HOW DO INTERVENTIONS IN
FIRST YEAR CHEMISTRY
CLASSES AFFECT CRITICAL
THINKING AND COMMUNICATION
SKILLS?
Suzanne Boniface
School of Chemical and Physical Sciences
Amanda Gilbert
University Teaching Development Centre
Victoria University of Wellington
STUDENT PERCEPTIONS OF 100LEVEL CHEMISTRY COURSES AND
SKILLS DEVELOPMENT
100 – Level Chemistry Courses (introduced in 2009)
• CHEM113 – Concepts of Chemistry (assumes
Year 12 Chemistry
• CHEM114 – Principles of Chemistry (assumes good
understanding of Year 13 Chemistry/NCEA Level 3)
• CHEM115 – Structure and Spectroscopy (T2 course,
114 is pre-requisite)
Questions on Student Feedback on Course Form
• This course encouraged me to think critically
• This course has helped me to develop my
communication skills
Student responses 2009
3.5
3
2.5
2
113
114
1.5
115
1
0.5
0
critical thinking
communication
HOW OUR DATA COMPARES WITH
UNIVERSITY AVERAGES
3.5
3
2.5
2
113
114
115
1.5
University
1
0.5
0
critical thinking
communication
STAFF PERCEPTIONS –
OPPORTUNITIES TO DEVELOP SKILLS
• Learning objectives rewritten to begin with verbs
– students are expected to do something with their
knowledge not just remember ‘stuff’
• Nature of questions in assessment tasks
changed - now include ‘longer written answers’
which look for a logical progression of ideas and links
between concepts and observations (measurements
or data (how chemists interpret the world).
• Active learning strategies introduced – these are
designed to encourage greater engagement by
students with new ideas and the development of
higher level thinking and the application of
knowledge in new contexts.
ACTIVE LEARNING STRATEGIES
• Clicker Questions
feedback to the lecturer
feedback to students
basic ideas
higher order (critical) thinking opportunities
• In-lecture worksheets using POGIL methodology
(Process Orientated Guided Inquiry Learning)
• Pre-laboratory assignments
guided questions to unpack the concepts
presented in introductory material
EXPLORING THE DIVIDE
Aims of Research
• To ascertain the extent to which students
understand the critical thinking and communication
skills they are using and developing in 100- level
chemistry courses.
• To monitor the effectiveness of active learning
strategies
Methodology
• Surveys
• Focus Groups
• Snapshots of student work
• Minute Papers
STUDENT PERCEPTIONS – SURVEYS
Surveys - When do you think critically?
Students were asked to indicate the extent to which they felt that
feel you are using the following features of critical thinking in the
course and give an example of when you have behaved in this way.
• Try to clarify the of a concept or idea in chemistry
• Think about the reason why a concept or fact in chemistry is true
or false?
• Make a judgement about which method or answer is better?
• Make a decision about how to answer a question in chemistry?
• Explain something you have learned in chemistry to another
person?
• Think about how your understanding of chemistry is changing?
STUDENT PERCEPTIONS – SURVEYS
• Assignments and laboratory sessions - times they were
most likely to try to clarify the meaning of a concept or idea
and where they would be trying to make a decision about
how to answer a question in chemistry.
• Only a small number of students were able to give example
of when they thought about why a concept or fact in
chemistry is true or false.
• Most able to specify subject areas within the course where
they were applying critical thinking. (Across all topics but
strongly linked to the types of questions asked).
We don't really have to think about why something is true or
false – we assume that information is true seeing as CHEM
113 isn't extremely advanced.
STUDENT PERCEPTIONS – FOCUS
GROUPS
• Critical Thinking needs to be defined
I don’t think that without someone telling us about critical
thinking I don’t think we’d even know what it was. We need
to be made aware of what it is first and then we can realise
that ‘Oh we are actually doing this.’
• There isn’t time to think critically in this course
The fast pace of the course means that you move on to
another new idea before you have time to fully understand
the last one.
I think that the pace at which we are going through the
information is quite fast and at least I find it’s difficult to
comprehend everything that is going on ….
STUDENT PERCEPTIONS – FOCUS
GROUPS
• Critical Thinking is not a term I would use about chemistry
Yeah, and I would say that chemistry is almost like math in a
way, like critical thinking is not a term that I would come up with
initially. I would say that critical thinking is something like ‘OK,
let’s discuss the factors of economics’ you know it’s like what is
going on with like, politics … I think critically about those things
but chemistry is not something that I really think critically about
in the same aspects. It’s like, OK, I know the foundations of
how these systems work and how the periodic table works and
that is what I apply.
• Critical thinking is more applicable at higher levels
….where you need to ‘get from something you know nothing
about and establish what it is.
