Jerry Suits
Associate Professor
University of Northern Colorado
USA
Biography
Jerry Suits is currently working as an associate professor in Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at University of Northern Colorado, USA. He completed his PhD from University of Texas at Austin in Science education, Chemistry. He teaches general chemistry, philosophy of science and graduate courses in chemical education and science education. He has currently had 5 graduate student researchers in chemical education. He is the PI for a POGIL/Hach Scientific Foundation Grant to evaluate the effectiveness of POGIL as an innovative instructional strategy in high school chemistry classrooms across Northern Colorado.
Research Interest
Dr. Suits' research focuses on the factors that affect how students learn chemistry. He has found that most students tend to be memorizers (a learning style) until they have acquired a certain amount of chemical knowledge (a critical mass) that allows them to become conceptualizers (i.e., they are able to form concepts out of facts and rules). Conversely, some learners continue to use only memorization skills that rely on algorithms rather than thinking strategies. All of these cognitive processes are probably interlaced with affective processes, that is, learners either appreciate the real world applications of chemistry or they avoid this integration.