Laboratory Activity Worksheet to Train High Order Thinking Skill of Student on Surface Chemistry Lecture

Science.gov (United States)

Yonata, B.; Nasrudin, H.

2018-01-01

A worksheet has to be a set with activity which is help students to arrange their own experiments. For this reason, this research is focused on how to train students’ higher order thinking skills in laboratory activity by developing laboratory activity worksheet on surface chemistry lecture. To ensure that the laboratory activity worksheet already contains aspects of the higher order thinking skill, it requires theoretical and empirical validation. From the data analysis results, it shows that the developed worksheet worth to use. The worksheet is worthy of theoretical and empirical feasibility. This conclusion is based on the findings: 1) Assessment from the validators about the theoretical feasibility aspects in the category is very feasible with an assessment range of 95.24% to 97.92%. 2) students’ higher thinking skill from N Gain values ranges from 0.50 (enough) to 1.00 (high) so it can be concluded that the laboratory activity worksheet on surface chemistry lecture is empirical in terms of worth. The empirical feasibility is supported by the responses of the students in very reasonable categories. It is expected that the laboratory activity worksheet on surface chemistry lecture can train students’ high order thinking skills for students who program surface chemistry lecture.

Web-Based Learning Enhancements: Video Lectures through Voice-Over PowerPoint in a Majors-Level Biology Course

Science.gov (United States)

Lents, Nathan H.; Cifuentes, Oscar E.

2009-01-01

This study is an experimental introduction of web-based lecture delivery into a majors-level introductory biology course. Web-based delivery, achieved through the use of prerecorded Voice-Over PowerPoint video lectures, was introduced on a limited basis to an experimental section while a control group, with the same instructor, received standard…

Organic Chemistry in Action! Developing an Intervention Program for Introductory Organic Chemistry to Improve Learners' Understanding, Interest, and Attitudes

Science.gov (United States)

O'Dwyer, Anne; Childs, Peter

2014-01-01

The main areas of difficulty experienced by those teaching and learning organic chemistry at high school and introductory university level in Ireland have been identified, and the findings support previous studies in Ireland and globally. Using these findings and insights from chemistry education research (CER), the Organic Chemistry in Action!…

Integrating Symmetry in Stereochemical Analysis in Introductory Organic Chemistry

Science.gov (United States)

Taagepera, Mare; Arasasingham, Ramesh D.; King, Susan; Potter, Frank; Martorell, Ingrid; Ford, David; Wu, Jason; Kearney, Aaron M.

2011-01-01

We report a comparative study using "knowledge space theory" (KAT) to assess the impact of a hands-on laboratory exercise that used molecular model kits to emphasize the connections between a plane of symmetry, Charity, and isomerism in an introductory organic chemistry course. The experimental design compared three groups of…

Introductory lecture series for first-year radiology residents: implementation, investment and assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Chapman, Teresa; Chew, Felix S

2013-03-01

A lecture series aimed at providing new radiology residents a rapid course on the fundamental concepts of professionalism, safety, and interpretation of diagnostic imaging was established. Evaluation of the course's educational value was attempted through surveys. Twenty-six live 45-minute lectures presented by 16 or 17 faculty members were organized exclusively for the first class of radiology residents, held over a 2-month period at the beginning of certain weekdays. Online surveys were conducted after the course to gather feedback from residents. Average resident rotation evaluation scores were measured over the first semester for the two classes before and after this new course implementation. The lecture series was successfully organized and implemented. A total of 33 residents sat through the course over three summers. Faculty reported a reasonable number of preparation hours, and 100% of residents indicated they valued the course. Comparison of class average evaluation scores before and after the existence of this 2-month course did not significantly change. This collection of introductory lectures on professionalism, safety, and diagnostic imaging, delivered early in the first year of the radiology residency, requires a reasonable number of invested preparation hours by the faculty but results in a universal increase in resident confidence. However, we were unable to demonstrate an objective improvement in resident performance on clinical rotations. Copyright © 2013 AUR. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Curriculum Outline for Introduction to Engineering Chemistry. First Edition. Review Cycle-Annual.

Science.gov (United States)

Schlenker, Richard M.

This curriculum outline consists of behavioral objectives (called terminal and enabling objectives) for Introduction to Engineering Chemistry, a one-semester, post-secondary course consisting of four 1-hour lectures each week. Course goal is to introduce marine engineering students to the rudiments of basic/introductory inorganic chemistry. The…

Documenting Instructional Practices in Large Introductory STEM Lecture Courses

Science.gov (United States)

Vu, Viet Quoc

STEM education reform in higher education is framed around the need to improve student learning outcomes, increase student retention, and increase the number of underrepresented minorities and female students in STEM fields, all of which would ultimately contribute to America's competitiveness and prosperity. To achieve these goals, education reformers call for an increase in the adoption of research-based "promising practices" in classrooms. Despite efforts to increase the adoption of more promising practices in classrooms, postsecondary instructors are still likely to lecture and use traditional teaching approaches. To shed light on this adoption dilemma, a mix-methods study was conducted. First, instructional practices in large introductory STEM courses were identified, followed by an analysis of factors that inhibit or contribute to the use of promising practices. Data were obtained from classroom observations (N = 259) of large gateway courses across STEM departments and from instructor interviews (N = 67). Results show that instructors are already aware of promising practices and that change strategies could move from focusing on the development and dissemination of promising practices to focusing on improving adoption rates. Teaching-track instructors such as lecturers with potential for security of employment (LPSOE) and lecturers with security of employment (LSOE) have adopted promising practices more than other instructors. Interview data show that LPSOEs are also effective at disseminating promising practices to their peers, but opinion leaders (influential faculty in a department) are necessary to promote adoption of promising practices by higher ranking instructors. However, hiring more LPSOEs or opinion leaders will not be enough to shift instructional practices. Variations in the adoption of promising practices by instructors and across departments show that any reform strategy needs to be systematic and take into consideration how information is

Connecting biology and organic chemistry introductory laboratory courses through a collaborative research project.

Science.gov (United States)

Boltax, Ariana L; Armanious, Stephanie; Kosinski-Collins, Melissa S; Pontrello, Jason K

2015-01-01

Modern research often requires collaboration of experts in fields, such as math, chemistry, biology, physics, and computer science to develop unique solutions to common problems. Traditional introductory undergraduate laboratory curricula in the sciences often do not emphasize connections possible between the various disciplines. We designed an interdisciplinary, medically relevant, project intended to help students see connections between chemistry and biology. Second term organic chemistry laboratory students designed and synthesized potential polymer inhibitors or inducers of polyglutamine protein aggregation. The use of novel target compounds added the uncertainty of scientific research to the project. Biology laboratory students then tested the novel potential pharmaceuticals in Huntington's disease model assays, using in vitro polyglutamine peptide aggregation and in vivo lethality studies in Drosophila. Students read articles from the primary literature describing the system from both chemical and biological perspectives. Assessment revealed that students emerged from both courses with a deeper understanding of the interdisciplinary nature of biology and chemistry and a heightened interest in basic research. The design of this collaborative project for introductory biology and organic chemistry labs demonstrated how the local interests and expertise at a university can be drawn from to create an effective way to integrate these introductory courses. Rather than simply presenting a series of experiments to be replicated, we hope that our efforts will inspire other scientists to think about how some aspect of authentic work can be brought into their own courses, and we also welcome additional collaborations to extend the scope of the scientific exploration. © 2015 The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

An Introduction to Boiler Water Chemistry for the Marine Engineer: A Text of Audio-Tutorial Instruction.

Science.gov (United States)

Schlenker, Richard M.; And Others

Presented is a manuscript for an introductory boiler water chemistry course for marine engineer education. The course is modular, self-paced, audio-tutorial, contract graded and combined lecture-laboratory instructed. Lectures are presented to students individually via audio-tapes and 35 mm slides. The course consists of a total of 17 modules -…

Teaching a Chemistry MOOC with a Virtual Laboratory: Lessons Learned from an Introductory Physical Chemistry Course

Science.gov (United States)

O'Malley, Patrick J.; Agger, Jonathan R.; Anderson, Michael W.

2015-01-01

An analysis is presented of the experience and lessons learned of running a MOOC in introductory physical chemistry. The course was unique in allowing students to conduct experimental measurements using a virtual laboratory constructed using video and simulations. A breakdown of the student background and motivation for taking the course is…

(Role) Playing Politics in an Environmental Chemistry Lecture Course

Science.gov (United States)

Smythe, Meredith A.; Higgins, Daniel A.

2007-01-01

Participation of environmental chemistry students in mock congressional hearings is described, as a means of helping them better develop their speaking and debating skills. The activity brings active learning principles into the classroom and greatly increases student participation in an otherwise traditional lecture course.

Laboratory Sequence in Computational Methods for Introductory Chemistry

Science.gov (United States)

Cody, Jason A.; Wiser, Dawn C.

2003-07-01

A four-exercise laboratory sequence for introductory chemistry integrating hands-on, student-centered experience with computer modeling has been designed and implemented. The progression builds from exploration of molecular shapes to intermolecular forces and the impact of those forces on chemical separations made with gas chromatography and distillation. The sequence ends with an exploration of molecular orbitals. The students use the computers as a tool; they build the molecules, submit the calculations, and interpret the results. Because of the construction of the sequence and its placement spanning the semester break, good laboratory notebook practices are reinforced and the continuity of course content and methods between semesters is emphasized. The inclusion of these techniques in the first year of chemistry has had a positive impact on student perceptions and student learning.

Improving Students' Understanding of Molecular Structure through Broad-Based Use of Computer Models in the Undergraduate Organic Chemistry Lecture

Science.gov (United States)

Springer, Michael T.

2014-01-01

Several articles suggest how to incorporate computer models into the organic chemistry laboratory, but relatively few papers discuss how to incorporate these models broadly into the organic chemistry lecture. Previous research has suggested that "manipulating" physical or computer models enhances student understanding; this study…

Adapting Advanced Inorganic Chemistry Lecture and Laboratory Instruction for a Legally Blind Student

Science.gov (United States)

Miecznikowski, John R.; Guberman-Pfeffer, Matthew J.; Butrick, Elizabeth E.; Colangelo, Julie A.; Donaruma, Cristine E.

2015-01-01

In this article, the strategies and techniques used to successfully teach advanced inorganic chemistry, in the lecture and laboratory, to a legally blind student are described. At Fairfield University, these separate courses, which have a physical chemistry corequisite or a prerequisite, are taught for junior and senior chemistry and biochemistry…

A Cost-Effective Two-Part Experiment for Teaching Introductory Organic Chemistry Techniques

Science.gov (United States)

Sadek, Christopher M.; Brown, Brenna A.; Wan, Hayley

2011-01-01

This two-part laboratory experiment is designed to be a cost-effective method for teaching basic organic laboratory techniques (recrystallization, thin-layer chromatography, column chromatography, vacuum filtration, and melting point determination) to large classes of introductory organic chemistry students. Students are exposed to different…

A Tale of Two Sections: An Experiment to Compare the Effectiveness of a Hybrid versus a Traditional Lecture Format in Introductory Microbiology

OpenAIRE

Adams, Alison E. M.; Randall, Shelby; Traustad?ttir, Tinna

2015-01-01

Two sections of an introductory microbiology course were taught by one instructor. One was taught through a hybrid format and the other through a traditional format. Students were randomly assigned to the two sections. Both sections were provided with identical lecture materials, in-class worksheets, in-class assessments, and extra credit opportunities; the main difference was in the way the lecture material was delivered?online for the hybrid section and in person for the traditional section...

