Raker Research Group

Our research is centered on four themes:

Learning in Organic Chemistry

How do learners ascribe meaning to reaction mechanisms?
How can we develop tools to measure such learning?
How can we design experiences to promote learning of reaction mechanisms and sophisticated reasoning?

Learning in Inorganic Chemistry

How do faculty members teaching inorganic chemistry respond to measures of learning and learners' affective experiences when seeking to transform their courses?

Image of a mortar board hat to represent the faculty development research conducted by the Raker Research Group

Faculty Member Professional Development

How do faculty members use assessments and the education research literature when developing and refining their instructional practices?

Image of a generic structural equation model to represent the measurement and psychometric research conducted by the Raker Research Group

Measurement and Psychometrics

How do we measure non-cognitive learning and affective experiences in the context of chemistry learning?
How do non-cognitive and affect measures inform course and program-level assessment?

Our research is currently funded through two National Science Foundation grants:

Jeffrey R. Raker, Principal Investigator

Jeff (he/him/his) is a Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of South Florida, having joined the faculty as an Assistant Professor in 2013.

He received his undergraduate degree in chemistry at Ohio Northern University (Ada, Ohio) in 2003, and a Master of Arts degree in college student personnel at Bowling Green State University (Bowling Green, Ohio) in 2005. Jeff obtained a Ph.D. in chemistry from Purdue University (West Lafayette, Indiana) in 2011 working with Professor Marcy Towns.

He was a postdoctoral research associate with the ACS Examinations Institute (hosted by Iowa State University at the time) from 2011 to 2013 with Professor Thomas Holme. Jeff additionally served as Associate Director of ACS Exams from 2015 to 2023.

Jeff has authored and collaborated on over 75 peer-reviewed publications (Google Scholar), contributed chapters to revised editions of the ACS Exams General Chemistry and Organic Chemistry Study Guides, given over 20 invited seminars and research talks, and contributed to over 120 conference talks, papers, and posters.

Jeff is a queer/gay chemist, proud uncle/guncle, Disney enthusiast, amateur baker and chef, and bow tie maker.