My research interests focus on students' thinking and reasoning about fundamental chemistry concepts. The studies that I published as part of my doctoral and post-doctoral work on students' mental models of acid strength and students' use of short-cut reasoning strategies (i.e., heuristics) show that organic chemistry students have difficulty using implicit and explicit cues to rank structures of acids from least acidic to most acidic. I use my own research and other published research in chemistry education to inform and guide the instructional strategies and assessment practices that I use in my chemistry courses.