Azeotropic Preparation of a "C"-Phenyl "N"-Aryl Imine: An Introductory Undergraduate Organic Chemistry Laboratory Experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Silverberg, Lee J.; Coyle, David J.; Cannon, Kevin C.; Mathers, Robert T.; Richards, Jeffrey A.; Tierney, John

2016-01-01

Imines are important in biological chemistry and as intermediates in organic synthesis. An experiment for introductory undergraduate organic chemistry is presented in which benzaldehyde was condensed with "p"-methoxyaniline in toluene to give 4-methoxy-"N"-(phenylmethylene)benzenamine. Water was removed by azeotropic…

A Case Study of Prior Knowledge, Learning Approach and Conceptual Change in an Introductory College Chemistry Tutorial Program.

Science.gov (United States)

Braathen, Per Christian; Hewson, Peter W.

This paper presents a case study involving a small group of students enrolled in a tutorial program learning introductory college chemistry. The underlying theoretical framework of this investigation was a constructivist view of learning, but more specifically it was based on Ausubel's theory of meaningful learning. The findings of this…

The Effects of Online Homework on First Year Pre-Service Science Teachers' Learning Achievements of Introductory Organic Chemistry

Science.gov (United States)

Ratniyom, Jadsada; Boonphadung, Suttipong; Unnanantn, Thassanant

2016-01-01

This study examined the effects of the introductory organic chemistry online homework on first year pre-service science teachers' learning achievements. The online homework was created using a web-based Google form in order to enhance the pre-service science teachers' learning achievements. The steps for constructing online homework were…

Development and Implementation of a Two-Semester Introductory Organic-Bioorganic Chemistry Sequence: Conclusions from the First Six Years

Science.gov (United States)

Goess, Brian C.

2014-01-01

A two-semester second-year introductory organic chemistry sequence featuring one semester of accelerated organic chemistry followed by one semester of bioorganic chemistry is described. Assessment data collected over a six-year period reveal that such a course sequence can facilitate student mastery of fundamental organic chemistry in the first…

Flipped Statistics Class Results: Better Performance than Lecture over One Year Later

Science.gov (United States)

Winquist, Jennifer R.; Carlson, Keith A.

2014-01-01

In this paper, we compare an introductory statistics course taught using a flipped classroom approach to the same course taught using a traditional lecture based approach. In the lecture course, students listened to lecture, took notes, and completed homework assignments. In the flipped course, students read relatively simple chapters and answered…

Chemical Equilibrium, Unit 2: Le Chatelier's Principle. A Computer-Enriched Module for Introductory Chemistry. Student's Guide and Teacher's Guide.

Science.gov (United States)

Jameson, A. Keith

Presented are the teacher's guide and student materials for one of a series of self-instructional, computer-based learning modules for an introductory, undergraduate chemistry course. The student manual for this unit on Le Chatelier's principle includes objectives, prerequisites, pretest, instructions for executing the computer program, and…

Traditional Lecture Versus an Activity Approach for Teaching Statistics: A Comparison of Outcomes

OpenAIRE

Loveland, Jennifer L.

2014-01-01

Many educational researchers have proposed teaching statistics with less lecture and more active learning methods. However, there are only a few comparative studies that have taught one section of statistics with lectures and one section with activity-based methods; of those studies, the results are contradictory. To address the need for more research on the actual effectiveness of active learning methods in introductory statistics, this research study was undertaken. An introductory, univ...

Organic Chemistry YouTube Writing Assignment for Large Lecture Classes

Science.gov (United States)

Franz, Annaliese K.

2012-01-01

This work describes efforts to incorporate and evaluate the use of a YouTube writing assignment in large lecture classes to personalize learning and improve conceptual understanding of chemistry through peer- and self-explanation strategies. Although writing assignments can be a method to incorporate peer- and self-explanation strategies, this…

Connecting Biology and Organic Chemistry Introductory Laboratory Courses through a Collaborative Research Project

Science.gov (United States)

Boltax, Ariana L.; Armanious, Stephanie; Kosinski-Collins, Melissa S.; Pontrello, Jason K.

2015-01-01

Modern research often requires collaboration of experts in fields, such as math, chemistry, biology, physics, and computer science to develop unique solutions to common problems. Traditional introductory undergraduate laboratory curricula in the sciences often do not emphasize connections possible between the various disciplines. We designed an…

Chemical Structure and Properties: A Modified Atoms-First, One-Semester Introductory Chemistry Course

Science.gov (United States)

Schaller, Chris P.; Graham, Kate J.; Johnson, Brian J.; Jakubowski, Henry V.; McKenna, Anna G.; McIntee, Edward J.; Jones, T. Nicholas; Fazal, M. A.; Peterson, Alicia A.

2015-01-01

A one-semester, introductory chemistry course is described that develops a primarily qualitative understanding of structure-property relationships. Starting from an atoms-first approach, the course examines the properties and three-dimensional structure of metallic and ionic solids before expanding into a thorough investigation of molecules. In…

Demonstrating the facticity of facts: university lectures and chemistry as a science in Germany around 1800.

Science.gov (United States)

Frercks, Jan

2010-03-01

In this article, I argue that chemical lectures at universities played a crucial role in the establishment of chemistry as a well-defined science in Germany around 1800. In particular, lecture demonstrations served to secure the facticity of facts. This was important, because the concept of the chemical fact was at the centre of the prevailing epistemology, which itself partly reflected the social order of chemistry as a science in Germany, and partly served to foster it. In the dialectic constellation of research and teaching, professor-chemists took the lead in the social and epistemological definition of chemistry.

Active Learning and Cooperative Learning in the Organic Chemistry Lecture Class

Science.gov (United States)

Paulson, Donald R.

1999-08-01

Faculty in the physical sciences are one of the academic groups least receptive to the use of active learning strategies and cooperative learning in their classrooms. This is particularly so in traditional lecture classes. It is the objective of this paper to show how effective these techniques can be in improving student performance in classes. The use of active learning strategies and cooperative learning groups in my organic chemistry lecture classes has increased the overall pass rate in my classes by an astounding 20-30% over the traditional lecture mode. This has been accomplished without any reduction in "standards". The actual methods employed are presented as well as a discussion of how I came to radically change the way I teach my classes.

Student Perceptions of a Form-Based Approach to Reflective Journaling

Science.gov (United States)

Mabrouk, Patricia Ann

2015-01-01

The author describes the principal findings of a survey study looking at student perceptions of a new form-based approach to reflective journaling. A form-based journal assignment was developed for use in introductory lecture courses and tested over a two-year period in an Honors General Chemistry course for engineers with a total of 157…

Synthesis and Metalation of a Ligand: An Interdisciplinary Laboratory Experiment for Second-Year Organic and Introductory Inorganic Chemistry Students

Science.gov (United States)

Kasting, Benjamin J.; Bowser, Andrew K.; Anderson-Wile, Amelia M.; Wile, Bradley M.

2015-01-01

An interdisciplinary laboratory experiment involving second-year undergraduate organic chemistry and introductory inorganic chemistry undergraduate students is described. Organic chemistry students prepare a series of amine-bis(phenols) via a Mannich reaction, and characterize their products using melting point; FTIR; and [superscript 1]H,…

A Tale of Two Sections: An Experiment to Compare the Effectiveness of a Hybrid versus a Traditional Lecture Format in Introductory Microbiology

Science.gov (United States)

Adams, Alison E. M.; Randall, Shelby; Traustadóttir, Tinna

2015-01-01

Two sections of an introductory microbiology course were taught by one instructor. One was taught through a hybrid format and the other through a traditional format. Students were randomly assigned to the two sections. Both sections were provided with identical lecture materials, in-class worksheets, in-class assessments, and extra credit…

Development of Database and Lecture Book for Nuclear Water Chemistry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maeng, Wan Young; Kim, U. C.; Na, J. W.; Choi, B. S.; Lee, E. H.; Kim, K. H.; Kim, K. M.; Kim, S. H.; Im, K. S.

2010-02-01

In order to establish a systematic and synthetic knowledge system of nuclear water chemistry, we held nuclear water chemistry experts group meetings. We discussed the way of buildup and propagation of nuclear water chemistry knowledge with domestic experts. We obtained a lot of various opinions that made the good use of this research project. The results will be applied to continuous buildup of domestic nuclear water chemistry knowledge database. Lessons in water chemistry of nuclear power plants (NPPs) have been opened in Nuclear Training and education Center, KAERI to educate the new generation who are working and will be working at the department of water chemistry of NPPs. The lessons were 17 and lesson period was from 12th May through 5th November. In order to progress the programs, many water chemistry experts were invited. They gave lectures to the younger generation once a week for 2 h about their experiences obtained during working on water chemistry of NPPs. The number of attendance was 290. The lessons were very effective and the lesson data will be used to make database for continuous use

Developing and Implementing a Simple, Affordable Hydrogen Fuel Cell Laboratory in Introductory Chemistry

Science.gov (United States)

Klara, Kristina; Hou, Ning; Lawman, Allison; Wu, Liheng; Morrill, Drew; Tente, Alfred; Wang, Li-Qiong

2014-01-01

A simple, affordable hydrogen proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell laboratory was developed through a collaborative effort between faculty and undergraduate students at Brown University. It has been incorporated into the introductory chemistry curriculum and successfully implemented in a class of over 500 students per academic year for over 3…

Cross-Course Collaboration in the Undergraduate Chemistry Curriculum: Isotopic Labeling with Sodium Borodeuteride in the Introductory Organic Chemistry Laboratory

Science.gov (United States)

Kjonaas, Richard A.; Fitch, Richard W.; Noll, Robert J.

2017-01-01

A microscale isotopic labeling experiment is described for the introductory organic chemistry laboratory course wherein half of the students use sodium borohydride (NaBH[subscript 4]) and the other half use sodium borodeuteride (NaBD[subscript 4]) to reduce acetophenone to 1-phenylethanol and then compare spectral data. The cost is reasonable, and…

An Integrated Visualization and Basic Molecular Modeling Laboratory for First-Year Undergraduate Medicinal Chemistry

Science.gov (United States)

Hayes, Joseph M.

2014-01-01

A 3D model visualization and basic molecular modeling laboratory suitable for first-year undergraduates studying introductory medicinal chemistry is presented. The 2 h practical is embedded within a series of lectures on drug design, target-drug interactions, enzymes, receptors, nucleic acids, and basic pharmacokinetics. Serving as a teaching aid…

General Procedure for the Easy Calculation of pH in an Introductory Course of General or Analytical Chemistry

Science.gov (United States)

Cepriá, Gemma; Salvatella, Luis

2014-01-01

All pH calculations for simple acid-base systems used in introductory courses on general or analytical chemistry can be carried out by using a general procedure requiring the use of predominance diagrams. In particular, the pH is calculated as the sum of an independent term equaling the average pK[subscript a] values of the acids involved in the…

Computer-based, Jeopardy™-like game in general chemistry for engineering majors

Science.gov (United States)

Ling, S. S.; Saffre, F.; Kadadha, M.; Gater, D. L.; Isakovic, A. F.

