RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES IN CHEMICAL EDUCATION AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS

1. TECHNOLOGIES University of Texas • Automation • Robotics • New Instrumentation • WWW • Computerized Data Acquisition • Simulations CHEMICAL EDUCATION PROGRAM Come Build the Future With Us NEW PROJECTS NOT YET STARTEDHOW ABOUT YOU AS THE PIONEER IN THESE AREAS? 1. The effectiveness of general education science requirements for producing scientific literacy in non-science majors. 2. Can the introductory chemistry laboratory courses be successfully adapted to distance learning? 3. Can the introductory chemistry laboratory courses be successfully adapted for non-science majors? 4. Teaching to accommodate learning styles. 5. Development of a research component for introductory chemistry laboratory courses. 6. The use of automated instrumentation in introductory chemistry laboratories. 7. The use of concept mapping for improving proving problem solving. 8. The use of microchemistry systems in introductory chemistry laboratories. RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES IN CHEMICAL EDUCATION AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS CHEMICAL EDUCATIONGROUP MEMBERS  Dr. J.J. Lagowski Dr. R.E. Davis Dr. K.K. Stewart Dr. A.J. Banks Dr. R.E. Wyatt David Adcock Brian Arneson Gloria Brown Wright Mike Elliott Fatima Fakhreddine Brad Herrick Donna Lyon Stacy Sparks TAMING THE BEAST:IMPROVING LARGE INTRODUCTORY COURSES We have been working to adapt previously successful cooperative learning methods in an effort to make them feasible for use in large (n = 300-500) introductory chemistry classes in terms of finances and TA time demands. We have studied the effects of these programs on student course achievement, achievement in subsequent courses, and student interest in chemistry. Two separate programs have been developed and studied. The first involved a study of the importance of session size and duration. We determined that small, traditional cooperative learning sessions can, over the course of the semester, be merged into larger sessions and tapered down to less frequent weekly meetings without sacrificing achievement gains. In the second study we recruited students after the first exam to participate in a series of Review and Practice sessions - five sessions total over a period of three weeks. The sessions focused equally on exam one and exam two material and also encompassed applicable study skills. These sessions were successful, with participants gaining an average of twenty percentage points on exam two as compared to the control group. The effect of these sessions on overall course achievement and interest in chemistry is currently being investigated. DISTANCE LEARNING An ever-expanding recognition persists that many of the intellectually challenging and important practical problems are those soluble from a perspective and insight of chemistry—the premier molecular science. Conventional instructional methods involving “lecture” and “laboratory experiences” are being hard-pressed to provide effective instruction about how chemists solve problems. The application of technology-oriented tools, which have been so effective in transforming the non-academic workplace, are only now being considered as possible vehicles for chemistry instruction. More importantly, a careful consideration of such tools suggests they might be useful in a number of Distance Learning Scenarios that are likely to become important soon. We stress the learning aspect of the educational process [as opposed to teaching] because it is a skill that is becoming increasingly valued for professionals as the half-life of knowledge decreases. It is not so much the digital technology tools that are important in this project, that is, how to deliver instructional material, but, rather, what to deliver and for what reason. This evolving project incorporates more-or-less conventional interactive digital technologies generating, distributing, collecting, and evaluating the classic elements of instruction—lectures, homework, examinations, laboratory experiences; clearly, these elements of instruction must be altered to accommodate to the extant technology which is the focus of the intellectual struggle in this project. MAKING INTRODUCTORY CHEMISTRY LABORATORIESRELEVANT, PERTINENT, AND INTERESTING We suggest that many science students have trouble seeing the relevance of most introductory chemistry laboratories and often are “turned off” by these laboratories. We are developing and teaching alternate introductory laboratories with the general goals of: teaching “critical thinking”; providing “hands-on” experience in laboratory experimentation; teaching good laboratory practices; training the students in techniques used in their majors; and creating (maintaining) enthusiasm in the students for chemistry. We have designed and taught an intensive, in-depth, integrated, team-oriented introductory chemistry laboratory course, using a using undergraduate research as a model, focused on the theme of making and evaluating quantitative chemical measurements. The experiments utilized common chemical techniques used by the life sciences and computerized data acquisition and analysis. The laboratory samples were mostly drawn from the supermarket. By our measures, this course was a success. We are continuing our development of alternative introductory laboratories. See our web site at www.cm.utexas.edu/~stewart/CH204. INTENSIVE CHEMISTRY SEMINARS AND STUDENTS’ ACHIEVEMENT Intensive Chemistry Seminars, (ICS), is a supplemental, enrichment and enhancement course for chemistry and