How to impart tacit knowledge – Blending Chess and Chemistry

Simon Bedford and Jon Mason

The University of Bath

The Challenge of Retrosynthesis

• Students struggle

• Counterintuitive

• Chemical Chess1

• Tacit Knowledge2

• Practice essential

Previous Teaching Methods

Teach large cohort of students efficiently Enthusiasm and Context Initial knowledge of students varies3

Teacher-centred, passive learning Primary role is transferring information4

• Limited practice

Problem: Students need more opportunity to apply what is learnt in lectures

• Lectures• Workshops and Tutorials

Blended Learning

“The provision of supplementary resources for courses that are conducted along predominantly traditional lines through an institutionally supported virtual learning environment” 5

• Flexibility and Accessibility

• Cost and Time

• Variety

• Student Choice and Control

Aims

• Exploratory Study: To identify the extent to which students struggle with the retrosynthesis course and the topics they find most problematic

• Resource Development: To produce online learning materials to enhance the teaching and learning of retrosynthesis

• Development Study: To evaluate these resources from both a student and teacher perspective

Exploratory Study

• Workshops and Tutorial• Written Answers on Moodle• Animated Video Answers on Moodle• Questionnaire and Interviews

Exploratory Study Results

• Students struggled most with:– Choosing the best disconnection– Knowing real reagents for synthons– Recall of 1st year Functional Group Interconversions (FGIs)– Identifying Selectivity Issues

• Students wanted a variety of delivery methods

Na in NH3 (liq)

R1

O

R 2

R1

OH

R 2

R 3

R1

O

R 2

R 3

R2CuLi

MgBrR 3

3

Resource Development

• Pre-lecture Lessons and Quiz

• Lecture Slides

• Narrated Lectures

• Synthon Matching Quizzes

• Disconnections Quiz

• FGI Tool and Quiz

• Worked Examples

• Practice Questions

• Selectivity Videos

Development Study

• Student Perspective– Exam Results – 2007 vs 2006– Resource Usage Statistics– Questionnaire

• Teacher Perspective– Evaluation by external academic staff

Development Study ResultsStudent Performance• Improvement over last year

• Significantly more Firsts in 2007

Year Average Mark (%)

2006 50

2007 68

0.0

10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

60.0

First2:12:2ThirdFail

Class

Per

cen

tag

e

20072006

Development Study ResultsResource Usage• High uptake

• Improved performance

Average Mark (%)

Resources Used 74

Resources Not Used 50

Development Study ResultsQuestionnaire• Feedback was positive• Resources aided exam preparation

“The interactive format of this revision material was a welcome break from ordinary revision, and was much more effective than just reading the relevant information.”

(David Cutcliffe, MChem Chemistry)

“The extra support on Moodle was helpful and much appreciated.” (Laura Fedorciow, BSc Chemistry with Management and SSLC Representative)

Development Study ResultsExternal Evaluation• Resources highly rated

• Complementary to lectures

“I have lectured on [retrosynthesis] for many years and I find this package very good…This package will help the students a lot.”

(Dr Paul Jenkins, Senior Lecturer, Department of Chemistry, University of Leicester)

“They allow students to go away and think out the steps needed for synthesis problems at their own pace – giving time for reflection which formal lectures do not give.”

(Dr Hazel Wilkins, Lecturer, School of Life Sciences, Robert Gordon University)

Development Study ResultsExternal Evaluation• Areas for improvement highlighted• Evaluation required

• Full development recommended

“What is needed are packages like this one that are then evaluated.”

(Dr Bill Byers, Senior Lecturer, School of Health Sciences, University of Ulster)

“I would encourage you to continue with this development, we would certainly use it if it was available at a reasonable price.”

(Dr Paul Jenkins, Senior Lecturer, Department of Chemistry, University of Leicester)

Conclusions• High uptake• Student performance increased by 18%• Greater satisfaction with the learning process• Highly rated by teachers

Further Work

• Full development:– Completion of lecture course– Improvement of pre-lecture– Collaborative resources, e.g. Wikis– Various formats – Moodle, Website

• Rigorous evaluation– Multiple institutions

AcknowledgementsI thank Jonathan Mason, University of Bath, for his work on the project and for producing some wonderful resources.I also thank the following for their help and feedback:Dr B. Byers, Dr G. Currell, Dr D. Davies, Dr J. Eames, Dr P. Jenkins, Prof T. Overton, Dr H. Wilkins, Dr M. Willis, N. Parmar, C. Martin

References

Any Questions?

1. M. Polanyi, Tacit Knowing: Its Bearing on Some Problems of Psychology, Reviews of Modern Physics, 1962, 34, 601-616.

2. C. Willis and M. Wills, Organic Synthesis, Oxford: OUP, 1995 3. D. Laurillard, Rethinking University Teaching: a framework for the effective use of educational

technology, London: Routledge, 1993 4. D. Bligh, What’s the Use of Lectures?, Exeter: Intellect, 1998 5. R. Sharpe, G. Benfield, G. Roberts and R. Francis, The undergraduate experience of blended

e-learning: a review of UK literature and practice, HE Academy, http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/research/Sharpe_Benfield_Roberts_Francis.pdf, 2006