Natalie Rowley, School of Chemistry 21 Feb 2013, Lectures without Lecturing workshop Learning Through Enquiry.

Natalie Rowley, School of Chemistry21 Feb 2013, Lectures without Lecturing workshop

Learning Through Enquiry

Overview

Enquiry-Based Learning (EBL) Traditional Approach EBL Approach Assessment and Evaluation Lecture Flipping – Early Findings Useful Resources

Enquiry-Based Learning (EBL)

Broad umbrella term for learning approaches driven by a process of enquiry

Students are actively involved in the learning process

First Year Spectroscopy

Cl

OH

Cl

Traditional Teaching Approach 6 x 1 hour lectures (how techniques work and

introduction to interpretation of their spectra)

6 x 2 hour workshops in parallel (practice interpreting spectra – whole class, ca. 4 PG demonstrators)

Assessed worksheet

End of year examination

EBL Approach

Groups of ~ 6 students (selected by us) Ice breaker 4 scenarios – online and PG / staff facilitation 4 lectures – explaining how theory underpins

interpretation of spectra End of year examination

EBL Ice Breaker General Science quiz

Group Rules

Establish levels of prior knowledge

Action plan for introductory task

Waste Disposal Scenario In role as team of graduate chemists in

fictional analytical department

Unlabelled chemical waste found in disused laboratories

Identify 6 compounds from spectra to enable safe disposal

Down The Drain Scenario Dead fish found in nearby river due to

unknown chemical waste

Identify 8 compounds from spectra to determine the pollutants

Carbonyl Conundrum Scenario Report discovered containing identity of

compounds recently analysed and their spectra, but accidentally mixed up paperwork

Assign 24 spectra to 6 compounds

Reaction Dilemma Scenario Email from fictional PG student (with authentic

spectra)

Carried out reaction but not sure if obtained correct product …

Wrong compound sent by supplier (different groups have different compounds, but all consistent with PG results)

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course students should be able to: – Interpret simple mass, infrared, 13C and

1H NMR spectra – Understand how the spectroscopic

techniques work – Be independent learners – Work as a team member in a group

Facilitation and Location

Ca. 140 students (24 groups) Use 2 adjacent rooms with tables and movable

seating 5 PG demonstrators, each assigned 4/5 groups

(fixed facilitators) Member of staff is floating facilitator during

sessions and online facilitator between sessions (each group has own discussion area in VLE)

Assessment Procedures:

12.5% Continual Assessment:

Down the Drain scenario

5% (Group report 4.5%, Group contribution 0.5%)

CarbonylConundrum

2.5% (Online group assessment)

Reaction Dilemma

5% (Group report 4.5%, Group contribution 0.5%)

Evaluation (for pedagogic research)

Questionnaires– Likert scale questions– Short answer questions

Focus group with undergraduates Interview with PG demonstrator (Exam question results)

Feedback “It gives you freedom to think for yourself and gives

you the opportunity to find the answers yourself”

“Helped build my confidence when working in groups. Other people help me on things I haven’t learned before”

“It introduced a new way of attacking problems and ‘learning on job’ style was nice”

“I like the idea of doing our own research to solve the identity of the compound”

LECTURE FLIPPING - EARLY FINDINGS

Lecture Flipping

Lecture content delivered pre-lectures usually through screencasts (Camtasia*)

Accompanied by short online (WebCT) pre-lecture MCQs to assess knowledge prior to lectures and short answer question for students to identify areas of difficulty (“Just-in-Time” teaching approach)

*Thanks to Simon Lancaster and David Read for helping me to get started using this

Face-to-face time used for focussing on areas which students identified as being difficult

Interactive problem solving e.g. clicker questions (TurningPoint) and past paper questions

Feedback “Seeing the video before the lecture really helps

me to understand the content and allows me to ask any questions during the lecture”

“Really like how we follow the lectures online first and then go over problems in class”

“The pre-lecture videos are really good, and the class tutorials are interactive and a good reinforcement to our learning”

Acknowledgements Tim Lucas (Chemistry, Birmingham) Liam Cox (Chemistry, Birmingham) Mike McLinden (Education, Birmingham) Jon Green (Biosciences, Birmingham) Tina Overton (Hull) Norman Reid (Glasgow, Emeritus) Derek Raine and Sarah Symons (Leicester, McMaster) Students at the University of Birmingham University of Birmingham for funding

Further Information on EBL in Presentation

“Enquiry-based learning: experiences of first year chemistry students learning spectroscopy” T. Lucas and N.M. Rowley, Chem. Educ. Res. Pract. 2011, 12, 478-486 http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2011/rp/c0rp90016h

Further General Information on PBL

“PossiBiLities: a Practice Guide to Problem‑based Learning in Physics and Astronomy” Derek Raine and Sarah Symons (2005)http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/ps/documents/practice_guides/ps0080_possibilities_problem_based_learning_in_physics_and_astronomy_mar_2005.pdf

Useful Resources

Resources for Context- and Problem-Based Learning in Chemistry http://www.rsc.org/learn-chemistry/collections/higher-education/he-resources/context-and-problem-based-learning

Centre for Excellence in Enquiry-Based Learninghttp://www.ceebl.manchester.ac.uk/

Further Information on Lecture Flipping

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYiI2Hvg5LE

“Just-in-Time Teaching: Blending Active Learning and Web Technology” Gregor Novak, Evelyn Patterson, Andrew Gavrin, and Wolfgang Christian, Prentice–Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 1999

Further Information on Lecture Flipping

“Peer Instruction: A User’s Manual” Eric Mazur, Prentice–Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 1997