An evaluation of first year chemistry students: class performance versus use of Internet-based supplementary materials

Over the last seven years the author has developed a suite of web-based supplemental materials for first year chemistry students. The intention of the web site materials is to provide a myriad of resources so students with different learning styles will have the best opportunity to perform well in class, as well as provide resources available to students with varied work, class, and family schedules. These materials cover class topics for introductory, general, engineering, nursing, and chemistry major classes, and include well over 250 files including: • administrative materials (announcements, syllabus, lecture/laboratory schedule); • narrative format edited lecture notes (Lecture Packets); • old examinations, as practice test and with detailed explanations of answers; • interactive practice problems, with hints for wrong answers; • course specific discussion areas; • take home quizzes as Acrobat files, and answer keys; • detailed explanations to current examinations; • grade access; and • course discussion area. The edited lecture notes are intended to serve two purposes: save class time by removing the need for students to take many notes and copy problems; and improve student learning by providing an environment where students listen, analyze, and integrate ideas instead of taking dictation. Was it worth the time spent creating these files? How did students use these materials? Did it make any difference in their level of learning or performance in the subject? If nothing else, did they find the materials useful? We are all confident that our web resources are useful to our students, but if we know more about what materials are used, and how, we can focus energies on those materials that make the most difference to students – especially the poorest performing students

The potential of virtual laboratories for distance education science teaching: reflections from the development and evaluation of a virtual chemistry laboratory

A virtual chemistry laboratory has been developed at Charles Sturt University, based on an accurate 3D model of the Wagga Wagga undergraduate teaching laboratory. The initial version of the virtual laboratory has been designed to enable distance education chemistry students to become familiar with the laboratory prior to their residential school. It allows for free exploration and for collecting and assembling items of apparatus. It also allows students to read information about the items of apparatus and about laboratory procedures. This paper describes the current features of the virtual laboratory and discusses the pedagogical rationale for its development. Results from questionnaires completed by pilot testers and by the first group of students who used it as part of their laboratory orientation are included. The results of tests comparing the laboratory familiarity of students who used the virtual laboratory with those who viewed equivalent still images are also presented. The paper concludes with a description of features to be added during the next stage of development, which will include the ability for students to undertake virtual experiments while exploring concepts using macroscopic, molecular and symbolic representations

What factors contribute to students’ confidence in chemistry laboratory sessions and does preparation in a virtual laboratory help?

Many undergraduate students studying chemistry subjects at Charles Sturt University (CSU) do so by Distance Education (DE). CSU has been offering subjects in chemistry in distance mode for more than 20 years. One of the greatest problems that confronts us, and others (Hollingworth and McLoughlin 2001; Kennepohl and Last 2000) in providing DE subjects is how to adequately address the teaching of a laboratory component. The practical work for CSU DE chemistry subjects is completed at intensive three or four day residential schools. Thus, DE students have only a few days to face the challenges that are spread out over many weeks for on-campus students. Providing a quality laboratory experience for these students within that short period and within the constraints of our resources is the subject of ongoing review at CSU. Problems associated with high stress and information overload for the laboratory component in DE had been noted anecdotally and in the literature (e.g., Loonat 1996). Adequately preparing DE students for residential school is a difficult task. One strategy we have adopted to help prepare DE students has been the provision on CD-ROM of a 3D virtual laboratory, which is an accurate representation of the teaching laboratories. In a paper at last year’s UniServe Symposium (Dalgarno, Bishop and Bedgood 2003), we hypothesised that as a pre-laboratory familiarisation tool, the virtual laboratory would include the following potential benefits: • students would feel more relaxed and comfortable in the laboratory; • less laboratory time would be wasted looking for items of apparatus; • students would be more likely to assemble and use apparatus in the correct way leading to more meaningful experimental results; and • students could devote more of their attention to the chemistry concepts involved in the experiments because they would already be familiar with the procedural aspects of the task (p. 91). This paper presents the results of a qualitative and quantitative study of the laboratory experience of DE students in first year chemistry subjects which provides initial tests of these hypotheses, as well as expanding our understanding of factors involved with the student experience of laboratory

Developing leaders of change in the teaching of large university chemistry classes

