University of Colorado Denver College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Bio

Over the past seven years my research interests have shifted from chemical education in higher education to chemistry and science education in the K-12 arena, specifically in the area of middle level teacher professional development. I am collaborating with Mike Jacobson in Mathematics and Carole Basile in the School of Education and Human Development and am the Principal Investigator and Co-Project Director for the Rocky Mountain-Middle School Math and Science Partnership (RM-MSMSP), an NSF-funded, $12.5 million project that links UCDHSC with four other higher education institutions and seven partner school districts in the Denver metropolitan area. Through this project we have developed over 20 content-focused professional development courses in science and mathematics, with follow up pedagogically-focused courses linked to each content course. These courses have been taken by over 400 teachers in the Denver area, and many teachers have taken multiple courses. We are currently involved in a massive research effort to determine the direct and indirect impact of teacher level content-focused professional learning on student achievement. In addition, in the summer of 2010 we added a Research Experience for Teachers aspect to the project, which has proved significantly successful.
We are currently preparing a proposal for a second targeted MSP.

Select Publications

(2010) Kimbrough, Doris R. and Chick-Jensen, Anna, "Using the Melamine Contamination of Foods to Enhance the Chemistry Classroom," J. Chem. Educ., 87:496.

(2008) Basile, C. & Kimbrough, D.R. "Veritable quandary of teacher math and science content knowledge," J. School Math and Science, 108:44.

Kimbrough, D.R., Cooper, S. (2008) "English Language Learners in the Chemistry Classroom" in Teaching Chemistry using the NSES. ACS Publishing: Washington, DC.

Casanova, R. S.; Civelli, J. L.; Kimbrough, D.R.; Heath, B. P.; Reeves, J.H., (2006), "Distance Learning: A Viable Alternative to the Conventional Lecture–Lab Format" in General Chemistry. J. Chem. Educ., 83:501

Kimbrough, Doris R. (1999) "On-Line 'Chat Room' Tutorials—An Unusual Gender Bias in Computer Use." Journal of Science Education and Technology, 8:227.

Courses Taught

CHEM 2031, 2061: General Chemistry I & II

CHEM 3411, 3421: Organic Chemistry I & II

Chemistry content workshops for middle school teachers