2013-03-01

We report on the design of Jeopardy™-like computer game for enhancement of learning of general chemistry for engineering majors. While we examine several parameters of student achievement and attitude, our primary concern is addressing the motivation of students, which tends to be low in a traditionally run chemistry lectures. The effect of the game-playing is tested by comparing paper-based game quiz, which constitutes a control group, and computer-based game quiz, constituting a treatment group. Computer-based game quizzes are Java™-based applications that students run once a week in the second part of the last lecture of the week. Overall effectiveness of the semester-long program is measured through pretest-postest conceptual testing of general chemistry. The objective of this research is to determine to what extent this ``gamification'' of the course delivery and course evaluation processes may be beneficial to the undergraduates' learning of science in general, and chemistry in particular. We present data addressing gender-specific difference in performance, as well as background (pre-college) level of general science and chemistry preparation. We outline the plan how to extend such approach to general physics courses and to modern science driven electives, and we offer live, in-lectures examples of our computer gaming experience. We acknowledge support from Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi

#IHeartChemistryNCSU: Free Choice, Content, and Elements of Science Communication as the Framework for an Introductory Organic Chemistry Project

Science.gov (United States)

Frohock, Bram H.; Winterrowd, Samantha T.; Gallardo-Williams, Maria T.

2018-01-01

Students in a large introductory organic chemistry class were given the freedom to choose an organic compound of interest and were challenged to develop an educational object (physical or digital) designed to be shared with the broader public via social media. Analysis of the project results shows that most students appreciated the open nature of…

Domestic science: making chemistry your cup of tea.

Science.gov (United States)

Keene, Melanie

2008-03-01

In the early Victorian home, there were plenty of scientific lessons to be uncovered. With the appropriate interrogation, everyday objects could transform seemingly mundane activities such as eating breakfast, washing clothes or reading by candle-light into household lectures that gave children a familiar base from which to explore the hidden properties and marvellous histories of common commodities. Responding to an unprecedented hunger for scientific knowledge, a profusion of introductory texts appeared in the mid-nineteenth century that directed lessons into homes across Britain and beyond. In particular, the science of chemistry found its way into this domestic setting, as writers promoted its practice and practitioners as a source of authoritative expertise on everyday life. One of the most compelling illustrations of this encounter between the public and chemistry took place over a simple cup of tea.

Evaluation of an Integrated Curriculum in Physics, Mathematics, Engineering, and Chemistry

Science.gov (United States)

Beichner, Robert

1997-04-01

An experimental, student centered, introductory curriculum called IMPEC (for Integrated Mathematics, Physics, Engineering, and Chemistry curriculum) is in its third year of pilot-testing at NCSU. The curriculum is taught by a multidisciplinary team of professors using a combination of traditional lecturing and alternative instructional methods including cooperative learning, activity-based class sessions, and extensive use of computer modeling, simulations, and the world wide web. This talk will discuss the research basis for our design and implementation of the curriculum, the qualitative and quantitative methods we have been using to assess its effectiveness, and the educational outcomes we have noted so far.

A MOOC for Introductory Physics

Science.gov (United States)

Schatz, Michael

2014-03-01

We describe an effort to develop and to implement a college-level introductory physics (mechanics) MOOC that offers bona fide laboratory experiences. We also discuss efforts to use MOOC curricular materials to ``flip'' the classroom in a large lecture introductory physics course offered on-campus at Georgia Tech. Preliminary results of assessments and surveys from both MOOC and on-campus students will be presented.

Spiers memorial lecture. Organic electronics: an organic materials perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Wudl, Fred

2014-01-01

This Introductory Lecture is intended to provide a background to Faraday Discussion 174: "Organic Photonics and Electronics" and will consist of a chronological, subjective review of organic electronics. Starting with "ancient history" (1888) and history (1950-present), the article will take us to the present. The principal developments involved the processes of charge carrier generation and charge transport in molecular solids, starting with insulators (photoconductors) and moving to metals, to semiconductors and ending with the most popular semiconductor devices, such as organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), organic field effect transistors (OFETs) and organic photovoltaics (OPVs). The presentation will be from an organic chemistry/materials point of view.

Spiers Memorial Lecture. Quantum chemistry: the first seventy years.

Science.gov (United States)

McWeeny, Roy

2007-01-01

Present-day theoretical chemistry is rooted in Quantum Mechanics. The aim of the opening lecture is to trace the evolution of Quantum Chemistry from the Heitler-London paper of 1927 up to the end of the last century, emphasizing concepts rather than calculations. The importance of symmetry concepts became evident in the early years: one thinks of the necessary anti-symmetry of the wave function under electron permutations, the Pauli principle, the aufbau scheme, and the classification of spectroscopic states. But for chemists perhaps the key concept is embodied in the Hellmann-Feynman theorem, which provides a pictorial interpretation of chemical bonding in terms of classical electrostatic forces exerted on the nuclei by the electron distribution. Much of the lecture is concerned with various electron distribution functions--the electron density, the current density, the spin density, and other 'property densities'--and with their use in interpreting both molecular structure and molecular properties. Other topics touched upon include Response theory and propagators; Chemical groups in molecules and the group function approach; Atoms in molecules and Bader's theory; Electron correlation and the 'pair function'. Finally, some long-standing controversies, in particular the EPR paradox, are re-examined in the context of molecular dissociation. By admitting the concept of symmetry breaking, along with the use of the von Neumann-Dirac statistical ensemble, orthodox quantum mechanics can lead to a convincing picture of the dissociation mechanism.

Structural Analysis of Lexical Bundles in University Lectures of Politics and Chemistry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hadi Kashiha

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Referred to as extended collocations, lexical bundles are considered as a main factor in building fluency in academic discourse; helping to shape meaning and coherence in a text or speech. For decades, lexical bundles have attracted considerable amount of attention in corpus-based research in English for Academic Purposes (EAP. While, the focus of the most of the studies on lexical bundles was to explore the use of these multi-word expressions in academic written registers such as research articles, academic spoken registers such as university lectures have not received that amount of attention from the scholars. In this vein, there is still an open question of how they are structurally different across disciplines. With these concerns in mind, this study aimed to explore how lexical bundles are used structurally in a 50291 words corpus of 8 university lectures across two disciplines: chemistry and politics. To this aim, the most frequent four-word bundles in the corpus were classified according to their grammatical types to see the possible disciplinary variations in their frequency of use as well as the structure involved in their use. Results of the analysis revealed that noun phrase and prepositional phrase fragments were the most common structures in the lectures of the two disciplines, accounting for more than half of the bundles in politics. University lecturers appear to apply a variety of structures in the use of lexical bundles often peculiar to the discipline in order to convey their disciplinary messages.  This would lead to the need to emphasize the instruction of the most common structures in that discipline in a way for the lectures to be as comprehensive as possible for the intended audiences.

Incorporating a Watershed-Based Summary Field Exercise into an Introductory Hydrogeology Course

Science.gov (United States)

Fryar, Alan E.; Thompson, Karen E.; Hendricks, Susan P.; White, David S.

2010-01-01

We have developed and implemented a summary field exercise for an introductory hydrogeology course without a laboratory section. This exercise builds on lectures and problem sets that use pre-existing field data. During one day in April, students measure hydraulic heads, stream and spring flow, and stream-bed seepage within the rural watershed of…

Student Responses to a Flipped Introductory Physics Class with built-in Post-Video Feedback Quizzes

Science.gov (United States)

Ramos, Roberto

We present and analyze student responses to multiple Introductory physics classes in a university setting, taught in a ''flipped'' class format. The classes included algebra- and calculus-based introductory physics. Outside class, students viewed over 100 online video lectures on Classical Mechanics, Electricity and Magnetism, and Modern Physics prepared by this author and in some cases, by a third-party lecture package available over YouTube. Inside the class, students solved and discussed problems and conceptual issues in greater detail. A pre-class online quiz was deployed as an important source of feedback. I will report on the student reactions to the feedback mechanism, student responses using data based on anonymous surveys, as well as on learning gains from pre-/post- physics diagnostic tests. The results indicate a broad mixture of responses to different lecture video packages that depend on learning styles and perceptions. Students preferred the online quizzes as a mechanism to validate their understanding. The learning gains based on FCI and CSEM surveys were significant.

Developing and validating a conceptual survey to assess introductory physics students’ understanding of magnetism

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Jing; Singh, Chandralekha

2017-03-01

Development of validated physics surveys on various topics is important for investigating the extent to which students master those concepts after traditional instruction and for assessing innovative curricula and pedagogies that can improve student understanding significantly. Here, we discuss the development and validation of a conceptual multiple-choice survey related to magnetism suitable for introductory physics courses. The survey was developed taking into account common students’ difficulties with magnetism concepts covered in introductory physics courses found in our investigation and the incorrect choices to the multiple-choice questions were designed based upon those common student difficulties. After the development and validation of the survey, it was administered to introductory physics students in various classes in paper-pencil format before and after traditional lecture-based instruction in relevant concepts. We compared the performance of students on the survey in the algebra-based and calculus-based introductory physics courses before and after traditional lecture-based instruction in relevant magnetism concepts. We discuss the common difficulties of introductory physics students with magnetism concepts we found via the survey. We also administered the survey to upper-level undergraduates majoring in physics and PhD students to benchmark the survey and compared their performance with those of traditionally taught introductory physics students for whom the survey is intended. A comparison with the base line data on the validated magnetism survey from traditionally taught introductory physics courses and upper-level undergraduate and PhD students discussed in this paper can help instructors assess the effectiveness of curricula and pedagogies which is especially designed to help students integrate conceptual and quantitative understanding and develop a good grasp of the concepts. In particular, if introductory physics students’ average

Developing and validating a conceptual survey to assess introductory physics students’ understanding of magnetism

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Jing; Singh, Chandralekha

2017-01-01

Development of validated physics surveys on various topics is important for investigating the extent to which students master those concepts after traditional instruction and for assessing innovative curricula and pedagogies that can improve student understanding significantly. Here, we discuss the development and validation of a conceptual multiple-choice survey related to magnetism suitable for introductory physics courses. The survey was developed taking into account common students’ difficulties with magnetism concepts covered in introductory physics courses found in our investigation and the incorrect choices to the multiple-choice questions were designed based upon those common student difficulties. After the development and validation of the survey, it was administered to introductory physics students in various classes in paper–pencil format before and after traditional lecture-based instruction in relevant concepts. We compared the performance of students on the survey in the algebra-based and calculus-based introductory physics courses before and after traditional lecture-based instruction in relevant magnetism concepts. We discuss the common difficulties of introductory physics students with magnetism concepts we found via the survey. We also administered the survey to upper-level undergraduates majoring in physics and PhD students to benchmark the survey and compared their performance with those of traditionally taught introductory physics students for whom the survey is intended. A comparison with the base line data on the validated magnetism survey from traditionally taught introductory physics courses and upper-level undergraduate and PhD students discussed in this paper can help instructors assess the effectiveness of curricula and pedagogies which is especially designed to help students integrate conceptual and quantitative understanding and develop a good grasp of the concepts. In particular, if introductory physics students’ average

The Isolation of Rubber from Milkweed Leaves. An Introductory Organic Chemistry Lab

Science.gov (United States)

Volaric, Lisa; Hagen, John P.

