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_Journal of Chemical Education 437

10.1021/ed100867m Published on Web 02/14/2011

In the Classroom

A Treasure Hunt for ChemistryAdam J. Bridgeman, Peter J. Rutledge, and Matthew H. Todd*School of Chemistry, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia*matthew.todd@sydney.edu.au

Ricky ConnorSydney eLearning, Institute for Teaching and Learning, The University of Sydney,NSW2006, Australia

Engaging students in their chemistry studies is an ongoingissue across the globe, especially as classes become increasinglylarge and diverse. In addition to the need for students to acquiresubject-specific, chemical knowledge and procedural attri-butes (1), faculty teaching first-year students have a responsibilityto facilitate students' socialization and the development oflearning skills. The first-year experience plays an important rolein students' success in later years at university, as well as inretention (2-4). Although there is some debate aboutthe effectiveness of traditional “orientation week” socializationand learning-skills events on academic achievement (5), there isevidence that embedding the desired outcomes of these sessionswithin a discipline-specific learning environment is more valu-able (6). For example, attendance at orientation-week eventsintroducing learning management systems (LMSs) is generallypoor (perhaps because staff and students overestimate priorcomputer-literacy skills) (7), necessitating remedial sessions inclass time.

In seeking to develop meaningful activities within ourfirst-year chemistry courses that address these collegiate objec-tives, we are also mindful of the pedagogical benefits of con-

currently encouraging early student-faculty contact, coopera-tion among students, and active learning (8, 9). In particular,we sought an activity that would foster collaborative and socialinteraction among groups of laboratory students while alsoencouraging an appreciation of the role of human activity inchemistry and the influence of chemistry in shaping our uni-versity and society (10).

A new kind of activity for undergraduate chemistry classes,which we call a “treasure hunt”, is described. The activity hasbeen designed to (i) encourage students to work actively togetheroutside the classroom, (ii) provide an orientation to the physicalgeography and important locations on the campus, (iii) intro-duce students to important features of the LMS such as thediscussion board, blog, and assignment upload features, (iv)challenge students with questions beyond the formal syllabus,and (v) provide an interesting and engaging coursework assign-ment that could be used in both large and small units of study,providing interaction with faculty and delivering rapid feedback.The treasure hunt satisfies these objectives and has been runsuccessfully with a number of undergraduate classes, ranging insize from 40 to over 500 students.

Figure 1. How the Treasure Hunt Works. Two questions generate grid coordinates, and a third question identifies an object in that location. Thelocations, when connected, generate the structure of a molecule: the “treasure”.

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How the Game Works

A series of questions are posed that define physical locationsaround the university campus. When presented on a map, theselocations generate the line structure of a molecule, which is theoverall “treasure”. The winning team is the first to provide thename of this molecule having successfully identified and photo-graphed all the individual locations throughout the treasurehunt.

Students are provided with a link to a publicly available mapof the campus onwhich an A-Z and 1-30 grid is superimposed,so that each square is specified by a letter and a number (Figure1). Students are sorted into groups of four or five according totheir laboratory schedule to build connections within existingcollaborative groups, although the allocation could be random.We have found that the treasure hunt works well with studentgroups of four and five, but this number can be varied as required.We have used the game to support an introductory organiccourse (the example shown in Figure 1); however, the clues onlyrequire a letter and a number as answers, and the game is easilyadaptable to other university and preuniversity courses. Forexample, atomic symbols and numbers could be utilized toprovide clues in a general chemistry course.

Each week, students are provided with three questions. Theanswer to the first question is a letter and the answer to thesecond is a number. Together these specify the grid square ofinterest for that week. These two questions are chemical innature and tie in with material being covered in lectures at thetime, but are more challenging than those encountered in lectu-res or tutorials. Students are encouraged to work through thequestions with the other members of their group using a privateblog or discussion group on the LMS.

