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How to impart tacit knowledge – Blending Chess and Chemistry

How to impart tacit knowledge – Blending Chess and Chemistry. Simon Bedford and Jon Mason The University of Bath. The Challenge of Retrosynthesis. Students struggle Counterintuitive Chemical Chess 1 Tacit Knowledge 2 Practice essential. Previous Teaching Methods. Lectures

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How to impart tacit knowledge – Blending Chess and Chemistry

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  1. How to impart tacit knowledge – Blending Chess and Chemistry Simon Bedford and Jon Mason The University of Bath

  2. The Challenge of Retrosynthesis • Students struggle • Counterintuitive • Chemical Chess1 • Tacit Knowledge2 • Practice essential

  3. Previous Teaching Methods • Lectures • Workshops and Tutorials • Teach large cohort of students efficiently • Enthusiasm and Context • Initial knowledge of students varies3 • Teacher-centred, passive learning • Primary role is transferring information4 • Limited practice Problem: Students need more opportunity to apply what is learnt in lectures

  4. Blended Learning “The provision of supplementary resources for courses that are conducted along predominantly traditional lines through an institutionally supported virtual learning environment” 5 • Flexibility and Accessibility • Cost and Time • Variety • Student Choice and Control

  5. Aims • Exploratory Study: To identify the extent to which students struggle with the retrosynthesis course and the topics they find most problematic • Resource Development: To produce online learning materials to enhance the teaching and learning of retrosynthesis • Development Study:To evaluate these resources from both a student and teacher perspective

  6. Exploratory Study • Workshops and Tutorial • Written Answers on Moodle • Animated Video Answers on Moodle • Questionnaire and Interviews

  7. Exploratory Study Results • Students struggled most with: • Choosing the best disconnection • Knowing real reagents for synthons • Recall of 1st year Functional Group Interconversions (FGIs) • Identifying Selectivity Issues • Students wanted a variety of delivery methods

  8. Resource Development • Pre-lecture Lessons and Quiz • Lecture Slides • Narrated Lectures • Synthon Matching Quizzes • Disconnections Quiz • FGI Tool and Quiz • Worked Examples • Practice Questions • Selectivity Videos

  9. Development Study • Student Perspective • Exam Results – 2007 vs 2006 • Resource Usage Statistics • Questionnaire • Teacher Perspective • Evaluation by external academic staff

  10. Development Study Results Student Performance • Improvement over last year • Significantly more Firsts in 2007

  11. Development Study Results Resource Usage • High uptake • Improved performance

  12. Development Study Results Questionnaire • Feedback was positive • Resources aided exam preparation “The extra support on Moodle was helpful and much appreciated.” (Laura Fedorciow, BSc Chemistry with Management and SSLC Representative) “The interactive format of this revision material was a welcome break from ordinary revision, and was much more effective than just reading the relevant information.” (David Cutcliffe, MChem Chemistry)

  13. Development Study Results External Evaluation • Resources highly rated • Complementary to lectures “I have lectured on [retrosynthesis] for many years and I find this package very good…This package will help the students a lot.” (Dr Paul Jenkins, Senior Lecturer, Department of Chemistry, University of Leicester) “They allow students to go away and think out the steps needed for synthesis problems at their own pace – giving time for reflection which formal lectures do not give.” (Dr Hazel Wilkins, Lecturer, School of Life Sciences, Robert Gordon University)

  14. Development Study Results External Evaluation • Areas for improvement highlighted • Evaluation required • Full development recommended “What is needed are packages like this one that are then evaluated.” (Dr Bill Byers, Senior Lecturer, School of Health Sciences, University of Ulster) “I would encourage you to continue with this development, we would certainly use it if it was available at a reasonable price.” (Dr Paul Jenkins, Senior Lecturer, Department of Chemistry, University of Leicester)

  15. Conclusions • High uptake • Student performance increased by 18% • Greater satisfaction with the learning process • Highly rated by teachers

  16. Further Work • Full development: • Completion of lecture course • Improvement of pre-lecture • Collaborative resources, e.g. Wikis • Various formats – Moodle, Website • Rigorous evaluation • Multiple institutions

  17. Acknowledgements I thank Jonathan Mason, University of Bath, for his work on the project and for producing some wonderful resources. I also thank the following for their help and feedback: Dr B. Byers, Dr G. Currell, Dr D. Davies, Dr J. Eames, Dr P. Jenkins, Prof T. Overton, Dr H. Wilkins, Dr M. Willis, N. Parmar, C. Martin References • M. Polanyi, Tacit Knowing: Its Bearing on Some Problems of Psychology, Reviews of Modern Physics, 1962, 34, 601-616. • C. Willis and M. Wills, Organic Synthesis, Oxford: OUP, 1995 • D. Laurillard, Rethinking University Teaching: a framework for the effective use of educational technology, London: Routledge, 1993 • D. Bligh, What’s the Use of Lectures?, Exeter: Intellect, 1998 • R. Sharpe, G. Benfield, G. Roberts and R. Francis, The undergraduate experience of blended e-learning: a review of UK literature and practice, HE Academy, http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/research/Sharpe_Benfield_Roberts_Francis.pdf, 2006 Any Questions?

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