2002-01-01

We present an introductory organic chemistry lab in which students isolate rubber from the leaves of milkweed plants (Asclepias syriaca). Students isolated rubber with a recovery of 2.4 ± 1.8% and 1.8 ± 0.7% for the microscale and macroscale procedures, respectively. Infrared spectra of their products were compared with the spectrum of synthetic rubber, cis-polyisoprene. Students tested for elasticity of their product by twisting it on a spatula and pulling; all students found some degree of elasticity.

Teaching innovation in organic chemistry: An inquiry into what happens when the lecturer stops lecturing

Science.gov (United States)

Bauer, Richard Charles

1998-12-01

In this dissertation the author presents findings from a study of an organic chemistry class in which the instructor changed his mode of content delivery. Instead of using a traditional lecture, the professor engaged students in discussions about chemical behavior, required students to complete cooperative learning activities in and out of class, and altered his examination format. The purpose of the research was to investigate the implementation of the changes made in content delivery, describe subsequent classroom interactions, and discuss participant responses to the innovations. Because of the research focus the author used a qualitative methodology to investigate this unique organic chemistry course. The study showed that the instructor's belief system and skills played an important role in overcoming barriers to implementation. Analysis of class transcripts revealed that the class was highly interactive with students freely offering responses to the instructor's questions and sometimes submitting insightful comments. The discussion format of the class also revealed some student misunderstanding that other teaching structures may not have identified. In general the instructor was able to pursue some concepts in more depth than allowed by a typical lecture mode of content delivery. Analysis of class transcripts also showed characteristics of organic chemistry teaching by Prof. Loudon that might be described as exemplary. He focused student attention on molecular structure and the chemical behavioral patterns that emerge from organic compounds that are structurally similar. Student response to Prof. Loudon's teaching style was quite favorable. A common remark from students was that his personal knowledge of them contributed to their class preparation and desire to learn. In general, students appreciated the opportunity to discuss exam questions in their groups before individual exam administration. On the final course evaluation, however, a couple students

Investigating and improving introductory physics students’ understanding of symmetry and Gauss’s law

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Jing; Singh, Chandralekha

2018-01-01

We discuss an investigation of student difficulties with symmetry and Gauss’s law and how the research on students’ difficulties was used as a guide to develop a tutorial related to these topics to help students in the calculus-based introductory physics courses learn these concepts. During the development of the tutorial, we interviewed students individually at various stages of development and administered written tests in the free-response and multiple-choice formats on these concepts to learn about common student difficulties. We also obtained feedback from physics instructors who teach introductory physics courses regularly in which these concepts were covered. The students in several ‘equivalent’ sections worked on the tutorial after traditional lecture-based instruction. We discuss the performance of students on the written pre-test (administered after lecture-based instruction in relevant concepts) and post-test given after students worked on the tutorial. We find that on the pre-test, all sections of the course performed comparably regardless of the instructor. Also, on average, student performance on the post-test after working on the tutorial is significantly better than on the pre-test after lecture-based instruction. We also compare the post-test performance of introductory students in sections of the course in which the tutorial was used versus not used and find that sections in which students engaged with the tutorial outperformed those in which students did not engage with it.

Profile of students’ learning styles in Sorogan-Bandongan organic chemistry lecture

Science.gov (United States)

Rinaningsih; Kadarohman, A.; Firman, H.; Sutoyo

2018-05-01

Individual-based independent curriculum as one of target of national education of Indonesia in XXI century can be achieved with the implementation of Sorogan-Bandongan model. This kind of learning model highly facilitates students in understanding various concepts with their own, respective learning styles. This research aims to perceive the effectiveness of Sorogan-Bandongan in increasing the mastery of concept in various learning styles. The samples of this research are students majoring in chemistry amounted to 31 students. Using pre-test and post-test instrument, data are analyzed in descriptive-qualitative method. Based on the result of the data analysis, it is found that 16% of students have mathematical/logical learning style, 22.6% naturalist, 9.7% visual/spatial, 13% kinesthetic, 6% linguistic, 13% intrapersonal, 9.7% interpersonal, and 10% musical. After the implementation of Sorogan-Bandongan model in the Organic Chemistry lectures, improvement of classical learning outcomes as 11,07 is obtained. Six out of eight learning styles of students experienced increase in mastery of concept, where 7 students have the naturalist learning style, 4 students experienced decrease in mastery of concept while 1 student is stagnant (0); meanwhile, 2 out of 4 students that have the interpersonal learning style experienced decrease in mastery of concept.

First-Day Strategies for Millennial Students in Introductory Accounting Courses: It's All Fun and Games until Something Gets Learned

Science.gov (United States)

Mastilak, Christian

2012-01-01

Millennial students often possess characteristics at odds with typical lecture-based approaches to introductory accounting courses. The author introduces an approach for reaching millennial students early in introductory accounting courses in ways that fit millennials' characteristics. This article describes the use of the board game Monopoly[R]…

IM-Chem: The Use of Instant Messaging to Improve Student Performance and Personalize Large Lecture General Chemistry Courses

Science.gov (United States)

Behmke, Derek A.; Atwood, Charles H.

2012-01-01

Previous research has linked poor student performance with the depersonalized feeling of large lecture courses. Various forms of enhanced communication have been tried that appear to enhance personalization in large courses. For general chemistry classes taught in a 365-seat lecture hall at the University of Georgia, we have attempted to enhance…

Introductory lectures on quantum field theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alvarez-Gaume, L.; Vasquez-Mozo, M.A.

2011-01-01

In these lectures we present a few topics in quantum field theory in detail. Some of them are conceptual and some more practical. They have been selected because they appear frequently in current applications to particle physics and string theory. (author)

CAS Introductory Course in Italy

CERN Multimedia

2008-01-01

The CERN Accelerator School’s introductory course is a great success. This year the CERN Accelerator School held its "Introduction to Accelerator Physics" course in Frascati, Italy, from 2-14 November in collaboration with the University of Rome "La Sapienza" and the INFN Frascati National Laboratory. The Introductory level course is particularly important since, for the majority of participants, it is the first opportunity to discover the various aspects of accelerator physics. For this school the programme had been significantly revised in order to take into account the new trends currently being developed in the field, thus putting more emphasis on linacs, synchrotron light sources and free-electron lasers. The school was a resounding success with 115 participants of more than 23 nationalities. Feedback from the students praised the expertise of the lecturers, the high standard of the lectures as well as the excellent organizati...

Synthesis of Ibuprofen in the Introductory Organic Laboratory

Science.gov (United States)

Kjonaas, Richard A.; Williams, Peggy E.; Counce, David A.; Crawley, Lindsey R.

2011-01-01

A method for the synthesis of ibuprofen in introductory organic chemistry laboratory courses is reported. This experiment requires two 3-h lab sessions. All of the reactions and techniques are a standard part of any introductory organic chemistry course. In the first lab session, students reduce p-isobutylacetophenone to an alcohol and then…

Student Perceptions of Learning Data-Creation and Data-Analysis Skills in an Introductory College-Level Chemistry Course

Science.gov (United States)

Glazer, Nirit

2015-01-01

This study examines how students perceive their learning of creating and analyzing data in an introductory inquiry chemistry course at a college level that features oral presentations in student-centered discussions. A student Participant Perception Indicator (PPI) survey was administered in order to obtain data on student perceptions with respect…

What Are They Thinking? Automated Analysis of Student Writing about Acid–Base Chemistry in Introductory Biology

Science.gov (United States)

Haudek, Kevin C.; Prevost, Luanna B.; Moscarella, Rosa A.; Merrill, John; Urban-Lurain, Mark

2012-01-01

Students’ writing can provide better insight into their thinking than can multiple-choice questions. However, resource constraints often prevent faculty from using writing assessments in large undergraduate science courses. We investigated the use of computer software to analyze student writing and to uncover student ideas about chemistry in an introductory biology course. Students were asked to predict acid–base behavior of biological functional groups and to explain their answers. Student explanations were rated by two independent raters. Responses were also analyzed using SPSS Text Analysis for Surveys and a custom library of science-related terms and lexical categories relevant to the assessment item. These analyses revealed conceptual connections made by students, student difficulties explaining these topics, and the heterogeneity of student ideas. We validated the lexical analysis by correlating student interviews with the lexical analysis. We used discriminant analysis to create classification functions that identified seven key lexical categories that predict expert scoring (interrater reliability with experts = 0.899). This study suggests that computerized lexical analysis may be useful for automatically categorizing large numbers of student open-ended responses. Lexical analysis provides instructors unique insights into student thinking and a whole-class perspective that are difficult to obtain from multiple-choice questions or reading individual responses. PMID:22949425

Development of collaborative-creative learning model using virtual laboratory media for instrumental analytical chemistry lectures

Science.gov (United States)

Zurweni, Wibawa, Basuki; Erwin, Tuti Nurian

2017-08-01

The framework for teaching and learning in the 21st century was prepared with 4Cs criteria. Learning providing opportunity for the development of students' optimal creative skills is by implementing collaborative learning. Learners are challenged to be able to compete, work independently to bring either individual or group excellence and master the learning material. Virtual laboratory is used for the media of Instrumental Analytical Chemistry (Vis, UV-Vis-AAS etc) lectures through simulations computer application and used as a substitution for the laboratory if the equipment and instruments are not available. This research aims to design and develop collaborative-creative learning model using virtual laboratory media for Instrumental Analytical Chemistry lectures, to know the effectiveness of this design model adapting the Dick & Carey's model and Hannafin & Peck's model. The development steps of this model are: needs analyze, design collaborative-creative learning, virtual laboratory media using macromedia flash, formative evaluation and test of learning model effectiveness. While, the development stages of collaborative-creative learning model are: apperception, exploration, collaboration, creation, evaluation, feedback. Development of collaborative-creative learning model using virtual laboratory media can be used to improve the quality learning in the classroom, overcome the limitation of lab instruments for the real instrumental analysis. Formative test results show that the Collaborative-Creative Learning Model developed meets the requirements. The effectiveness test of students' pretest and posttest proves significant at 95% confidence level, t-test higher than t-table. It can be concluded that this learning model is effective to use for Instrumental Analytical Chemistry lectures.

Problem-based learning on quantitative analytical chemistry course

Science.gov (United States)

Fitri, Noor

2017-12-01

This research applies problem-based learning method on chemical quantitative analytical chemistry, so called as "Analytical Chemistry II" course, especially related to essential oil analysis. The learning outcomes of this course include aspects of understanding of lectures, the skills of applying course materials, and the ability to identify, formulate and solve chemical analysis problems. The role of study groups is quite important in improving students' learning ability and in completing independent tasks and group tasks. Thus, students are not only aware of the basic concepts of Analytical Chemistry II, but also able to understand and apply analytical concepts that have been studied to solve given analytical chemistry problems, and have the attitude and ability to work together to solve the problems. Based on the learning outcome, it can be concluded that the problem-based learning method in Analytical Chemistry II course has been proven to improve students' knowledge, skill, ability and attitude. Students are not only skilled at solving problems in analytical chemistry especially in essential oil analysis in accordance with local genius of Chemistry Department, Universitas Islam Indonesia, but also have skilled work with computer program and able to understand material and problem in English.

