Re-designing Science Courses for Non-majors using Hands-on Learning

Experiences

Harry Pylypiw1, Marshall Sternberg1, and Frances Rowe2

Quinnipiac University1Department of Chemistry and Physical

Sciences2QU-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 presentationhttp://breeze.quinnipiac.edu/p56636755/

Interactive Presentation

Screen shot of presentation. To activate the presentation, click here:http://breeze.quinnipiac.edu/p27943886/

Click here to activate presentation

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 PresentationUV A, B, & C Rays

Screen shot of presentation. Follow the link below to activate the presentationhttp://breeze.quinnipiac.edu/p89251017/

Interactive PresentationUV and You

Screen shot of presentation. Follow the link below to activate the presentationhttp://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 presentationhttp://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/c

hiral/• 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." Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 1.1 (2009): 862-71.

Ke, Fengfeng, and Kui Xie. "Toward Deep Learning for Adult Students in Online Courses." The Internet and Higher Education 12.3-4 (2009): 136-45.

Kerr, Marcel S., Kimberly Rynearson, and Marcus C. Kerr. "Student Characteristics for Online Learning Success." The Internet and Higher Education 9.2 (2006): 91-105.

Kim, Kyong-Jee, Shijuan Liu, and Curtis J. Bonk. "Online MBA Students' Perceptions of Online Learning: Benefits, Challenges, and Suggestions." The Internet and Higher Education 8.4 (2005): 335-44.

Seng, Lau, and Fitri Suraya Mohamad. "Online Learning: Is it Meant for Science Courses?" The Internet and Higher Education 5.2 (2002): 109-18.

Spannagel, Christian, et al. "Animated Demonstrations and Training Wheels Interfaces in a Complex Learning Environment." Interacting with Computers 20.1 (2008): 97-111.