STUDENTS’ UNDERSTANDING OF
CRITICAL THINKING
•
•
•
•
Analysing questions,
Applying of knowledge to new situations,
Thinking for themselves,
Integrating elements from various aspects of the course
and,
• Seeing the connections between the theory and it’s
place in their everyday lives.
.
The students recognised that these skills moved
them away from just “rote learning” and memory
work to a greater depth of understanding.
STUDENTS THINKING CRITICALLY
Weekly assignments
• a considerable step up from the questions given in lecture
examples.
• think about the content in greater depth.
• more challenging than tests (and the examination).
Assignments set throughout the course make you think.
Having to justify your answers means that you really, really
think about why you’ve decided on that answer.
Assignments vs tests
I think they do a better job of assessing critical thinking in
assignments than they do in tests.
STUDENTS THINKING CRITICALLY
Practical work
• Links to the lecture course was seen to encourage more
in-depth thinking and application of concepts.
• Presenting ideas to other people
When you present your findings of an experiment when you
get higher up (in your thinking).
Clicker questions and lecture worksheets
Worksheets in lectures definitely because you sort of argue
your answers which is kind of helpful.
Clicker question made you think on the spot about the ideas
and showed you how much you understood – and what you
actually need to understand.
STUDENTS AND COMMUNICATION
Focus groups – centred on verbal and written communication
skills
• Valued opportunities to develop ideas through discussions
with other students in lectures (clicker questions and
worksheets) and in laboratories
• Clicker questions highly rated
• Groups of students formed their own study groups which
gave opportunities to clarify understanding
• Stories about “real world’ applications presented in lectures
encouraged students to talk about chemistry outside class
and helped develop more depth to their understanding
Discipline specific communication – not mentioned
(Communication in chemistry requires linking observations,
properties of sub-microscopic particles and symbols)
COURSE EVALUATIONS - 2010
3.5
3.5
33
2.5
2.5
2
113(09)
113(09)
2
113(10)
113(10)
114(09)
114(09)
1.5
1.5
114(10)
114(10)
115(09)
115(09)
115(10)
115(10)
1
1
0.5
0.5
0
critical thinking
communication
0
critical thinking
communication
SHOULD WE HAVE EXPECTED A
CHANGE?
Overall University Median Results for the GA Questions
2007 & 2009
2.5
2
Median
1.5
2007
2009
1
0.5
0
Critical
Creative
Communication
Bowden, L., and Sutherland K. (2010) ‘Students’ Perceptions of the Effects of
Coursework on Their Development of Graduate Attributes’. Presentation to the
2010 HERDSA Conference.
Overall University
Medians and by course
level for Critical
Thinking
2.5
Overall Chemistry
Medians and by course
level for Critical
Thinking and
Communication
3
2.5
2.0
2
1.5
2007
critical thinking
1.5
2009
1.0
communication
1
0.5
0.5
0.0
0
Overall 100
200
300
400
500+
100
200
300
SO WHAT DID WE LEARN ABOUT THE
GRADUATE ATTRIBUTE SKILLS?
• We need to be explicit about what the terms we
use mean in our discipline
• We need to show that we value these skills (and
that they are an integral part of our course)
through the type of questioning that is used in all
assessment opportunities
• We need to model ‘discipline thinking’ explicitly
and expect students to take this on board
• We need to give students time/space to develop
these skills – this might mean that we reduce the
amount of ‘content’?
WHAT ELSE DID STUDENTS TELL US?
•
•
•
•
•
Workload issues in CHEM113 and CHEM114
Tutorials not working for them
Pre lab quizzes valued but take too much time
Need to signal level of expectation in tests and assignments
Students value
opportunities to discuss ideas with each other
clicker questions and POGIL style sheets in lectures to
develop skills
weekly assignments to develop depth of
understanding
• Hindrances to learning
workload
pace of courses
lack of understanding of expectations
WHAT ARE WE DOING ABOUT IT?
• Evaluation of workload – so far we have introduced:
on-line pre-laboratory quizzes with videos about
techniques
reduced expectation for laboratory reports (greater
emphasis on lab skills)
• Evaluation of tutorials - POGIL worksheets introduced
• Introduction of a poster assignment focussing on group
skills and chemistry communication principles
• Opportunities to talk about ideas in lectures (clicker
questions and worksheets) and study groups (PASS)
• Feedback from assignments to model expectations for
communication
• Skills development made more explicit
NEXT STEPS
• Evaluation of changes
• Survey 2011 class
• Benchmarking of communication and critical
thinking skills through assignments and test
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Victoria University Teaching and Development Grant
2010
Dr Joanne Harvey, School of Chemical and Physical
Sciences