Effectiveness of Workshop Style Teaching in Students' Learning of Introductory Electricity and Magnetism

Science.gov (United States)

Mehta, Nirav; Cheng, Kelvin

2012-10-01

We have developed an interactive workshop-style course for our introductory calculus-based physics sequence at Trinity University. Lecture is limited to approximately 15 min. at the beginning of class, and the remainder of the 50-min. class is devoted to inquiry-based activities and problem solving. So far, lab is done separately and we have not incorporated the lab component into the workshop model. We use the Brief Electricity and Magnetism Assessment (BEMA) to compare learning gains between the workshop and traditional lecture-based course for the Spring 2012 semester. Both the workshop and lecture courses shared the same inquiry-based lab component that involved pre-labs, prediction-observation and post-lab activities. Our BEMA results indicate statistically significant improvement in overall learning gains compared to the traditional course. We compare our workshop BEMA scores both to traditional lecture scores here at Trinity and to those from other institutions.

Making the Introductory Meteorology Class Relevant in a Minority Serving Community College

Science.gov (United States)

Marchese, P. J.; Tremberger, G.; Bluestone, C.

2008-12-01

Queensborough Community College (QCC), a constituent campus of the City University of New York (CUNY), has modified the introductory Meteorology Class lecture and lab to include active learning activities and discovery based learning. The modules were developed at QCC and other 4 year colleges and designed to introduce basic physical concepts important in meteorology. The modules consisted of either interactive lecture demonstrations or discovery-based activities. The discovery based activities are intended to have students become familiar with scientific investigation. Students engage in formulating hypotheses, developing and carrying out experiments, and analyzing scientific data. These activities differ from traditional lab experiments in that they avoid "cookbook" procedures and emphasize having the students learn about physical concepts by applying the scientific method. During the interactive lecture demonstrations the instructor describes an experiment/phenomenon that is to be demonstrated in class. Students discuss the phenomenon based on their experiences and make a prediction about the outcome. The class then runs the experiment, makes observations, and compares the expected results to the actual outcome. As a result of these activities students in the introductory Meteorology class scored higher in exams questions measuring conceptual understanding, as well as factual knowledge. Lower scoring students demonstrated the greatest benefit, while the better students had little (or no) changes. All students also had higher self-efficacy scores after the intervention, compared to an unmodified class.

Portraiture in the Large Lecture: Storying One Chemistry Professor's Practical Knowledge

Science.gov (United States)

Eddleton, Jeannine E.

Practical knowledge, as defined by Freema Elbaz (1983), is a complex, practically oriented set of understandings which teachers use to actively shape and direct their work. The goal of this study is the construction of a social science portrait that illuminates the practical knowledge of a large lecture professor of general chemistry at a public research university in the southeast. This study continues Elbaz's (1981) work on practical knowledge with the incorporation of a qualitative and intentionally interventionist methodology which "blurs the boundaries of aesthetics and empiricism in an effort to capture the complexity, dynamics, and subtlety of human experience and organizational life," (Lawrence-Lightfoot & Davis, 1997). This collection of interviews, observations, writings, and reflections is designed for an eclectic audience with the intent of initiating conversation on the topic of the large lecture and is a purposeful attempt to link research and practice. Social science portraiture is uniquely suited to this intersection of researcher and researched, the perfect combination of methodology and analysis for a project that is both product and praxis. The following research questions guide the study. • Are aspects of Elbaz's practical knowledge identifiable in the research conversations conducted with a large lecture college professor? • Is practical knowledge identifiable during observations of Patricia's large lecture? Freema Elbaz conducted research conversations with Sarah, a high school classroom and writing resource teacher who conducted much of her teaching work one on one with students. Patricia's practice differs significantly from Sarah's with respect to subject matter and to scale.

Using Research-Based Interactive Video Vignettes to Enhance Out-of-Class Learning in Introductory Physics

Science.gov (United States)

Laws, Priscilla W.; Willis, Maxine C.; Jackson, David P.; Koenig, Kathleen; Teese, Robert

2015-02-01

Ever since the first generalized computer-assisted instruction system (PLATO1) was introduced over 50 years ago, educators have been adding computer-based materials to their classes. Today many textbooks have complete online versions that include video lectures and other supplements. In the past 25 years the web has fueled an explosion of online homework and course management systems, both as blended learning and online courses. Meanwhile, introductory physics instructors have been implementing new approaches to teaching based on the outcomes of Physics Education Research (PER). A common theme of PER-based instruction has been the use of active-learning strategies designed to help students overcome alternative conceptions that they often bring to the study of physics.2 Unfortunately, while classrooms have become more active, online learning typically relies on passive lecture videos or Kahn-style3 tablet drawings. To bring active learning online, the LivePhoto Physics Group has been developing Interactive Video Vignettes (IVVs) that add interactivity and PER-based elements to short presentations. These vignettes incorporate web-based video activities that contain interactive elements and typically require students to make predictions and analyze real-world phenomena.

Toward equity through participation in Modeling Instruction in introductory university physics

Science.gov (United States)

Brewe, Eric; Sawtelle, Vashti; Kramer, Laird H.; O'Brien, George E.; Rodriguez, Idaykis; Pamelá, Priscilla

2010-06-01

We report the results of a five year evaluation of the reform of introductory calculus-based physics by implementation of Modeling Instruction (MI) at Florida International University (FIU), a Hispanic-serving institution. MI is described in the context of FIU’s overall effort to enhance student participation in physics and science broadly. Our analysis of MI from a “participationist” perspective on learning identifies aspects of MI including conceptually based instruction, culturally sensitive instruction, and cooperative group learning, which are consistent with research on supporting equitable learning and participation by students historically under-represented in physics (i.e., Black, Hispanic, women). This study uses markers of conceptual understanding as measured by the Force Concept Inventory (FCI) and odds of success as measured by the ratio of students completing introductory physics and earning a passing grade (i.e., C- or better) by students historically under-represented in physics to reflect equity and participation in introductory physics. FCI pre and post scores for students in MI are compared with lecture-format taught students. Modeling Instruction students outperform students taught in lecture-format classes on post instruction FCI (61.9% vs 47.9%, p<0.001 ), where these benefits are seen across both ethnic and gender comparisons. In addition, we report that the odds of success in MI are 6.73 times greater than in lecture instruction. Both odds of success and FCI scores within Modeling Instruction are further disaggregated by ethnicity and by gender to address the question of equity within the treatment. The results of this disaggregation indicate that although ethnically under-represented students enter with lower overall conceptual understanding scores, the gap is not widened during introductory physics but instead is maintained, and the odds of success for under-represented students is not different from majority students. Women

Toward equity through participation in Modeling Instruction in introductory university physics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eric Brewe

2010-05-01

Full Text Available We report the results of a five year evaluation of the reform of introductory calculus-based physics by implementation of Modeling Instruction (MI at Florida International University (FIU, a Hispanic-serving institution. MI is described in the context of FIU’s overall effort to enhance student participation in physics and science broadly. Our analysis of MI from a “participationist” perspective on learning identifies aspects of MI including conceptually based instruction, culturally sensitive instruction, and cooperative group learning, which are consistent with research on supporting equitable learning and participation by students historically under-represented in physics (i.e., Black, Hispanic, women. This study uses markers of conceptual understanding as measured by the Force Concept Inventory (FCI and odds of success as measured by the ratio of students completing introductory physics and earning a passing grade (i.e., C− or better by students historically under-represented in physics to reflect equity and participation in introductory physics. FCI pre and post scores for students in MI are compared with lecture-format taught students. Modeling Instruction students outperform students taught in lecture-format classes on post instruction FCI (61.9% vs 47.9%, p<0.001, where these benefits are seen across both ethnic and gender comparisons. In addition, we report that the odds of success in MI are 6.73 times greater than in lecture instruction. Both odds of success and FCI scores within Modeling Instruction are further disaggregated by ethnicity and by gender to address the question of equity within the treatment. The results of this disaggregation indicate that although ethnically under-represented students enter with lower overall conceptual understanding scores, the gap is not widened during introductory physics but instead is maintained, and the odds of success for under-represented students is not different from majority students

Introductory quantum chemistry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chandra, A.K.

1974-01-01

This book on quantum chemistry is primarily intended for university students at the senior undergraduate level. It serves as an aid to the basic understanding of the important concepts of quantum mechanics introduced in the field of chemistry. Various chapters of the book are devoted to the following : (i) Waves and quanta, (ii) Operator concept in quantum chemistry, (iii) Wave mechanics of some simple systems, (iv) Perturbation theory, (v) Many-electron atoms and angular momenta (vi) Molecular orbital theory and its application to the electronic structure of diatomic molecules, (vii) Chemical bonding in polyatomic molecules and (viii) Chemical applications of Hellmann-Feynman theorem. At the end of each chapter, a set of problems is given and the answers to these problems are given at the end of the book. (A.K.)

Blended Learning Versus Traditional Lecture in Introductory Nursing Pathophysiology Courses.

Science.gov (United States)

Blissitt, Andrea Marie

2016-04-01

Currently, many undergraduate nursing courses use blended-learning course formats with success; however, little evidence exists that supports the use of blended formats in introductory pathophysiology courses. The purpose of this study was to compare the scores on pre- and posttests and course satisfaction between traditional and blended course formats in an introductory nursing pathophysiology course. This study used a quantitative, quasi-experimental, nonrandomized control group, pretest-posttest design. Analysis of covariance compared pre- and posttest scores, and a t test for independent samples compared students' reported course satisfaction of the traditional and blended course formats. Results indicated that the differences in posttest scores were not statistically significant between groups. Students in the traditional group reported statistically significantly higher satisfaction ratings than students in the blended group. The results of this study support the need for further research of using blended learning in introductory pathophysiology courses in undergraduate baccalaureate nursing programs. Further investigation into how satisfaction is affected by course formats is needed. Copyright 2016, SLACK Incorporated.

Activating Theory in the Introductory Classroom: Erving Goffman Visits Wisteria Lane

Science.gov (United States)

Melander, Lisa A.; Wortmann, Susan L.

