Re-designing Science Courses for Non-majors using Hands-on Learning Experiences Harry Pylypiw1, Marshall Sternberg1, and Frances Rowe2 Quinnipiac University 1Department of Chemistry and Physical Sciences 2QU-Online Hamden, CT 06518 Course Design and Teaching “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I remember, involve me and I learn.” Benjamin Franklin The Learning Pyramid Authentic assessment and the online student: Moving from information transmission to learner engagement. Brian Salerno http://www.digitalpedagog.org/?p=620 Traditional Learning Classroom Lectures • Textbook Chapter readings Problems Written assignments Laboratory Experiments • Lab Manual Observations & data collection Submission of results or written report Alternative Learning Online or Hybrid Course Delivery • No fixed or set meeting time Short virtual lectures or demonstrations Assignments • Problems and written assessments • Group presentations – VoiceThread Formative and summative assessments • Hands-on activities No laboratory or equipment • Virtual observations & data collection • Summative assessments Online Course Delivery Advantages • Student driven learning Pace of learning geared to the student Activities are available for repetitive use • Formative assessments reinforce activities Disadvantages • Hands-on activities limited Expensive equipment needed for testing • Virtual chemistry experiments have limited availability when compared to other disciplines Course Re-design Emphasize problem solving and critical thinking Explore learning through doing • Use of student controlled lab simulations Topics must maintain student interest Virtual experiments must be interesting Formative assessments add to learning • • • • Reinforce concepts presented by the activity Students receive feedback for all answers Frustration with incorrect answers avoided Students learn from their mistakes – multiple attempts are possible Our Choices of Activities Courses for non-science majors SCI-162 Consumer Chemistry • Focus on the environment The Ozone Layer Global Warming SCI-102 Physical Sciences • Focus on Chemistry and Geology Density & chemical reactions Earthquakes & the age of the Earth Interactive Presentations Useful for reinforcement of concepts • Precipitation Reactions Ionic Equations Solubility Rules Formative Questions – Self-test • Making an Aqueous Solution Molarity Calculations Laboratory Techniques Formative Questions – Self-test Interactive Presentation Screen shot of presentation. Follow the link below to activate the presentation http://breeze.quinnipiac.edu/p56636755/ Interactive Presentation Click here to activate presentation Screen shot of presentation. To activate the presentation, http://breeze.quinnipiac.edu/p27943886/ click here: Interactive Presentations Useful for reinforcement of lecture concepts • Why is the Ozone Layer Important? Protection against damaging Sun radiation • What are UV-A, UV-B, UV-C rays? • How does ozone help against radiation? Ultraviolet Rays affect your skin • Are UV rays good or bad? • Do we need to protect ourselves from UV rays? Interactive Presentation UV A, B, & C Rays Screen shot of presentation. Follow the link below to activate the presentation http://breeze.quinnipiac.edu/p89251017/ Interactive Presentation UV and You Screen shot of presentation. Follow the link below to activate the presentation http://breeze.quinnipiac.edu/p60567148/ Non-Interactive Tutorials These tutorials serve as short lectures or as pre-lab assistance • Key Features Usually short – 1 to 4 minutes Slides contain notable portions of either the text or the lab exercise Navigation bar allows the viewer to advance or rerun a slide or portion of the tutorial Non-Interactive Tutorial Screen shot of presentation. Follow the link below to activate the presentation http://breeze.quinnipiac.edu/p70478869/ Breeze Server Dashboard Breeze Server Dashboard Sources of Tutorials Instructor created demonstrations • Institutional/individual licensed software Captivate • http://www.acrobatprocx.com/products/captivate .html Jing • http://www.techsmith.com/Jing Camtasia Relay • http://www.techsmith.com/CamtasiaRelay Narration in PowerPoint Sources of Tutorials Publisher provided materials • Licensed on publisher servers McGraw-Hill • http://www.mharis.com • Educational/institution servers Blackboard Macromedia Breeze Citrix Sources of Tutorials Freely available on the Internet • Nobelprize.org http://nobelprize.org/educational/chemistry /chiral/ • Howard Hughes Medical Institute http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/vlabs/ • HippoCampus http://www.hippocampus.org/ References Dağ, Funda, and Aynur Geçer. "Relations between Online Learning and Learning Styles." 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