Abstract
The hybrid General and Organic Chemistry courses have been designed to promote the development of students’ cognitive ability and confidence in utilizing chemical concepts. The approaches used could have utility in other courses focused on integrating skill development with critical thinking and reasoning. The course employs mediated learning strategies that extend beyond the classroom through question & answer blogs and online office hours. Data has been collected from more than 150 students over 3 years. Concept mastery has been evaluated using pre- and post-assessments. Results are compared to those of students in sections of the courses utilizing traditional methods for content delivery. Rubrics and grading checklists are used to better evaluate students’ competencies and approaches to problem solving. Online blogs, quizzes, surveys, peer-observations, and exams are used to determine which activities broadly benefit all students and to correlate students’ perceived value of course activities to their mastery of content. Preliminary outcomes show increased self- and peer-advocacy and a sustained motivation for science. In addition, this cohort outperforms those in traditional courses on standardized post-assessments. This session will provide an overview of the approach, associated technology, learning outcomes and behaviors, and best practices for developing assessed activities.
Location
Rooms 113 & 115
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Winfield, Leyte and Hibbard, Lisa, "Lessons from Chemists on Improving Learning Behaviors and Outcomes" (2015). SoTL Commons Conference. 63.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/sotlcommons/SoTL/2015/63
Lessons from Chemists on Improving Learning Behaviors and Outcomes
Rooms 113 & 115
The hybrid General and Organic Chemistry courses have been designed to promote the development of students’ cognitive ability and confidence in utilizing chemical concepts. The approaches used could have utility in other courses focused on integrating skill development with critical thinking and reasoning. The course employs mediated learning strategies that extend beyond the classroom through question & answer blogs and online office hours. Data has been collected from more than 150 students over 3 years. Concept mastery has been evaluated using pre- and post-assessments. Results are compared to those of students in sections of the courses utilizing traditional methods for content delivery. Rubrics and grading checklists are used to better evaluate students’ competencies and approaches to problem solving. Online blogs, quizzes, surveys, peer-observations, and exams are used to determine which activities broadly benefit all students and to correlate students’ perceived value of course activities to their mastery of content. Preliminary outcomes show increased self- and peer-advocacy and a sustained motivation for science. In addition, this cohort outperforms those in traditional courses on standardized post-assessments. This session will provide an overview of the approach, associated technology, learning outcomes and behaviors, and best practices for developing assessed activities.
