Innovative Instructional Approaches in Teaching Chemistry

195TH 2YC3 WESTERN CONFERENCE At Mircosta College March 30, 2012 INNOVATIVE INSTRUCTIONAL APPROACHES IN TEACHING CHEMISTRY

Ngozi M. Onyia Rockland Community College, Suffern, NY

EFFECTIVE TEACHING INVOLVES  Faculty member must always be engaged in improving their knowledge and skills in their field.  Possess pedagogical content knowledge which;  Focus on the communication between teacher and student  Direct relationship with subject matter

EFFECTIVE TEACHING INVOLVES

 Being aware of different types of instructional materials  Being aware of student strengths and weaknesses  Building on and adapting curriculum that has proven to be effective

 Interactive lectures using personal response systems  Group problem solving using (POGIL)  Students participation in classes  Conduct experiments to learn first hand about science methods and experimentation (LabSkills)

 Using computer-assisted learning  Web-based learning  Virtual laboratories  Audiovisual aids (video-based demonstrations)  Others

 Online Web learning;        

OWL (Cengage Learning) Labskills (Cengage Learning) MasteringChemistry (Pearson) WileyPlus (Wiley) SmartWork (Norton) Sapling Learning (Sapling Learning INC.) ALEKS (ALEKS Corporation) Others

 OWL is the only online learning and assessment system developed by chemistry instructors specifically for teaching chemistry

 Developed by teaching chemists  OWL is a powerful online learning system for chemistry  OWL engages students  Assesses performance  Improves learning outcomes

 Online homework and tutorial system for chemistry  gives students access to the eBook for reference or study after their regular course ends or is archived by the instructor  Tutorials lead students step-by-step through a problem

 Improves student learning and grades  Helps students visualize chemistry and improve problem-solving skills  Allows students to work at their own pace until they master concepts  Saves time in grading homework and assesses student progress

 Mastery Learning Problems  End-of-Chapter Questions  Simulations  Tutorials  Visual Exercises  OWL for Organic Chemistry

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Cengage YouBook Quick Prep Go Chemistry Videos Student Grade Report Student Risk Report Assignment Reports

 Led to statistically significant improvement in student performance and final grades in chemistry  Students more likely to do their homework  Students found OWL homework problems, feedback, tutorials, and simulations extremely helpful

 Instructor Experience (St. Cloud State University)  OWL helps students succeed in chemistry regardless of their background  OWL helps students of varying aptitudes, experience, and backgrounds learn concepts and boost their grades  OWL’s ability to meet students ‘where they are’

 Instructor Experience (St. Cloud State University)  OWL provides near infinite opportunities to practice solving problems  OWL provide immediate feedback, students can spend as much time on their homework as they need to master each concept or skills

 Instructor Experience (University of San Francisco)  OWL help students to become more active learners.  OWL give students get unlimited attempts at problems with immediate feedback

 Instructor Experience (Portland Community College, Cascade Campus)  OWL support was outstanding, patient, and complete  OWL is a powerful motivator for students who want to improve their performance and grades in the class

 Instructor Experience (Portland Community College, Cascade Campus)  OWL is an important part of ensuring consistency in all our general chemistry courses  With OWL, I feel confident that students have the opportunity for learning, practicing, and receiving valuable feedback in every course

 Student Experience  Students love OWL for its visual, active learning style, plus the immediate feedback for incorrect answers  The OWL assignments improved my course grade because they made studying easier  The detailed hints and step-by-step solutions allowed me to gain a better understanding

 Attended LabSkills webinar in Fall 2011  Attended OWL National Workshop San Diego, CA in Spring 2012  Demo of LabSkills will go live within OWL on April 2  Class testing LabSkills in April

 LabSkills available for lab courses in Fall 2012  LabSkills is designed to prepare students  For their lab sessions  With pre-lab assignments that include video, interactive modules and safety training

 Online solutions to save you time in the classroom and lab and to better engage your students  Media-rich, interactive e-learning for chemistry  Built on groundbreaking best practice

 A networked 'Dynamic Lab Manual' preparing foundation chemistry students for the laboratory  Innovative, multifunctional e-learning tool covering core topics in experimental chemistry

 Develops skills and builds confidence  Provides ideal pre-lab preparation for students with limited experience of practical chemistry  Helps all students studying university chemistry succeed in the lab  Extends learning opportunities

 Gives students so much more confidence coming into the lab  Scarce laboratory time and resources are used to the best effect  It helps prepare the ground so that effective practical work can take place  It helps improve students' confidence and capability

 Extremely valuable new dimension to the study of chemistry  By helping to reinforce;  The importance of scientific rigor  Health and safety  While being informative and engaging

 Groundbreaking computer program allowing students to overcome their fears by experimenting online  Students found it easy to follow  Online grading  More focused intervention strategy enhances student learning outcomes

MateringChemistry is the most effective and widely used online tutorial, homework, and assessment system for the sciences

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Individualizes tutoring Improves learning and grades Provides insight into student performance Easily captures data to demonstrate assessment outcomes

WileyPlus builds students’ confidence, takes the guesswork out of studying by providing a clear roadmap

 Helps today’s students succeed both in the classroom and beyond  Offers depth and breadth of assessment through various problem types including;

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End-of-chapter Concept mastery Drawing problems Mechanism and synthesis reaction practice  Thousands of test bank questions and MORE

SmartWork is the most intuitive tutorial and online homework system available

 Motivate student learning  Offer additional help to students who need it  Maintain full editorial control over questions  Discourage cheating with algorithmic variables

 Encourage study and review with an integrated e-book  Easily manage assignments and grades  Spend more time teaching

Sapling Learning helps improve the practice of teaching to help ensure success

 Guarantee the easiest and most effective online homework experience possible for both you and your students  Maintain full control of curriculum  Saves time  Monitor student progress

ALEKS is a web-based, artificially intelligent assessment and learning system

 Targets Gaps in Individual Student Knowledge  MyPie Individualized Study Plan  Robust Course Management Tools  Automatically Graded Assignments

 Automated Reports  Monitor Student and Course Progress  Open Response Environment  Avoids Multiple-Choice Questions  Unlimited Online Access - PC and Mac Compatible

 POGIL (Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning)  Is a pedagogical method devised to teach process skills  As well as content using an inquiry based education approach

 Originally devised for use in teaching general chemistry  The structure of POGIL is broadly applicable in all subjects

 POGIL activities follow the structure of the learning cycle of  Exploration  Concept invention and application  Has a strong basis in constructivism

 Students work together in groups of 3 or 4  Students work together on activities that are structured to help them build up a concept  Which creates positive interdependence among the students, reinforcing involvement and learning for each student

 Teaching has to do with helping individuals acquire knowledge, skills and attitudes in different areas of learning  Teaching is guiding, facilitating and motivating learners

 Professors are required to assists students to learn  By making the teaching/learning environment, stimulating, challenging and dynamic  Innovative instructional approaches can assist the learner reduce the monotony associated with using only the “chalk and talk” option

THANK YOU