2011-01-01

Instructors of large, general education lecture courses face a number of student engagement and learning challenges. In this article, we develop and assess an interactive lecture that introduces a theoretical perspective and three related concepts to two introductory sociology general education classrooms (n = 433). This interactive lecture…

Establishment of nuclear knowledge-information base; development of courseware on introductory nuclear engineering and establishment of digital education platform

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Song, Jong Soon; Na, Mang Yun; Lee, Goung Jin; Yang, Won Sik [Chosun University, Gwangju (Korea)

2002-01-01

In this research, there are two major tasks. The first one is a development of digital course-ware program for introductory nuclear engineering. For this task, a development of lecture note is followed by lecture Slide files in html file format, which is based on web. For this purpose, following activities were performed; collection of related materials. planning of overall courseware, writing of lecture note and exercise plan, and securing the computer programs and codes needed. The second task of this research is to plan and install several hardwares in a multimedia class room as a digital education platform. The platform includes smart board with touch screen functionality, network server and personal computers. The digital education platform was established as a multimedia class room in the 2nd College of Engineering building, room 16210 by using the Server-Client environment and smart board, personal computer, and internet was connected by a TCP/IP way. For the courseware, hypertext was supported to be web-based, and photo, picture, data and related web links including text were developed in a close relation, it is possible for students to study big amounts of information in a systemized way and to maximize the learning efficiency. The whole range of introductory nuclear engineering course was divided into nuclear fuel cycle, reactor theory, heat transport, and reactor control, and digital contents were developed by each experts, but the final format of the courseware was maintained consistently for easy understanding . Also, the reactor experiment courseware developed by Kyunghee University can be utilized on this platform. 5 refs., 36 figs., 4 tabs. (Author)

DEVELOPING CREATIVE THINKING SKILLS AND CREATIVE ATTITUDE THROUGH PROBLEM BASED GREEN VISION CHEMISTRY ENVIRONMENT LEARNING

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Nuswowati

2015-11-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this research is to build creative thinking skills and creative attitude of students through a model of problem-based lectures Environmental Chemistry (PBL Green Chemistry visionary. Mixed methods research design experimental models embedded with pretest-posttest control group were used in this study, and the differences between assumed initial end-tests as the effects of the treatment. Creative thinking skills measured by the essay tests, non test while the creative attitude is measured from the completed questionnaires consisting of positive and negative statements of markers creative attitude. Data measurement N-gain of creative thinking skills for the control and experimental group were 0.40 and 0.71, while the creative attitude were 0.08 and 0.34. Improved tests of creative thinking skills or creative attitudes were analyzed by t-test. Implementation of research findings indicate environmental chemistry lecture- problems based Green Chemistry vision can improve thinking skills and of creative student.

The Influence of Collaborative Learning on Student Attitudes and Performance in an Introductory Chemistry Laboratory

Science.gov (United States)

Shibley, Ivan A., Jr.; Zimmaro, Dawn M.

2002-06-01

This study was designed to determine the effect of collaborative learning on student attitudes and performance in an introductory chemistry laboratory. Two sections per semester for three semesters were randomly designated as either a control section or an experimental section. Students in the control section performed most labs individually, while those in the experimental section performed all labs in groups of four. Both quantitative and qualitative measures were used to evaluate the impact of collaborative learning on student achievement and attitudes. Grades did not differ between the two sections, indicating that collaborative learning did not affect short-term student achievement. Students seemed to develop a more positive attitude about the laboratory and about chemistry in the collaborative learning sections as judged from their classroom evaluations of the teacher, the course, and the collaborative learning experience. The use of collaborative learning in the laboratory as described in this paper therefore may provide a means of improving student attitudes toward chemistry.

The Web-Lecture - a viable alternative to the traditional lecture format?

Science.gov (United States)

Meibom, S.

2004-12-01

Educational research shows that students learn best in an environment with emphasis on teamwork, problem-solving, and hands-on experience. Still professors spend the majority of their time with students in the traditional lecture-hall setting where the combination of large classes and limited time prevents sufficient student-teacher interaction to foster an active learning environment. Can modern computer technology be used to provide "lecture-type" information to students via the World Wide Web? If so, will that help professors make better and/or different use of their scheduled time with the students? Answering these questions was the main motivation for the Extra-Solar Planet Project. The Extra-Solar Planet Project was designed to test the effectiveness of a lecture available to the student on the World Wide Web (Web-Lecture) and to engage the students in an active learning environment were their use the information presented in the Web-Lecture. The topic of the Web-Lecture was detection of extra-solar planets and the project was implemented into an introductory astronomy course at University of Wisconsin Madison in the spring of 2004. The Web-Lecture was designed to give an interactive presentation of synchronized video, audio and lecture notes. It was created using the eTEACH software developed at the University of Wisconsin Madison School of Engineering. In my talk, I will describe the project, show excerpts of the Web-Lecture, and present assessments of student learning and results of student evaluations of the web-lecture format.

Introductory lectures on Chern-Simons theories

Science.gov (United States)

Zanelli, Jorge

2012-02-01

The Chern-Simons (CS) form evolved from an obstruction in mathematics into an important object in theoretical physics. In fact, the presence of CS terms in physics is more common than one may think. They are found in the studies of anomalies in quantum field theories and as Lagrangians for gauge fields, including gravity and supergravity. They seem to play an important role in high Tc superconductivity and in recently discovered topological insulators. CS forms are also the natural generalization of the minimal coupling between the electromagnetic field and a point charge when the source is not point-like but an extended fundamental object, a membrane. A cursory review of these ideas is presented at an introductory level.

Development and evaluation of clicker methodology for introductory physics courses

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Albert H.

Many educators understand that lectures are cost effective but not learning efficient, so continue to search for ways to increase active student participation in this traditionally passive learning environment. In-class polling systems, or "clickers", are inexpensive and reliable tools allowing students to actively participate in lectures by answering multiple-choice questions. Students assess their learning in real time by observing instant polling summaries displayed in front of them. This in turn motivates additional discussions which increase the opportunity for active learning. We wanted to develop a comprehensive clicker methodology that creates an active lecture environment for a broad spectrum of students taking introductory physics courses. We wanted our methodology to incorporate many findings of contemporary learning science. It is recognized that learning requires active construction; students need to be actively involved in their own learning process. Learning also depends on preexisting knowledge; students construct new knowledge and understandings based on what they already know and believe. Learning is context dependent; students who have learned to apply a concept in one context may not be able to recognize and apply the same concept in a different context, even when both contexts are considered to be isomorphic by experts. On this basis, we developed question sequences, each involving the same concept but having different contexts. Answer choices are designed to address students preexisting knowledge. These sequences are used with the clickers to promote active discussions and multiple assessments. We have created, validated, and evaluated sequences sufficient in number to populate all of introductory physics courses. Our research has found that using clickers with our question sequences significantly improved student conceptual understanding. Our research has also found how to best measure student conceptual gain using research-based instruments

Evolving Roles For Teaching Assistants In Introductory Courses

Science.gov (United States)

Dunbar, R. W.; Egger, A. E.; Schwartz, J. K.

2008-12-01

As we bring new research-based learning approaches, curricular innovations, and student engagement practices into the introductory science classroom, expectations of teaching assistants (TAs) should have, and have, changed. Similarly, the 21st century teaching assistant has different expectations of us. Maintaining relevance in this context means bringing TAs into an integrated teaching team that supports effective learning for students and provides structured professional development opportunities for TAs. A number of support efforts on our campus, with counterparts at many other universities, seek to optimize the instructional impact of faculty and teaching assistants, thus opening the door to enhanced student engagement (e.g. the quality of effort students put forth, their persistence in science and/or engineering courses, and their perception of scientific relevance in everyday life). Among these efforts, School of Earth Sciences course development TAs work 1:1 in advance of the term with introductory course faculty to design exercises and course materials that meet clearly articulated student learning goals or pedagogical challenges. Throughout the process, TAs are mentored by the faculty as well as science pedagogy experts. Initially funded by a major teaching award, the School is now moving to institutionalize this successful program which has broadened the definition of the TA role. Another area of optimization, reflecting Shulman's concept of pedagogical content knowledge, is our campus mandate that TA development take place within a departmental, as well as general, context. Both Chemistry and Physics expect introductory course TAs to lead interactive, guided-inquiry or tutorial-style sections. Integrating these sections with lecture and positively reinforcing course goals requires TA buy-in and a set of pedagogical facilitation skills cultivated through course-specific training and active mentoring while teaching. To better support the mentoring process

Macromod: Computer Simulation For Introductory Economics

Science.gov (United States)

Ross, Thomas

1977-01-01

The Macroeconomic model (Macromod) is a computer assisted instruction simulation model designed for introductory economics courses. An evaluation of its utilization at a community college indicates that it yielded a 10 percent to 13 percent greater economic comprehension than lecture classes and that it met with high student approval. (DC)

Lecturers' Perspectives on How Introductory Economic Courses Address Sustainability

Science.gov (United States)

Green, Tom L.

2015-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to explore sustainability commitments' potential implications for the curriculum of introductory economics courses. Universities have signed the Talloires Declaration, committing themselves to promoting students' environmental literacy and ecological citizenship, thereby creating pressure to integrate…

List of unclassified documents, lectures, etc. by the staff of Chemistry Division AERE Harwell 1.11.74 - 31.10.75

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suttar, N.

1976-02-01

This list comprises unclassified material published or presented during 1975 by the staff of Chemistry Division and covers reports, memoranda, conference papers, lectures and articles in journals. (author)

Is Active Learning Like Broccoli? Student Perceptions of Active Learning in Large Lecture Classes

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, C. Veronica; Cardaciotto, LeeAnn

2011-01-01

Although research suggests that active learning is associated with positive outcomes (e.g., memory, test performance), use of such techniques can be difficult to implement in large lecture-based classes. In the current study, 1,091 students completed out-of-class group exercises to complement course material in an Introductory Psychology class.…

Prepare, Do, Review: A Model Used to Reduce the Negative Feelings towards Laboratory Classes in an Introductory Chemistry Undergraduate Unit

Science.gov (United States)

Spagnoli, Dino; Wong, Lawrence; Maisey, Shannan; Clemons, Tristan D.

2017-01-01

Student feelings towards the laboratory component of an introductory chemistry unit were evaluated in an action research study, over a three-year period at the University of Western Australia. In 2013 we found that the percentage of students with negative feelings towards the laboratory increased over the duration of a semester. In 2014 we…

A Hybrid and Flipped Version of an Introductory Mathematics Course for Higher Education

Science.gov (United States)

Salinas Martínez, N. Patricia; Quintero Rodríguez, Eliud

2018-01-01

This in practice paper describes the experience of seven lecturers in a hybrid and flipped version of an introductory mathematics course for higher education. In a Mexican university, lecturers adapted to this innovation supported by an adjusted Massive Open Online Course. The experience revealed the relevance of leaving conventional assessment…

Replacing Lecture with Peer-led Workshops Improves Student Learning

OpenAIRE

Preszler, Ralph W.

2009-01-01

Peer-facilitated workshops enhanced interactivity in our introductory biology course, which led to increased student engagement and learning. A majority of students preferred attending two lectures and a workshop each week over attending three weekly lectures. In the workshops, students worked in small cooperative groups as they solved challenging problems, evaluated case studies, and participated in activities designed to improve their general learning skills. Students in the workshop versio...

Acid-Base Learning Outcomes for Students in an Introductory Organic Chemistry Course

Science.gov (United States)

Stoyanovich, Carlee; Gandhi, Aneri; Flynn, Alison B.

