that will give you an idea who I am, where I am (and was for the past 10 years or
so), what I do (and did), and what I am interested in, professionally.
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| Taken at Point Loma, San Diego, in 2006 |
GO UCLA!!! Listen to "The Mighty Bruins"
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| Taken with Professors Bassam Shakhashiri and J. J. Lagowski in Singapore in 2005 |
My interest in CHEMISTRY EDUCATION RESEARCH has
deep roots in my passion for teaching chemistry in the first place. Chemistry education
is a rapidly growing field of scholarly interest. For example, as our understanding of students' learning
difficulties in university chemistry develops, we can make better decisions based on this understanding regarding curriculum,
pedagogy, etc., in building stronger chemistry and other relevant science educational programs in universities. On the
other hand, bridging the gap between the faculty's and the students' expectations of each other in realizing the goals of
higher education in a scientific discipline has a monumental impact on the overall quality of tertiary science education that
students can receive. Toward these two goals, my research has focused on several key issues: students' achievements
and difficulties in developing various chemistry concepts and in solving genuine chemistry problems; students' ways of learning
chemistry studied from the cognitive science's perspective, including the role of context; effective instructional strategies,
including collaborative learning, inquiry-based, problem-based, project-based, and laboratory-centered instructions, and the
use of computers such as web-based learning and computer-assisted instructions (CAI); chemistry teacher education, and the
survey of faculty's and students' expectations and experiences on various aspects of chemistry curriculum and educational
objectives.
More about me
Click here to read about my research interests
Click here to see a list of my publications
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I was born September, 1974, in the British-ruled city of Hong Kong, which has become a Special Administrative Region (SAR)
of China since 1997. I was raised and educated in Hong Kong until 1990, when I came to the United States to continue
and complete my high school studies in Irvine, California. Then, I completed my A.A. (1994) at Irvine Valley College
and my B.S. (1996) and M.S. (1997) in physical chemistry at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
UCLA is still my most favorite university campus after all these years. After UCLA, I attended Teachers College, Columbia
University, and earned my Ed.M. (2001) and Ed.D. (2003) degrees in chemistry education with Professor O. Roger Anderson.
In January 2007, I began my post-doctoral studies in nanoscale science and engineering education at Purdue University with
Professor George M. Bodner.
I started teaching chemistry professionally in 1996 as a teaching assistant at UCLA. Since then, I had had the opportunity
to explore teaching and education as a faculty member in many different tertiary institutions in the world, including
returning briefly to Hong Kong (2001-2002) and spending a period of three years in Singapore (2003-2005). I have been
involved in chemistry (and to an extent, mathematics) programs at different levels from elementary school science
(that's right!) to upper undergraduate levels, but mostly at the beginning and intermediate undergraduate levels. My
interests lie mainly in physical, theoretical, and environmental chemistry, although I have also been teaching introductory,
general, basic organic and biochemistry, and advanced analytical chemistry courses. I have also been involved
in a graduate course in educational research methodology. In short, I have lived my life in Asia and North America,
in small towns and big cities, in schools of all kinds, and my passion for CHEMISTRY and EDUCATION has always been strong.
Click here to read my teaching philosophy
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| Taken with the speakers at a forum during a chemistry education symposium in Singapore in 2003 |
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| An Alternative View of the Singapore Cargo Terminals with the City Skyline in the Background |
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Contact me
Last update: September 12, 2007, by Alan Szeto
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