To:
Dr. Reza Kamali, Dean
School of Science and Technology
Dr. Danny McGuire, Chair
Department of Physical Sciences
Dr. Clint Bryan, Professor
Department of Physical Sciences
Ms. Lisa Restivo
Distance Learning Coordinator
From:
Dr. Gary Buckley, Professor
Department of Physical Sciences
Date:
March 18, 2011
Subject:
Certification Process for Online CHEM 1004 for Summer of 2011
As a part of the validation process for online courses at Cameron University, a committee is
formed consisting of the Dean of the School, Chair of the department, a subject matter expert,
and the distance learning coordinator. You are receiving this information because you fulfill one
of those roles for the development of CHEM 1004, online descriptive chemistry. This course is
intended to be offered for the first time in the summer of 2011.
Prior to convening a meeting of the validation committee, I am to send you the “Course
Curriculum Map” for your review. Though there is substantial progress in the actual online
course, I felt it might be better to relay to you the course information through hardcopy initially
for your consideration. I continue to build out the electronic aspects but would appreciate any
guidance you may have based on the information included with this memo.
In constructing the Course Curriculum Map, I have partitioned the information into content,
student learning activities, assignments, interaction, and grading. These will be discussed briefly
in that order.
Content
The current catalog description of CHEM 1004 is:
A one-semester introductory course in chemistry. Principal concepts and theories of chemistry
are examined from the layman's point of view. This course is highly recommended for those
planning to take CHEM 1364/1361 who have not had previous chemistry. Credit earned in this
course cannot be counted towards a science major or minor. This course does not fulfill
chemistry requirements for pre-professional programs. Lecture 4 hours.
The content of the course should match closely that of our face-to-face course. Since I have now
taught the CHEM 1004 two semesters in a row in the face-to-face setting, I have a fairly good
feel for the content. The department is in the process of adopting a standard syllabus for many of
our courses including CHEM 1004. Typically the course format, regardless of the instructor, is
to cover a large common block of material, usually Chapters 1-8 in our current textbook. Topics
of more general interest are covered in the short time remaining at the end of the semester.
Attached to this document is a list of topic areas to be covered in this course as well as the
learning objectives in each. The topics are referenced to specific sections in the textbook. The
list of learning objectives closely matches the typical CHEM 1004 course with the inclusion of
nuclear chemistry toward the end of the semester.
Student Learning Activities
Rather than having the students simply read and test on the material, I have separated the
material into 31 units which are blocked into weeks. To complete a unit a student should read
the sections involved in the unit, look at the accompanying PowerPoint slides for each unit, and
take the “test” called a self-assessment. I have not yet figured out how to handle the selfassessments. My initial thoughts were to give them some credit for simply taking the selfassessment, thereby providing me with information on class progress, but I could not see a way
of doing that in Blackboard. At this point I have small point totals assigned to the selfassessments and they will be included as a small portion of the grade.
The PowerPoints are fairly short and direct since they have the textbook to read. In some of the
PowerPoints the student is referenced to another website for other activities. For example, in
Unit 21 the student is directed to simulations provided through the PhET program at the
University of Colorado. Other units similarly link the students to off-site resources.
At the top of each Week’s Units is a link to a content discussion forum. Each unit has a
dedicated discussion forum in which students can ask questions and discuss any issues they may
be having with the content of the unit. This is an area in which they can help each other but I can
also step in once in a while, if needed, to get things back on track if they stray. I do not plan to
count participation in the content forums toward their participation grade.
Assignments
The individual assignments that students will be graded on include:
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Self-assessments: As mentioned earlier, these will provide me with information on class
progress between quizzes and tests.
Quizzes: There will be six unproctored quizzes altogether. This includes one covering
the syllabus which will be available and due shortly after the last day to add a class. The
timeframe for taking quizzes is from 12:01 am CDT on a Thursday through 11:59 pm on
the Friday following.
Tests: There will be a midterm and a final, both proctored. The midterm is scheduled for
July 7-8-9 from 12:01 am on July 7th until 11:59 pm on July 9. The final is scheduled for
July 26-27-28 from 12:01 am on the 26th until 11:59 pm on the 28th.
Since CHEM 1004 is a general education course, all students enrolled in it take part in
departmental assessment activities related to the objectives of general education. The three
general education objectives that are assessed in CHEM 1004 and the methods used are:
Objective
1b. Separate material into component parts and/or
organize material into relevant categories or groups
1d. Assimilate information by applying critical thinking
strategies in order to draw reasoned conclusions
2e. Solve problems by applying logic and information
Method of Evaluation
Students write a paper on some aspect of the
organization of the periodic table
Students are given a case study with some background
and answer a series of questions about it
Consideration of end-of-term final exam results on
particular questions
These assignments will be given through Blackboard, using SafeAssign in the case of the
periodic table paper.
Interaction
Besides the ungraded but voluntary participation in the Content Forums, students will required to
take part in discussion forums throughout the semester. There will be at least two-three forums
overall, each having some threads under them, in which the students can take part in discussion.
The forums will include Green Chemistry (discussed throughout the textbook), Critical Thinking
Situations (related to the FiLCHeRS approach introduced in the first chapter), and perhaps
nanotechnology (also woven throughout the book).
Grading of participation in the discussion area is based on the student making at least two
“meaningful” contributions per week to receive the full discussion points for the week. A
“meaningful” contribution is described in the syllabus as one that is a complete sentence, goes
beyond a simple yes/no, agree/disagree sort of contribution, and shows some thought about the
topic.
I also intend to interact with students for a couple of scheduled hours during the week through a
“Virtual Office Hour” conducted either with the Chat function or the Virtual Classroom function.
Based on my observations of when students access Blackboard, these would most likely be
scheduled for late evening (9:00 pm or so).
Grading System
The grading system in its current configuration looks like:
Category
Self-Assessments
Participation in Discussion Forums
Periodic Table Paper/Case Study
Quizzes – 6
Midterm and Final
Weight
5%
15%
15%
20%
45%
Attachments to This Memo
Attached to this memo are several documents related to the course. In parentheses behind each
topic I have indicated where those items may be found in the Course Menu for Blackboard. In
order:
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
Welcome Announcement (Announcements) – this needs some work
Course Syllabus (Course Information)
Course Outline with Topics, Learning Objectives, and Unit correlations (Course
Information)
A weekly schedule reminding students of their responsibilities for the week (Course
Information)
A monthly calendar reminding students of administrative dates – add/drop, quiz, test, etc.
(Course Information)
The PowerPoint slides are not attached to this memo but may be accessed under Course
Documents in the Blackboard menu. The self-assessment/quizzes/tests may be accessed under
Assessments and the Discussion Board may be accessed under Discussion Board.
Current Status of Development
I will ask Ms. Restivo to arrange for access for the committee members to the electronic version
of the course. It is still under development, but I would certainly be interested in whether I am
off track or not with the start of the course offering only a little over two months away. Areas
that still need work:




There are about 2-3 PowerPoints to be finished.
The set of self-assessments, quizzes, and tests is far from complete but is started.
I keep tweaking the contents of units and the unit numbers themselves and have to make
a final decision and stick with it.
With the long-term development the course has been through, I have to thoroughly check
for consistency between documents.
I do not know how the scheduling goes for the certification process, but I would hope that we
could hold the validation meeting within a month since the course starts on June 2 and needs to
be available no later than May 26.