Justin Read

Advancing chemistry by enhancing learning in the laboratory (ACELL): A model for providing professional and personal development and facilitating improved student laboratory learning outcomes

The Advancing Chemistry by Enhancing Learning in the Laboratory (ACELL) project aims to improve the quality of learning in undergraduate laboratories through two interlocking mechanisms. The first is to build a database of experiments that are both chemically and educationally sound by testing them in a third-party laboratory, usually through an ACELL workshop involving both academic staff and students, to ensure that they work. The second mechanism provides personal and professional development for staff and students through a workshop process, and reinforced through on-going engagement with the ACELL community via the project website and experiment assessment and evaluation. The ACELL workshops include discussion of educational issues, both in abstract (through discussing laboratory learning in general) and concrete (through debriefing of each experiment tested) terms. This paper discusses the design of the ACELL project, and illustrates some of the successes of the staff and student personal and professional development aims. [Chem. Educ. Res. Pract., 2007, 8 (2), 232-254]

Educational analysis of the first year chemistry experiment ‘Thermodynamics Think-In’: an ACELL experiment

This paper describes an educational analysis of a First Year University chemistry practical called ‘Thermodynamics Think-In’. The analysis follows the formalism of the Advancing Chemistry by Enhancing Learning in the Laboratory (ACELL) project, which includes a statement of education objectives, and an analysis of the student learning experience. The practical consists of a suite of ten well-known, short experiments on the general theme of ‘thermodynamics in chemical change’. Pairs of students undertake a specified and graded set of five of these experiments. All experiments require careful observation by both students, followed by discussion between them until a common, mutually-agreed explanation for their observations can be formulated. The pair then discusses their explanation with a demonstrator, who may challenge it, point out flaws, or provide new information. Student surveys were conducted using the ACELL Student Learning Experience instrument. Analysis of the data shows that students enjoy working on the practical, and report it to be a beneficial learning experience that effectively develops their understanding of thermodynamic principles. The practical also fosters significant interest, and through a process of collaboration and cooperation aids the students in further developing their generic thinking skills. [Chem. Educ. Res. Pract., 2007, 8 (2), 255-273.]

Effectiveness of a Short, Intense Bridging Course for Scaffolding Students Commencing University-level Study of Chemistry

Bridging courses designed to support students commencing tertiary education are widespread, and some evidence for the value of semester-length courses has been reported; however, little attention has been paid to short-but-intense bridging courses, and empirical evidence of their effectiveness is particularly sparse. The current study followed the academic performance of a cohort of students enrolled in a first-year chemistry unit of study designed for those with little or no background knowledge of chemistry. The aims of this study are two-fold: first to determine the strength of the linkage between prior knowledge in chemistry and performance on the end of semester exam, and secondly, to explore the reasons for any differences observed. In particular, the value of the week-long intensive-mode bridging course offered by the University of Sydney was analysed. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected. The research has shown that participation in the chemistry bridging course is associated with ‘bridging the gap’ in academic performance between students with No Prior Chemistry background and those with a Strong Background. While the content of the bridging course is a significant contributor to academic success, so too is the confidence in their own learning that the course engenders among participants.

Development, Evaluation and Use of a Student Experience Survey in Undergraduate Science Laboratories: The Advancing Science by Enhancing Learning in the Laboratory Student Laboratory Learning Experience Survey.

Student experience surveys have become increasingly popular to probe various aspects of processes and outcomes in higher education, such as measuring student perceptions of the learning environment and identifying aspects that could be improved. This paper reports on a particular survey for evaluating individual experiments that has been developed over some 15 years as part of a large national Australian study pertaining to the area of undergraduate laboratories—Advancing Science by Enhancing Learning in the Laboratory. This paper reports on the development of the survey instrument and the evaluation of the survey using student responses to experiments from different institutions in Australia, New Zealand and the USA. A total of 3153 student responses have been analysed using factor analysis. Three factors, motivation, assessment and resources, have been identified as contributing to improved student attitudes to laboratory activities. A central focus of the survey is to provide feedback to practitioners to iteratively improve experiments. Implications for practitioners and researchers are also discussed.

A disconnect between staff and student perceptions of learning: an ACELL educational analysis of the first year undergraduate chemistry experiment ‘investigating sugar using a home made polarimeter’

This paper describes an educational analysis of a first year university chemistry practical called ‘Investigating sugar using a home made polarimeter’. The analysis follows the formalism of the Advancing Chemistry by Enhancing Learning in the Laboratory (ACELL) project, which includes a statement of education objectives, and an analysis of the student learning experience. The practical requires students to accurately prepare solutions of known concentrations of a common consumer chemical (sucrose), and then investigate the interaction between these solutions and plane-polarised light. The instrument used is a “home built” polarimeter which students assemble, allowing them to recognise that scientific apparatus need not be mysterious in its operation or construction. Student feedback data were conducted using the ACELL Student Learning Experience (ASLE) instrument. Analysis of the data shows that overwhelmingly students rate the experiment as “worthwhile” or better. However, many also rate the experiment as “boring” or “uninteresting”. By contrast, staff and student feedback at an ACELL experiential workshop rated the experiment very highly in terms of the “interest” criterion. In this contribution we discuss this alignment of staff and student perceptions of various elements, including “interest” and explore the correlation with the overall laboratory experience.

What makes a good laboratory learning exercise? Student feedback from the ACELL project

Over the last 7 years, a group of Australian universities have been collaboratively running a chemistry education project, now called ACELL (Advancing Chemistry by Enhanced Learning in the Laboratory). One of the key aims of ACELL is to facilitate the development and evaluation of educationally sound chemistry laboratory exercises with the goal of improving the quality of students’ learning in the laboratory in Australia, New Zealand, and throughout the world. As part of this project, ACELL has developed an instrument for investigating students’ perceptions of their laboratory learning experiences. To date, ACELL had collected data on 19 experiments from 972 students across 7 universities in Australia and New Zealand using this instrument, and this data collection is ongoing. As a consequence, ACELL is in an unusually good position to identify and discuss both procedural and cognitive factors that influence students’ evaluation of their laboratory learning experiences, such as assessment, the quality of notes, interest, and the inclusion of opportunities for independent learning. Our results are both surprising and encouraging, and indicate that students can be highly cognitively engaged, even with traditionally “boring” content, provided a suitable learning environment is established. This paper will describe the research approach undertaken, discuss the range of factors which appear to significantly influence students’ learning experiences, and consider the implications for the design of educationally sound chemistry laboratory exercises.

The timing of an experiment in the laboratory program is crucial for the student laboratory experience: acylation of ferrocene as a case study

An assessment of the acylation of ferrocene laboratory exercise across three successive years resulted in a significant fluctuation in student perception of the experiment. This perception was measured by collecting student responses to an instrument immediately after the experiment, which includes Likert and open-ended responses from the student. Students in all three years identified technical benefits from the experiment. In Years 1 and 3, students also recognised the benefits of improving their conceptual understanding of organic chemistry. However, in Year 2, where background knowledge became a critical and limiting factor, all perception of conceptual understanding as an experiment objective was lost, and only recognition of technical development remained. Analysis of these data also indicated that students who have enough time to complete the experiment also perceive a measure of responsibility for their own learning, whereas time-poor students have an over-reliance on the laboratory notes and demonstrators. Addressing concepts such as these may be the triggers required for time-poor experiments to garner a positive student experience and maximise both the conceptual and technical benefits of the experiment.