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Title
Assistant Professor of Professional Practice
Area of Study/Expertise
Chemistry Education Research
Office Location
A104 Wright-Rieman Laboratories
Phone Number
(848) 445-9088
Email
mnm111@chem.rutgers.edu

Marc Muñiz

Professor

Background

Marc N. Muniz is an Assistant Professor of Professional Practice in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology.  Marc earned his Ph.D. in Chemistry from North Carolina State University (Raleigh, NC) and his B.S. in Chemistry from Montclair State University (Montclair, NJ).

Marc with TRIAD on research and professional development efforts, including the analysis of student learning outcomes in general chemistry and workshops to transform teaching and learning by implementing student-centered, equity-oriented, and research-driven practices.  He conducts research on predicting student outcomes in General Chemistry as a function of students’ study strategies and other factors.  Marc has run, and currently runs, semester support groups (made possible by the Teaching Excellence Network at Rutgers – see TRIAD colleagues Mary Emenike and Chaz Ruggieri) that engage some of his colleagues in improving assessment item design based on best practices from the research literature.  Part of this work involves conducting various forms of item response analysis to determine the performance of items on summative assessments.  Marc also helps colleagues revise items and develop targeted feedback to students based on item performance.

Marc is a P.I. on a collaborative grant (NSF DUE 1726071) to examine student learning outcomes in physical chemistry laboratory environments, with a particular emphasis on environments that implement process oriented guided inquiry learning (POGIL) as their pedagogical approach.  Using the tools of mixed-methods research, Marc’s team aims to characterize student learning with respect to shifts in their perceptions of meaningful learning, the fidelity of implementation of the curriculum, and the strength of students’ content knowledge.

 

External Funding

National Science Foundation (NSF) DUE Award #1726071.  “Collaborative Research: POGIL-PCL: Student learning in the laboratory through sustained faculty development”. August 2017 – July 2021, $532,384.

 

Select Publications (Bold indicates corresponding author)

  1. Muñiz, M. N.; Altinis-Kiraz, C.; Emenike, M. E. Extending Equity, Access, and Inclusion: An Evolving Multifaceted Approach to Transform a General Chemistry Course at a Large, Flagship, Research Institution. J. Chem. Educ. 2022, 99, 227-238. 
  2. Grushow, A; Hunnicutt, S.; Muñiz, M.; Reisner, B. A.; Schaertel, S.; Whitnell, R. Journal of Chemical Education Call for Papers: Special Issue on New Visions for Teaching Chemistry Laboratory. J. Chem. Educ. 2021, 98, 3409-3411.
  3. Atieh, E. L.; York, D. M.; Muñiz, M. N. Beneath the Surface: An Investigation of General Chemistry Students’ Study Skills to Predict Course Outcomes. J. Chem. Educ. 2021, 98, 281-292.
  4. Beck, J. P.; Muniz, M. N.; Crickmore, C.; Sizemore, L. Physical chemistry students’ navigation and use of models to predict and explain molecular vibration and rotation. Chem. Educ. Res. Pract. 2020, 21, 597-607.
  5. Schmidt-McCormack, J. A.; Muniz, M. N.; Keuter, E. C.; Shaw, S. K.; Cole, R. S. Design and implementation of instructional videos for upper-division undergraduate laboratory courses. Chem. Educ. Res. Pract. 2017, 18, 749-762.
  6. Muniz, M. N.; Crickmore, C.; Kirsch, J.; Beck, J. P. Upper-Division Chemistry Students’ Navigation and Use of Quantum Chemical Models. Chem. Educ. Res. Pract. 2018, 19, 767-782.
  7. Muniz, M. N.; Oliver-Hoyo, M. T. On the use of analogy to connect core physical and chemical concepts to those at the nanoscale. Chem. Educ. Res. Pract. 2014, 15, 807-823.
  8. Muniz, M. N.; Oliver-Hoyo, M. T. Investigating Quantum Mechanical Tunneling at the Nanoscale Via Analogy: Development and Assessment of a Teaching Tool for Upper-Division Chemistry. J. Chem. Educ. 2014, 91, 1546-1556.
  9. Muniz, M. N.; Oliver-Hoyo, M. T. An Acoustic Analogy: Tuning Forks and Surface Plasmon Resonance of Metallic Nanostructures. J. Nano Educ. 2011, 3, 45-50.

Teaching

Marc is currently the lecturer for Chem 163 (Honors General Chemistry 1) and teaches active learning recitations for Chem 166 (Extended General Chemistry 2) and Chem 164 (Honors General Chemistry 2).