2015-01-01

An outcome-based approach to teaching and learning focuses on what the student demonstrably knows and can do after instruction, rather than on what the instructor teaches. This outcome-focused approach can then guide the alignment of teaching strategies, learning activities, and assessment. In organic chemistry, mastery of organic acid-base…

Deconstructing Constructivism: Modeling Causal Relationships Among Constructivist Learning Environment Factors and Student Outcomes in Introductory Chemistry

Science.gov (United States)

Komperda, Regis

The purpose of this dissertation is to test a model of relationships among factors characterizing aspects of a student-centered constructivist learning environment and student outcomes of satisfaction and academic achievement in introductory undergraduate chemistry courses. Constructivism was chosen as the theoretical foundation for this research because of its widespread use in chemical education research and practice. In a constructivist learning environment the role of the teacher shifts from delivering content towards facilitating active student engagement in activities that encourage individual knowledge construction through discussion and application of content. Constructivist approaches to teaching introductory chemistry courses have been adopted by some instructors as a way to improve student outcomes, but little research has been done on the causal relationships among particular aspects of the learning environment and student outcomes. This makes it difficult for classroom teachers to know which aspects of a constructivist teaching approach are critical to adopt and which may be modified to better suit a particular learning environment while still improving student outcomes. To investigate a model of these relationships, a survey designed to measure student perceptions of three factors characterizing a constructivist learning environment in online courses was adapted for use in face-to-face chemistry courses. These three factors, teaching presence, social presence, and cognitive presence, were measured using a slightly modified version of the Community of Inquiry (CoI) instrument. The student outcomes investigated in this research were satisfaction and academic achievement, as measured by standardized American Chemical Society (ACS) exam scores and course grades. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to statistically model relationships among the three presence factors and student outcome variables for 391 students enrolled in six sections of a

Conceptual Mobility and Entrenchment in Introductory Geoscience Courses: New Questions Regarding Physics' and Chemistry's Role in Learning Earth Science Concepts

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Steven W.; Libarkin, Julie C.

2016-01-01

Nationwide pre- and posttesting of introductory courses with the Geoscience Concept Inventory (GCI) shows little gain for many of its questions. Analysis of more than 3,500 tests shows that 22 of the 73 GCI questions had gains of <0.03, and nearly half of these focused on basic physics and chemistry. We also discovered through an assessment of…

The Effects of Pre-Lecture Quizzes on Test Anxiety and Performance in a Statistics Course

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Michael J.; Tallon, Jennifer

2015-01-01

The purpose of our study was to examine the effects of pre-lecture quizzes in a statistics course. Students (N = 70) from 2 sections of an introductory statistics course served as participants in this study. One section completed pre-lecture quizzes whereas the other section did not. Completing pre-lecture quizzes was associated with improved exam…

Lectures on Chevalley groups

CERN Document Server

Steinberg, Robert

2016-01-01

Robert Steinberg's Lectures on Chevalley Groups were delivered and written during the author's sabbatical visit to Yale University in the 1967-1968 academic year. The work presents the status of the theory of Chevalley groups as it was in the mid-1960s. Much of this material was instrumental in many areas of mathematics, in particular in the theory of algebraic groups and in the subsequent classification of finite groups. This posthumous edition incorporates additions and corrections prepared by the author during his retirement, including a new introductory chapter. A bibliography and editorial notes have also been added. This is a great unsurpassed introduction to the subject of Chevalley groups that influenced generations of mathematicians. I would recommend it to anybody whose interests include group theory. -Efim Zelmanov, University of California, San Diego Robert Steinberg's lectures on Chevalley groups were given at Yale University in 1967. The notes for the lectures contain a wonderful exposition of ...

[Lecturers in chemistry at the Medical Faculty of the University of Nagyszombat].

Science.gov (United States)

Szabadváry, F; Vámos, E

1994-01-01

After a short introduction on the development of the medieval universities at Pécs, Obuda, and Pozsony, and mentioning those who lectured in medicine in Hungary, the authors emphasise that modern chemistry was born during the 16th and 17th century. They stress the role of Paracelsus who invented iatro-chemistry, and that the first independent chairs, were founded in Germany in the beginning of 17th century at Altdorf, Marburg, Jéna, but were followed suit by Paris, when the Jardin des Plantes were erected. The first chemical textbook, the Cours de Chimie (Paris 1665), was also the work of a Frenchman, namely Nicolas Lémery (1645-1715). From the 18th century chemistry was also included in the curriculum of medical education in Hungary. Among the chairs of the newly founded medical faculty at Nagyszombat we find the chemical-botanical department in 1769. Its first professor was an Austrian physician Jakab Winterl (1773-1809), who had been a head physician at Selmecbánya, in Northern Hungary. Owing to a rash and premature publication Winterl's international reputation was unfortunately undermined in the last century by a leading German science historian, Hermann Kopp. The authors stress, however, that Winterl indeed played an important role in organizing the chemical department, and purchasing all the necessary equipment needed for up to date researches and analyses. And above all, in his Prolusiones ad chemiam saeculi decimi noni, he foresaw many forthcoming paths and discoveries of 19th century chemistry. After Winterl's retirement the department was divided into two parts. Pál Kitaibel (1757-1817) led the botanica department and János schuster (1777-1838) the other one for chemistry. Kitaibel made a name for himself by depicting Hungarian flora, but he also made discoveries in chemistry. He discovered chlore lime, before Tennant in 1795, a material which might have been used for whitening textiles. Schuster, on the other hand, introduced a system of Hungarian

Chemistry Notes

Science.gov (United States)

School Science Review, 1976

1976-01-01

Described are eight chemistry experiments and demonstrations applicable to introductory chemistry courses. Activities include: measure of lattice enthalpy, Le Chatelier's principle, decarboxylation of soap, use of pocket calculators in pH measurement, and making nylon. (SL)

Introductory lectures on fibre bundles and topology for physicists

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Thomas, G.H.

1978-05-01

These lectures may provide useful background material for understanding gauge theories, particularly the nonperturbative effects such as instantons and monopoles. The mathematical language of topology and fibre bundles is introduced.

Introductory lectures on fibre bundles and topology for physicists

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thomas, G.H.

1978-05-01

These lectures may provide useful background material for understanding gauge theories, particularly the nonperturbative effects such as instantons and monopoles. The mathematical language of topology and fibre bundles is introduced

An Empirical Consideration of a Balanced Amalgamation of Learning Strategies in Graduate Introductory Statistics Classes

Science.gov (United States)

Vaughn, Brandon K.

2009-01-01

This study considers the effectiveness of a "balanced amalgamated" approach to teaching graduate level introductory statistics. Although some research stresses replacing traditional lectures with more active learning methods, the approach of this study is to combine effective lecturing with active learning and team projects. The results of this…

The Development of Curricular Guidelines for Introductory Microbiology that Focus on Understanding

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Susan Merkel

2012-02-01

Full Text Available The number of students who leave majors in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM due to a perception that courses are poorly taught is evidence that education reform in STEM is overdue. Despite decades of research that argues for student-centered teaching approaches, most introductory STEM courses are still taught in the large lecture format, focusing on rote memorization. While individual efforts in STEM educational reform are important, solutions will most certainly need to include institutional and cultural change. In biology, numerous national reports have called for educational reform to better prepare future scientists. We describe here a new, concept-based curriculum for Introductory Microbiology courses, designed to promote deep understanding of core concepts. Supported by the American Society for Microbiology (ASM and based on the overarching concepts and competencies presented in the AAAS/NSF report Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education: A Call to Action, we hope it will empower instructors to adapt student-centered approaches so that students in Introductory Microbiology courses can leave the course with a core set of enduring understandings of microbiology.

The Development of Curricular Guidelines for Introductory Microbiology that Focus on Understanding.

Science.gov (United States)

Merkel, Susan

2012-01-01

The number of students who leave majors in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) due to a perception that courses are poorly taught is evidence that education reform in STEM is overdue. Despite decades of research that argues for student-centered teaching approaches, most introductory STEM courses are still taught in the large lecture format, focusing on rote memorization. While individual efforts in STEM educational reform are important, solutions will most certainly need to include institutional and cultural change. In biology, numerous national reports have called for educational reform to better prepare future scientists. We describe here a new, concept-based curriculum for Introductory Microbiology courses, designed to promote deep understanding of core concepts. Supported by the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) and based on the overarching concepts and competencies presented in the AAAS/NSF report Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education: A Call to Action, we hope it will empower instructors to adapt student-centered approaches so that students in Introductory Microbiology courses can leave the course with a core set of enduring understandings of microbiology.

Students' Hands-on Experimental Work vs Lecture Demonstration in Teaching Elementary School Chemistry.

Science.gov (United States)

Logar, Ana; Ferk-Savec, Vesna

2011-12-01

Science educators have suggested many benefits that accrue from engaging students in experimental activities, therefore, experimental work has a long and distinctive role in chemistry curriculum since. The presented empirical study focuses on the valuation of effectiveness of different forms of experimental work - students' hands-on experimental work vs teacher's lecture demonstration - from the viewpoint of the quality of content knowledge acquisition and knowledge retention in teaching primary school chemistry. 106 primary school students (age 14-15 years) participated in the study. The data was collected via pre- and post- test protocol and two delayed post tests. Additionally 16 students selected from the sample were interviewed. The results indicate that students' content knowledge gained through teacher's demonstration of experiment is better and better knowledge retention takes place in comparison to students' knowledge gained through students' hands-on experimental work. However, most of the inteviewed students stated that they prefered conducting of experiments by themselves in comparison to observation of teacher's demonstration.

The effect of the flipped model on achievement in an introductory college physics course

Science.gov (United States)

Winter, Joshua Brian

The flipped or inverted classroom model is one in which the time and place for traditional lecture and homework are reversed. Traditional lecture is replaced by online videos assigned as homework. This frees up time in class to be spent with more student centered activities such as discussion based concept questions and group problem solving. While growing in popularity, research on the effectiveness of this format is sparse. In this quasi-experimental study, two sections of an introductory algebra-based college physics course were examined over a five week period. Each section was taught with either the traditional or flipped model and physics knowledge achieved was compared using independent samples t-tests on both the instructor's unit exam and the Mechanics Baseline Test pre/posttest normalized gain. Results indicated that there was no statistically significant difference between the flipped model and the traditional lecture format. Avenues for further research are discussed.

Effectiveness of Case-Based Learning Instruction on Epistemological Beliefs and Attitudes Toward Chemistry

Science.gov (United States)

Çam, Aylin; Geban, Ömer

2011-02-01

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of case-based learning instruction over traditionally designed chemistry instruction on eleventh grade students' epistemological beliefs and their attitudes toward chemistry as a school subject. The subjects of this study consisted of 63 eleventh grade students from two intact classes of an urban high school instructed with same teacher. Each teaching method was randomly assigned to one class. The experimental group received case-based learning and the control group received traditional instruction. At the experimental group, life cases were presented with small group format; at the control group, lecturing and discussion was carried out. The results showed that there was a significant difference between the experimental and control group with respect to their epistemological beliefs and attitudes toward chemistry as a school subject in favor of case-based learning method group. Thus, case base learning is helpful for development of students' epistemological beliefs and attitudes toward chemistry.

Lecture Attendance and Web Based Lecture Technologies: A Comparison of Student Perceptions and Usage Patterns

Science.gov (United States)

von Konsky, Brian R.; Ivins, Jim; Gribble, Susan J.

