Claire M McDonnell

Developing practical chemistry skills by means of student-driven problem based learning mini-projects

Problem-based learning mini-projects (‘PBL mini-projects’) are used as an alternative to the traditional ‘recipe-style’ laboratory teaching method with the aim of enhancing students’ experience of chemistry laboratory practicals. Small groups of students (3–4) in the second year of their degree are assigned a project title and they must devise the experimental protocol to carry it out. This teaching method better reflects real-life problem solving situations. The students responded favourably in their feedback on these laboratory classes. Class attendance and general class morale were found to be noticeably higher than in previous years. This paper describes the implementation of the PBL mini-projects in our teaching laboratories and examines some feedback obtained from the students (42 in total) and teaching staff involved over a two year period (2004/5 and 2005/6). [Chem. Educ. Res. Pract., 2007, 8 (2), 130-139]

The application of technology to enhance chemistry education

Technology is accepted to be an integral part of chemistry education, with the use of videos, simulations, and student response systems well reported. The first issue of University Chemistry Education—one of this journal’s two predecessors—was published in 1997, and it contained several articles on topics that still provoke thought and research today, and many of the topics in this themed issue are directly related to issues raised in those articles. Alex Johnstone’s article in that issue ‘. . . And some fell on good ground’ discusses the role of prior knowledge and cognitive load in chemistry education (Johnstone, 1997). Cognitive load theory (CLT) is now of central importance in considering technology in education, with the work of Sweller (2008) and Mayer (2005) providing a basis for considering how technology can help alleviate the load for novice learners as they engage with new material. Several contributions to this special issue resonate with the theme of cognitive load. Behmke and Atwood consider the design of online homework from a CLT perspective, by facilitating students’ mastery of the stages of answering online questions in a step-wise manner. Rosenthal and Sanger contribute further to their work on online simulations. Drawing on Mayer’s work on the design of e-resources, they study the sequencing of the complexity of animations and find that viewing simpler simulations before more complex ones leads to students being better able to explain what they are observing. This may be attributed to the reduction in the extraneous load of viewing the more complex animation that the simple animation provides. John Garratt’s article in the first issue of University Chemistry Education was also about simulations. In ‘‘Virtual Investigations’’, he argues that ‘‘fact-making’’ by students can be enabled by simulations where students learn by experience rather than by being taught (Garratt, 1997). In this themed issue, Akaygun and Jones present a detailed study on the process of simulation design in the context of cognitive science, using liquid–vapour equilibrium as an example. In research that is again grounded in the concept of working memory, Avramiotis and Tsaparlis examine whether computer simulations assist students’ problem solving ability in the laboratory, and find that students who use simulations record a higher achievement. Similarly, Moore, Herzog and Perkins demonstrate in their study that the use of interactive simulations provides implicit scaffolding to students in guided inquiry activities. Sesen uses videos to allow students to compare their predictions with observations of events relating to surface tension, cohesion, and adhesion forces and to subsequently develop explanations for what they observe. Krause, Kienast, Witteck, and Eilks describe an online environment for students to develop their own understanding of topics at lower secondary level before progressing to upper secondary level. Several papers in that first issue of University Chemistry Education address transferable skills. For example Tina Overton’s article, ‘‘Creating Critical Chemists’’, argues for the need to move beyond the teaching of a series of facts towards allowing students freedom to discuss and develop their own opinions, and with this the critical thinking skills needed for genuine problem solving, especially important in a professional context (Overton, 1997). Ryan’s work, reported in this issue, on facilitating peer learning demonstrates the ability of this technology to enable student debate and student-centred discussion when addressing chemistry problems. Blonder et al. write about the development of content knowledge, technological knowledge and pedagogical knowledge as well as technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) among a cohort of teachers. They achieve this by using a professional development programme to develop video editing skills in the context of chemistry topics the teachers wanted to teach for a given pedagogic purpose. Development of TPACK also features in the work of Shwartz and Katchevitch who describe the use of a wiki learning environment in a professional development School of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Dublin Institute of Technology, Kevin Street, Dublin 8, Ireland. E-mail: michael.seery@dit.ie, claire.mcdonnell@dit.ie DOI: 10.1039/c3rp90006a

Now for the science bit: implementing community‐based learning in chemistry

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of student learning from community engagement by critically assessing the implementation of this pedagogical approach in the context of teaching and learning chemistry and also evaluating the role of personal development in student‐community engagement.Design/methodology/approach – A case study on the implementation since 2007 of community‐based learning (also called service‐learning) projects in an academic department in Ireland is presented. Analysis of assessment grades, student reflective accounts and evaluation questionnaires informs this work, as does a recently completed self‐assessment of our activities using Shumers Self‐Assessment for Service‐Learning.Findings – A marked improvement in student engagement and confidence, and their appreciation of how their subject is applied in real‐world situations, is reported. Some difficulties arise however, in relation to the level of critical thinking and self‐awareness evident in re...

Effective Compiler Error Message Enhancement for Novice Programming Students.

Programming is an essential skill that many computing students are expected to master. However, programming can be difficult to learn. Successfully interpreting compiler error messages (CEMs) is crucial for correcting errors and progressing toward success in programming. Yet these messages are often difficult to understand and pose a barrier to progress for many novices, with struggling students often exhibiting high frequencies of errors, particularly repeated errors. This paper presents a control/intervention study on the effectiveness of enhancing Java CEMs. Results show that the intervention group experienced reductions in the number of overall errors, errors per student, and several repeated error metrics. These results are important as the effectiveness of CEM enhancement has been recently debated. Further, generalizing these results should be possible at least in part, as the control group is shown to be comparable to those in several studies using Java and other languages.