biochemistry majors. Our goals are to provide opportunities for deeper exploration of chemistry, integrate students into the departmental community more quickly, and develop study skills that will be useful in many contexts. Special features of this course include cooperative learning, individual attention, and special lectures and lab tours. The results of our pilot study showed that ICS was very effective in increasing students' achievement in chemistry. The study also showed that cooperative work is a feature-key in that course especially when implemented from a Zone of Proximal Development perspective. Currently we are investigating the depth effect of ICS on students' concept understanding, problem solving, self-esteem, self-efficacy and attitude toward chemistry. Our ultimate goal is to standardize ICS and make it an official supplement to general chemistry I and II for chemistry and biochemistry majors. SEMESTER-LONG, INTEGRATED HOMEWORKS Ever wonder what it would be like to give one homework assignment for the entire semester and make it an integral part of your final course assessment? Enter the contingent question, or what we call ‘the novella”: a continuous story line that introduces concepts/topics from the syllabus presented parallel with the lecture. It is an integrated web-based system that is student interactive (they can query data on their own) and has a series of checks and balances to keep them on task (‘mini-assessments’ to ensure participation and understanding). Novellas have a central theme to them that puts the student in the role of investigator or forensic chemist. They have badge numbers (student ID’s), an ‘office’ to report to, a lab section with instruments to process their unknowns (all on-line), a ‘department chief’ that keeps them on track by asking for progress reports, and a summation to render (‘who started the fire?’, ‘was the sample from the asteroid?’, etc). The aim of the program is to get chemistry students to see a relationship between what is presented in lecture and a practical application. Research continues as to best methods of presentation, instructor convenience/ease, and theme development. ON THE ROLE OF THE LABORATORY IN LEARNING CHEMISTRY Our study will investigate the role of the laboratory in learning chemistry. Although teaching chemists have expressed opinions on what students gain from the laboratory experience, no one to our knowledge has ever undertaken a study to show what students do gain. Popular opinion suggests that the thinking/reasoning skills of students might be improved by their participation in laboratory experiences, and we intend to determine if that idea is in fact true. University chemistry departments invest a great deal of resources, both in personnel and capital, in teaching laboratory courses, no doubt in part due to the culture of our discipline. A clearer focus on what students gain, if anything at all, may improve instruction in these courses and cause us to rethink the boundaries between the lecture and laboratory portions of any chemistry course. Furthermore, a better understanding of what is unique to the laboratory situation could direct us to what might be effectively simulated by other techniques, reducing risk, cost, and demand on the department's teaching laboratories, while at the same time opening opportunities for distance education. LEARNING TO TEACH LEARNINGAN UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM OF PEER TEACHING The challenge for the twenty-first century is the development of science educators who have mastered the knowledge and skills needed to teach in the disciplines they have chosen. We have answered this challenge by providing methods in which future chemistry teachers may achieve these goals. As a part of an ACS approved curriculum leading to a BS in chemistry with a teaching option, we have established a cohort of undergraduate students identified as peer teaching assistants (pTA’s). The pTA’s are (1) assisting The Department in developing the details for four (4) new courses to be associated with the new degree. In addition, the pTA’s are obtaining considerable “on-the-job training” as leaders of multiple group discussion and recitation sessions for a large general chemistry lecture class and as teaching assistants in traditional and nontraditional general chemistry laboratories. QUIZ DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM (QDS) One important method by which a student obtains an understanding of his/her comprehension of scientific topics is by answering questions about those topics. Homework is one mechanism by which we evaluate that comprehension. Crucial to this task is the timely marking (assessment) of the work, recording of the grade, and returning the work by the faculty member. Feedback to the student concerning a correct method of solving a problem is essential. A complication occurs when there is a need to provide multiple individualized homework sets for large classes. Any electronic delivery method needs to recognize the diversity of computing platforms currently in existence. Internet browsers provide an almost universally accepted stage from which materials can be delivered. QDS provides an answer for these requirements. Once the instructor provides a set of questions, including ranges for variables, QDS can provide a set of homework questions that are unique to each student. Authentication of the student's enrollment in a class is provided via recognized protocols (e.g. the UT-EID system). Present QDS recognizes short answer, numeric, and multiple choice formats. Work is continuing on the assessment of answers that are of paragraph length.