The third question refers to a physical object located in thatweek's grid square on the map, and this question is as chemicallyrelevant as the campus geography allows. (Examples from TheUniversity of Sydney campus include the small painted icons oforganic molecules over an arched door, an architrave embossedwith the name of Becquerel, and statues of Gilgamesh andConfucius.) Successfully locating the desired object indicates tothe students that they are in the correct grid square and that theiranswers to the other two questions were correct. Students areasked to take a picture of this object and upload the imagethrough the LMS as the answer to the week's question. Academicstaff are alerted by e-mail to the submission and can mark this ascorrect or return the assignment as incorrect with suggestions forrighting it, in which case the assignment remains open and the teammembers are allowed to submit another answer. Staff have theopportunity to provide feedback on incorrect answers (e.g., “Close,but your letter is wrong; you need to check the stereochemistryagain.”) or positive encouragement for correct answers. To avoidplagiarism and ensure the whole team is involved, for several objects,students are required to submit a photograph that includes a teammember in the field of view. The clues, locations, and the order inwhich they are released, together with the final treasure, are alteredfrom one year to the next to remove the chance of previousparticipants assisting their junior colleagues.

New questions are released each week automatically, eightquestions over eight weeks as the eight “pieces of eight”. Thefinal clue is released at midnight on a Friday night, and wehave seen teams waiting for the last clue in real time in order torace to the final treasure. This level of interest means that staff

must closely monitor submissions, in order to correct andreturn any erroneous submissions quickly, given the timefactor.

The treasure hunt generates a series of points on a map. Tohelp the students identify the treasure molecule's structure, theorder of the clues can bemade so that the vertices of the moleculeappear in sequence, but this is not necessary. In one treasurehunt, the clues were not sequential and the treasure was the chairform of cyclohexane. In others, the clues have been releasedsequentially to reveal treasure of octane, 1-methylcyclohexane, orcyclohexene (pictured in Figure 1). Repetition of grid squaresusing different questions to provide the required letter andnumber allowed the use of a double bond. (The default is thateach vertex represents an sp3-hybridized carbon, but notes for agiven week can specify a particular vertex as a heteroatom,differently hybridized center, or other variation.) In a nonorganiccourse, any relevant structural or molecular entity could beadopted as the treasure. Examples might include VSEPR molec-ular shapes or even Lewis structures.

Members of the winning team are presented with prizes inclass, and the treasure hunt contributes to assessment for thosewho complete it successfully. We employ a scoring function ofone mark per correct weekly clue (piece of eight) plus two marksfor correct identification of the treasure, giving a possible total often. (Students may substitute this mark for their worst tutorialmark in the semester, giving a reason for students to complete theexercise even if not a member of the winning team.)

Summary

Students who participate in this hunt engage with theirpeers and the campus and must develop and demonstratecompetent use of the LMS, including its assignment submissionand blog or discussion board facilities. The nature of the activitymeans that these competencies are developed “hands-on”through peer support and with minimal staff input required.

The treasure hunt was conceived and works well as anundergraduate chemistry exercise, with a molecule as the treas-ure, but the basic format is readily adapted and could be appliedto almost any subject, at any level from high school to post-graduate. The location is not limited to a university campus andcould instead span other urban areas or even a whole city:anywhere with a readily accessible grid map and interesting itemsto seek (11).

Acknowledgment

We thank The University of Sydney for its support of thisactivity via the funding on an eLearning Strategic Learning andTeaching Project.

Literature Cited

1. Jones, A. High. Educ. 2009, 58, 175–191.2. Tinto, V. Rev. Educ. Res. 1975, 45, 89–125.3. Tinto, V. Leaving College: Rethinking the Causes and Cures of

Student Attrition; University of Chicago Press: South Ellis, IL,1987.

4. Tinto, V. Plan. High. Educ. 1996, 25, 1–6.5. McKenzie, K.; Schweitzer, R. High. Educ. Res. Dev. 2001, 20,

21–33.

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6. Peat, M.; Dalziel, J.; Grant, A.M. Innov. Educ. Teach. Int. 2000, 37,293–303.

7. Reid, I. In Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the AustralianSociety for Computers in Learning and Tertiary Education, CurtinUniversity, Perth, WA, Dec 8-10, 1997; p 486-491.

8. Chickering, A.; Gamson, Z. F. Am. Assoc. High. Educ. Bull. 1987,39, 3–7.

9. Chickering, A.; Ehrmann, S. C. Am. Assoc. High. Educ. Bull. 1996,49, 3–6.

10. Mahaffy, P. J. Chem. Educ. 2006, 83, 49–55.11. We would be delighted to hear if other faculty run the treasure

hunt, so that an online resource can be assembled to sharethese experiences. Please feel free to e-mail the correspondingauthor.