Aya Sakaya

My interests lie in chemical education practices, particularly within the field of physical chemistry. My goal is to help students understand how fundamental concepts in physical chemistry apply across all fields of chemistry, and to connect this knowledge to real-world applications. To achieve this, I focus on implementing student-centered learning approaches in both the classroom and tutorial sessions.

In the classroom, I strive to enhance student engagement and learning by demonstrating the relevance and ubiquity of physical chemistry, highlighting how these concepts connect to everyday life, current research, and technological advancements. I incorporate group problem-solving and polling, which not only engage students but also help them develop critical thinking skills and learn effective problem-solving strategies.

During tutorials, I emphasize active learning and peer-led activities, where students actively engage in and direct the session's progress. I encourage active problem discussions, where, rather than providing the correct answer directly, students are exposed to various thought processes and problem-solving strategies, guiding them towards solving the problem independently. Currently, I am looking into exploring the effects of implementing and combining different complementary active learning activities in tutorials on student understanding, test performance, and overall course experience.

I believe that chemistry education should extend beyond the classroom and laboratory. I am interested in sharing fascinating chemistry concepts with the public by creating new chemistry outreach events. These events would invite the public to interact with and explore the role of chemistry in everyday life and modern technologies through interactive experiments, hands-on demonstrations, public talks, and informational sessions.

If you are interested in collaborating on these initiatives through CHM 299Y or CTFP, please don’t hesitate to reach out!