Ginger Schultz, Department of Chemistry at the University of Michigan, describes an investigation of student information-seeking behaviors during problem-based organic chemistry laboratory experiments. This study used discourse analysis of student planning sessions and student work to understand how students apply information literacy skills when solving organic chemistry problems. She then describes how their findings were used to inform the design of a set of online learning modules developed in collaboration with Dr. Ye Li to promote the development of skills in an organic chemistry context.

Dr. Ginger Shultz is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry at U-M. She completed her doctorate in polymer chemistry at the University of Oregon and transitioned to education-focused research through a teaching postdoc in Chemistry at U-M. In 2013 she was named a U-M Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow and she was hired as faculty in 2016. Shultz’s research is focused on investigating student learning in problem-based organic chemistry laboratory courses, how graduate students instructors develop teaching knowledge, and writing-based strategies for learning in STEM.

Emergent Research Series events are aimed at better understanding the new ways in which research relies on the work of libraries and information professionals, and where cutting-edge research pushes past what libraries currently support.