Using audio for feedback on assessments: Tutor and student experiences

Recently we have been providing individual audio feedback to 1st and 2nd year undergraduate Chemistry students on a variety of assessments (posters, laboratory reports, laboratory diaries) with the aim of providing richer, more detailed and more comprehensible individual feedback than is possible within the same timeframe using written feedback. In this communication, various aspects of the use of audio for feedback are discussed including practical and technical aspects of the recording of audio files whilst viewing and assessing student work, the transmission of these files to individual students, our experiences as tutors of providing audio feedback and the experiences and views of students on audio feedback

10 years of curriculum change viewed through the lens of student workload

The past decade has seen significant changes to the Chemistry course at Keele including two curriculum reviews, the COVID-19 pandemic, and a more gradual evolution of how we teach, particularly including flipped classroom methods. Student workload provides a means of quantifying the impact of these changes and is also a valuable tool in ensuring that all learning and teaching activities have sufficient and equitable access to time. The longer-term impact of changes to curricula has not been studied significantly, and there are limited examples of workload models that incorporate flipped classroom methods in physical science subjects. The purpose of this study is to review 10 years of semester 1 level 6 chemistry modules through the perspective of objective workload (timetabled sessions and deadlines) and more closely through changes in one block of taught content. Workload has been selected as a metric because objective workload is within the control of teaching staff and links to attendance, engagement, and achievement. Assessment timetables and timetables were analysed and workload week maps and credit per week map visualisations devised to represent the data. A workload model was proposed. A series of recommendations are made for the use of these visualisation to both support student learning and ensure equity across modules. Further work is required to investigate this complex issue, particularly to incorporate the student voice and perceived workload

Silsesquioxane dendrimers as catalysts: A bite-sized molecular dynamics study

A method of calculating the bite (P-M-P) angle for dendritic ligands is reported. Diphenylphosphine terminated dendritic ligands were modified with either a single rhodium or a rhodium complex [HRh(CO)(2)] and molecular dynamics techniques used to run simulations to determine the dynamic bite angle (beta(d)) as a time averaged property. The effects of changing the composition of the dendritic branches is investigated and comparison with experimental hydroformylation data reveals that the dendrimer with the highest linear: branched ratio also has a dynamic bite angle closest to the theoretical ideal value of 120 degrees.</p

Silsesquioxane dendrimers as catalysts: A bite-sized molecular dynamics study

A method of calculating the bite (P-M-P) angle for dendritic ligands is reported. Diphenylphosphine terminated dendritic ligands were modified with either a single rhodium or a rhodium complex [HRh(CO)(2)] and molecular dynamics techniques used to run simulations to determine the dynamic bite angle (beta(d)) as a time averaged property. The effects of changing the composition of the dendritic branches is investigated and comparison with experimental hydroformylation data reveals that the dendrimer with the highest linear: branched ratio also has a dynamic bite angle closest to the theoretical ideal value of 120 degrees.</p