Final report of the the Active Learning in University Science (ALIUS) project. This project aims to establish a new direction in first year chemistry teaching – away from didactic teaching methods in large lecture style teaching to more active, student centred learning experiences. Initially six universities have been involved in practice-based innovation: Charles Sturt University (NSW), The University of Sydney (NSW), Curtin University of Technology (WA), The University of Adelaide (SA), Deakin University (Vic), University of Tasmania (Tas).Three domains have been identified as the architecture upon which sustainable L&T innovation will be built. These domains include Learning and Teaching innovation in project leaders’ and colleagues’ classrooms, development of project leaders as Science Learning Leaders, and creation of a Science Learning Hub to serve as a locus and catalyst for the development of a science teaching community of practice.Progress against specified outcomes and deliverablesLearning and Teaching InnovationThe purpose of this domain is to improve student learning, engagement, retention and performance in large chemistry classes through increased use of student-centred teaching practice.• The Project is named: ALIUS (Active Learning in University Science) - Leading Change in Australian Science Teaching• All six ALIUS universities have now implemented Teaching Innovation into ALIUS team member classrooms• Chemistry colleagues at three ALIUS universities have now implemented Teaching Innovation into their classrooms• The ALIUS member in physics has implemented Teaching Innovations into his classrooms• Chemistry colleagues at three ALIUS institutions have tried some Teaching Innovations in their classrooms• Non-chemistry colleagues at four ALIUS institutions have tried, or expressed an interest in trying, Teaching Innovations in their classrooms• The POGIL method has proved to be a useful model for Teaching Innovation in the classroom• Many classroom resources have been developed and used at several ALIUS institutions; some of these have been submitted to the ALIUS database for public access. The remainder will continue to submitted• Two seminars about Teaching Innovation have been developed, critiqued, revised, and presented at five ALIUS universities and three non-ALIUS universities• Particular issues associated with implementing Teaching Innovations in Australian classrooms have been identified and possible solutions developed• ALIUS members have worked with Learning and Teaching Centres at their universities to share methods. Developing Science Learning LeadersThe purpose of this domain is to develop leadership capacity in the project leaders to equip them with skills to lead change first at their institutions, followed by developing leaders and leading change at other local institutions• ALIUS members participated in Leadership Professional Development sessions with Craig McInnis and Colin Mason; both these sessions were found to be valuable and provide context and direction for the members and the ALIUS team• The passion of an ‘early adopter’ was found to be a significant element in each node of the distributed framework• Members developed an awareness of the necessity to build both the ‘sense of urgency’ and the ‘guiding coalition’ at each node• ALIUS found the success of the distributed framework is strongly influenced by the relational aspects of the team.Create a Science Learning HubThe online Hub serves as a local and national clearinghouse for development of institutional Learning Leaders and dissemination of L&T innovation.• The ALIUS website is now active and being populated with resources• The sharing resource database structure is finalised and being populated with contributed materials. Lessons LearntIn order to bring about change in teaching practice it is necessary to:• demonstrate a convincing benefit to student learning• show that beyond an initial input of effort classroom innovations will not take more time than what is now done• maintain a prominent exposure among colleagues - repeatedly give seminars, workshops, and everyday conversations; talk about teaching innovation; talk about easy tools to use; invite people to your classroom; engage colleagues in regular peer review of classroom practice• have support from people already present in leadership roles to lead change in teaching practice• have a project leader, someone for whom the project is paramount and will push it forward• find a project manager, even with money budgeted• meet face-to-face.Dissemination• Seminars presented 19 times including over 400 individuals and more than 24 Australian universities• Workshops presented 25 times, over 80 participants at 11 Australian and two New Zealand Universities• Two articles published in Chemistry in Australia, the Australian Chemistry Industry Journal of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute• One refereed paper published in the Journal of Learning Design

ALIUS: Active Learning in University Science: Leading Change in Australian Science Teaching

The ALIUS project is about leading change in the teaching of chemistry in large university classes. ALIUS is a collaboration of six Australian universities funded by an ALTC Leadership for Excellence in Learning and Teaching Grant (LE8-818). The aims of this project lie in three domains: • Development of project members as Science Learning Leaders • Development of the skills of project members in practice-based learning and teaching innovation • Creation of a virtual Learning Hub Methods being used to achieve these aims are: • Leadership- professional development in leadership specifically targeted at fostering change in academic teaching practice • Learning and Teaching Innovation - the U.S. NSF funded POGIL project will be used as a model for teaching innovation. Experienced POGIL instructors and facilitators brought from the U.S. run workshops and consultancies with ALIUS project members to build member skills in teaching innovation. • The learning hub (http://www.alius.edu.au/) will serve as a resource to share experiences in building teaching innovation, developed materials, resources about innovative teaching methods This presentation will introduce the ALIUS project together with results and experiences of the project so far, including: • Experiences in implementing new teaching practices • Experiences in motivating changes in teaching practice of colleagues • Answers to uniquely Australian problems in implementation of POGIL style activitie

The development of teaching skills to support active learning in university science (ALIUS)

This paper describes an Australian Learning and Teaching Council funded project for which Learning Design is encompassed in the broadest sense. ALIUS (Active Learning In University Science) takes the design of learning back to the learning experiences created for students. ALIUS is not about designing a particular activity, or subject, or course, but rather the development of a method, or process, by which we have re-designed the way in which learning occurs in large university classrooms world wide