I am particularly interested in understanding the difficulties and challenges faced by students in introductory chemistry classes. The introductory chemistry courses have a very diverse population of  students including social science, engineering, and allied health majors, and thus present a unique opportunity to understand these difficulties. Students’ future success in more advanced courses and the development of an appreciation about the natural phenomena depends on having a solid foundation in these introductory chemistry courses, so it is important to understand these problems at an early stage of their college education. An understanding of chemistry is fundamental to the basic science literacy of our future citizens and is, again, necessary in order to appreciate the natural world.

My research interests also include, but are not limited to, determining  the influence of guided-inquiry activities, the use of educational technology, and the understanding of the particulate nature of matter on students’ performance in chemistry classrooms, exploring students' learning styles and problem-solving procedures, and investigating the effectiveness of different teaching strategies on students' understanding of chemical concepts.