Nathan Grove
Professional Appointments and Affiliations
Teaching Professor of Chemistry
Associate Director of the Grove Center for Excellence in Science Education
Education
Post-doctoral scholar, Clemson University, 2008 – 2010
Ph.D., chemistry, Miami University, 2008
M.S., chemistry, Youngstown State University, 2005
B.S., chemistry and secondary education, University of Pittsburgh, 2003
Research
As chemistry education researchers, our research uses educational, psychological, physiological, and sociological methods to elucidate the mechanisms of learning and how we as chemical educators can better support students. In the Grove Lab, we study changes in cognitive load – the cognitive resources a particular topic requires students to use simultaneously. In instances where resource requirements exceed capacity, students can become overwhelmed and subsequent learning can be hindered. This, in turn, can cause measurable changes in physiological metrics like heart rate and brain activity.
With recent advances in technology, these metrics can be collected wirelessly, unobtrusively, and in real time, substantially expanding the types of studies our group can engage in. We encourage you to check out some of our more recent publications, and should you be interested in joining us in our work, please reach out to Dr. Grove!
Selected Publications
Amir Hakim, K.; Bishop, A. B.; Enneking, K. M.; Nogle, J. E.; Paulson, E. T.; Gampp, T. W.; Grove, N. “Charting the shadowed forest: An inventory of cognitive load inducing topics and skills in organic chemistry.” Journal of Chemical Education, 2024 forthcoming.
Duffy, P. L.; Gampp, T.; Amir Hakim, K.; Coleman, A. F.; Enneking, K.; Laforest, K. V.; Paulson, D. M.; Paulson, E. T.; Shepard, J.; Tiettmeyer, J. M.; Mazzarone, K. M.; Grove, N. “Form versus function: A comparison of Lewis structure drawing tools and the cognitive loads they induce.” Journal of Chemical Education, 2019, 96, 238-247.
Balok, R. S.; Coleman, A. F.; Enneking, K. M.; Gampp, T. W.; Tiettmeyer, J. M.; Duffy, P. L.; Mazzarone, K. M.; Grove, N. P. “Connecting form and function: Understanding the role that cognitive load plays in students’ ability to construct representations of chemical structure.” In Cognitive Load Measurement and Application: A Theoretical Framework for Meaningful Research and Practice, Robert Zheng (Ed.) Routledge: New York (2018).
Coleman, A. F.; Balok, R. S.; Tiettmeyer, J. M.; Duffy, P. L.; Mazzarone, K. M.; Gampp, T.; Grove, N. “Unraveling the complexities: An investigation of the factors that induce load in chemistry students constructing Lewis structures.” Journal of Chemical Education, 2017, 94, 282-288.
Cranford, K. N.; Tiettmeyer, J. M.; Chuprinko, B. C.; Jordan, S.; Grove, N. “Measuring overload: The use of heart rate as a means of measuring chemistry students’ cognitive load.” Journal of Chemical Education, 2015, 92, 641-647.