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Use of Technology in General Chemistry Course Redesign
David V. DeardenBrigham Young University
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General Chemistry Course Structure
Conceptual, “atoms first” approach
No concurrent lab
Mixed application for mixed clientele:
1-semester, stand-alone course for engineers
first of a 2-semester series in general chemistry for many others
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General Chemistry Students
Pre-professional (30%), engineering (40%), science majors (15%), others (15%)
~85% have had high school chemistry, but course is taught with no prerequisites
Typical enrollment 2500 students/year
250 students/lecture (3x/week)
25 students/recitation section (2x/week)
Dropout/withdraw/fail typically < 10%
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Challenges
Large sections
little personal interaction
inability to give adequate, personal feedback
diversity of student preparation/background
Course content (volume!)
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Goals in Using Technology
Engage students during lecture
Give individual feedback
Do this without
sacrificing content
increasing instructor load
I use technology primarily for pedagogical reasons; assessment is a distant secondary purpose
this avoids potential concerns about security /cheating
“I love technology”
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Redesign Strategies We Have Used
Use of recitation sections
Use of Blackboard / “Micro Exams”
Use of Chem Tutor
Use of iClicker quizzes
Use of online homework (Mastering Chemistry)
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In-Class Interactive Quiz
SystemsKeep students engaged
Easy way to track attendance
Allow instructor to monitor learning and adapt teaching
Costs to students
Requires change in teaching methods
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iClicker Adoption (all voluntary)
HITT at BYU was first used in Physics (adopted in Chemistry soon thereafter)
Requires IR receiver installation and line-of-sight; nice recording/grading package
Turning Point adopted university-wide
Requires PowerPoint; Windows-centric; relatively expensive; grading unwieldy
Transition to iClicker about 2 years ago
Good combination of low cost, small tech footprint, features; grading package weak
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iClicker “Best Practices”
Spread questions through lecture
Mix “participation” questions with “right answer” questions
Get students to teach each other
Re-poll to assess learning
Adjust lecture based on student understanding
Allow ample “drops”
Transmitter registration9
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iClicker Outcomes
Students generally liked using the system
Attendance improved markedly (from about 60% at end of term before using iClickers to ~90% after using them)
My teaching style has changed as a result of using the immediate feedback
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Online HomeworkUse provided problems or write your own (or use a mixture)
Gives graded feedback
can be in form of “hints” or answer-based instruction
Instructor can monitor
Computer does the grading
Learning curve for students and instructor 1
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MasteringChemistry Implementation
Faculty participation was voluntary in Fall ’07
By Winter ’08, all sections had adopted
Ranged from 1st time teachers to a retired faculty member who returned to teach
“Easier than I thought it would be”
Use has since spread to the follow-on course (Chem 106) and to 2 courses in the GOB series 1
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MasteringChemistry “Best Practices”
Use the publisher-provided best practicesHave students do introductory exercisesAllow ample retries with small penalties for looking at hints
points are like candy!give most of the credit for completing
Allow ample “drops”Be flexible with due dates early onLeave problems available for reviewWork problems yourself before allowing student access
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Student PerceptionsDearden General Chemistry, Fall 2007
"How helpful to you is each of the following in learning general chemistry"
0.00
10.00
20.00
30.00
40.00
50.00
60.00
1 2 3 4 5Effectiveness ranking (1=low, 5=high)
Perc
en
t an
sw
eri
ng
(of
~4
50
stu
den
ts)
lectures
recitation
end-of-chapter problems
MasteringChemistry
ChemTutor
Textbook
3.74 ± 0.90
3.97 ± 1.04
2.32 ± 1.23
4.35 ± 0.95
4.10 ± 1.09
3.38 ± 1.07
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Exam ScoresBefore & After Mastering Chemistry
25.0
35.0
45.0
55.0
65.0
75.0
85.0
95.0
Macro1 Macro2 Macro3 Final
% M
ean s
core
on e
xam
s
W07 Mean (Before)
F07 Mean (After)
54.5 ± 24.5%54.5 ± 24.5%
60.6 ± 21.7%60.6 ± 21.7%
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Acknowledgments
BYU Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry
Chem 105 instructors
BYU Physical Science 100 program and instructors
National Science Foundation
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