2009-01-01

This paper investigates the impact of web based lecture recordings on learning and attendance at lectures. Student opinions regarding the perceived value of the recordings were evaluated in the context of usage patterns and final marks, and compared with attendance data and student perceptions regarding the usefulness of lectures. The availability…

Plasma medicine: an introductory review

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kong, M.G.; Kroesen, G.M.W.; Morfill, G.; Nosenko, T.; Shimizu, T.; Dijk, van J.; Zimmermann, J.L.

2009-01-01

This introductory review on plasma health care is intended to provide the interested reader with a summary of the current status of this emerging field, its scope, and its broad interdisciplinary approach, ranging from plasma physics, chemistry and technology, to microbiology, biochemistry,

Active Learning outside the Classroom: Implementation and Outcomes of Peer-Led Team-Learning Workshops in Introductory Biology

Science.gov (United States)

Kudish, Philip; Shores, Robin; McClung, Alex; Smulyan, Lisa; Vallen, Elizabeth A.; Siwicki, Kathleen K.

2016-01-01

Study group meetings (SGMs) are voluntary-attendance peer-led team-learning workshops that supplement introductory biology lectures at a selective liberal arts college. While supporting all students' engagement with lecture material, specific aims are to improve the success of underrepresented minority (URM) students and those with weaker…

Tc: chemistry and radiopharmaceuticals: a prospectus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tulip, T.H.

1987-01-01

The recent explosion in technetium chemistry evident in this symposium promises to continue unabated. As in the past, radiopharmaceutical applications will lead to new Tc chemistry. In this lecture the author will discuss those areas which appear most fertile based on chemical and radiopharmaceutical criteria. Among these will be new organometallic Tc chemistry (e.g., Tc(CNR) 6 cations), Tc complexes as metabolic tracers (e.g., Tc-analogs to FDG), and peptide-based Tc chelators (e.g., Tc-metallothionein)

Effect of lecture instruction on student performance on qualitative questions

Science.gov (United States)

Heron, Paula R. L.

2015-06-01

The impact of lecture instruction on student conceptual understanding in physics has been the subject of research for several decades. Most studies have reported disappointingly small improvements in student performance on conceptual questions despite direct instruction on the relevant topics. These results have spurred a number of attempts to improve learning in physics courses through new curricula and instructional techniques. This paper contributes to the research base through a retrospective analysis of 20 randomly selected qualitative questions on topics in kinematics, dynamics, electrostatics, waves, and physical optics that have been given in introductory calculus-based physics at the University of Washington over a period of 15 years. In some classes, questions were administered after relevant lecture instruction had been completed; in others, it had yet to begin. Simple statistical tests indicate that the average performance of the "after lecture" classes was significantly better than that of the "before lecture" classes for 11 questions, significantly worse for two questions, and indistinguishable for the remaining seven. However, the classes had not been randomly assigned to be tested before or after lecture instruction. Multiple linear regression was therefore conducted with variables (such as class size) that could plausibly lead to systematic differences in performance and thus obscure (or artificially enhance) the effect of lecture instruction. The regression models support the results of the simple tests for all but four questions. In those cases, the effect of lecture instruction was reduced to a nonsignificant level, or increased to a significant, negative level when other variables were considered. Thus the results provide robust evidence that instruction in lecture can increase student ability to give correct answers to conceptual questions but does not necessarily do so; in some cases it can even lead to a decrease.

Quantitative Activities for Introductory Astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

Keohane, Jonathan W.; Bartlett, J. L.; Foy, J. P.

2010-01-01

We present a collection of short lecture-tutorial (or homework) activities, designed to be both quantitative and accessible to the introductory astronomy student. Each of these involves interpreting some real data, solving a problem using ratios and proportionalities, and making a conclusion based on the calculation. Selected titles include: "The Mass of Neptune” "The Temperature on Titan” "Rocks in the Early Solar System” "Comets Hitting Planets” "Ages of Meteorites” "How Flat are Saturn's Rings?” "Tides of the Sun and Moon on the Earth” "The Gliese 581 Solar System"; "Buckets in the Rain” "How Hot, Bright and Big is Betelgeuse?” "Bombs and the Sun” "What Forms Stars?” "Lifetimes of Cars and Stars” "The Mass of the Milky” "How Old is the Universe?” "Is The Universe Speeding up or Slowing Down?"

Annual Report 1984. Chemistry Department

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Funck, Jytte; Nielsen, Ole John

This report contains a brief survey of the main activities in the Chemistry Department. All articles and reports published and lectures given in 1984 are presented. The facilities and equipment are mentioned briefly. The activities are divided into the following groups: radioisotope chemistry, an......, analytical- and organic chemistry, environmental chemistry, polymer chemistry, geochemistry and waste disposal, radical chemistry, positron annihilation, mineral processing, and general.......This report contains a brief survey of the main activities in the Chemistry Department. All articles and reports published and lectures given in 1984 are presented. The facilities and equipment are mentioned briefly. The activities are divided into the following groups: radioisotope chemistry...

Characterizing interactive engagement activities in a flipped introductory physics class

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna K. Wood

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Interactive engagement activities are increasingly common in undergraduate physics teaching. As research efforts move beyond simply showing that interactive engagement pedagogies work towards developing an understanding of how they lead to improved learning outcomes, a detailed analysis of the way in which these activities are used in practice is needed. Our aim in this paper is to present a characterization of the type and duration of interactions, as experienced by students, that took place during two introductory physics courses (1A and 1B at a university in the United Kingdom. Through this work, a simple framework for analyzing lectures—the framework for interactive learning in lectures (FILL, which focuses on student interactions (with the lecturer, with each other, and with the material is proposed. The pedagogical approach is based on Peer Instruction (PI and both courses are taught by the same lecturer. We find lecture activities can be categorized into three types: interactive (25%, vicarious interactive (20% (involving questions to and from the lecturer, and noninteractive (55%. As expected, the majority of both interactive and vicarious interactive activities took place during PI. However, the way that interactive activities were used during non-PI sections of the lecture varied significantly between the two courses. Differences were also found in the average time spent on lecturer-student interactions (28% for 1A and 12% for 1B, although not on student-student interactions (12% and 12% or on individual learning (10% and 7%. These results are explored in detail and the implications for future research are discussed.

The STEM Lecture Hall: A Study of Effective Instructional Practices for Diverse Learners

Science.gov (United States)

Reimer, Lynn Christine

First-generation, low-income, underrepresented minority (URM) and female undergraduates are matriculating into science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) majors at unprecedented levels. However, a disproportionate number of these students end up graduating in non-STEM disciplines. Attrition rates have been observed to spike in conjunction with introductory STEM courses in chemistry, biology, and physics. These "gateway" courses tend to be housed in large, impersonal lecture halls. First-generation and URM students struggle in this environment, possibly because of instructors' reliance on lecture-based content delivery and rote memorization. Recent social psychological studies suggest the problem may be related to cultural mismatch, or misalignment between independent learning norms typical of American universities and interdependent learning expectancies for first-generation and URM students. Value-affirming and utility-value interventions yield impressive academic achievement gains for these students. These findings overlap with a second body of literature on culturally responsive instruction. Active gateway learning practices that emphasize interactive instruction, frequent assessment, and epistemological instruction can be successful because of their propensity to incorporate values affirming and utility-value techniques. The present study observed instruction for gateway STEM courses over a three-year period at the University of California, Irvine (N = 13,856 undergraduates in 168 courses). Exploratory polychoric factor analysis was used to identify latent variables for observational data on gateway STEM instructional practices. Variables were regressed on institutional student data. Practices implemented in large lecture halls fall into three general categories: Faculty-Student Interaction, Epistemological Instruction, and Peer Interaction . The present study found that Faculty-Student Interaction was negatively associated with student outcomes for

Clinical Application Projects (CAPs) for Health Science Students in Introductory Microbiology.

Science.gov (United States)

Halyard, Rebecca A.

Clinical Application Projects (CAPs) have been developed that allow dental hygiene and nursing students to apply introductory microbiology principles and skills learned in lecture and laboratory to a problem in an appropriate clinical situation. CAPs therefore substitute for the traditional study of "unknowns". Principles and processes emphasized…

Active Learning in ASTR 101 Lectures

Science.gov (United States)

Deming, Grace L.

1998-12-01

The lecture is the most common teaching method used at colleges and universities, but does this format facilitate student learning? Lectures can be brilliantly delivered, but they are received by a passive audience. As time passes during a lecture, student attention and effective notetaking diminish. Many students become more interested in a subject and retain information longer in courses that rely on active rather than passive teaching methods. Interactive teaching strategies such as the think-pair-share-(write), the 3-minute paper, and the misconception confrontation can be used to actively engage students during lecture. As a cooperative learning strategy, the think-pair-share-(write) technique requires active discussion by everyone in the class. The "write" component structures individual accountability into the activity. The 3-minute paper is an expansion of the standard 1-minute paper feedback technique, but is required of all students rather than voluntary or anonymous. The misconception confrontation technique allows students to focus on how their pre- conceived notions differ from the scientific explanation. These techniques can be easily adopted by anyone currently using a standard lecture format for introductory astronomy. The necessary components are a commitment by the instructor to require active participation by all students and a willingness to try new teaching methods.

Supporting Interactive Teaching Methods at the New Faculty Workshop with Astronomy Lecture-Tutorials

Science.gov (United States)

Slater, T. F.; Brissenden, G.; Duestua, S.; Prather, E. E.

2004-05-01

Ongoing research by the Conceptual Astronomy and Physics Education Research (CAPER) Team at the University of Arizona Steward Observatory suggests that, although faculty realize that lecture-based instruction is ineffective for many students, they are not aware of what interactive teaching strategies are available, particularly for large enrollment courses. A major emphasis of the AAPT/AAS New Faculty Workshop was to introduce faculty to effective active-learning strategies based on an understanding of how people learn. Faculty were introduced to think-pair-share methods where students work together to explain difficult concepts to each other. Faculty were also introduced to authentic assessment strategies that go beyond using traditional multiple-choice tests. In particular, faculty were introduced to Lecture-Tutorials for Introductory Astronomy. The Lecture-Tutorials are instructional materials intended for use with collaborative student learning groups and are designed specifically to be easily integrated into existing courses centered on conventional lectures and do not require any outside equipment or a drastic course revision for implementation. The materials are based on research into student beliefs and reasoning difficulties and use effective instructional strategies that center on student learning. Each workshop presentation was complimented by a follow-up small group discussion session.

Incorporation of Medicinal Chemistry into the Organic Chemistry Curriculum

Science.gov (United States)

Forbes, David C.

2004-01-01

Application of concepts presented in organic chemistry lecture using a virtual project involving the sythesis of medicinally important compounds is emphasized. The importance of reinforcing the concepts from lecture in lab, thus providing a powerful instructional means is discussed.

Confchem Conference on Flipped Classroom: Student Engagement with Flipped Chemistry Lectures

Science.gov (United States)

Seery, Michael K.

2015-01-01

This project introduces the idea of "flipped lecturing" to a group of second-year undergraduate students. The aim of flipped lecturing is to provide much of the "content delivery" of the lecture in advance, so that the lecture hour can be devoted to more in-depth discussion, problem solving, and so on. As well as development of…

The Socratic Method in the Introductory PR Course: An Alternative Pedagogy.

Science.gov (United States)

Parkinson, Michael G.; Ekachai, Daradirek

2002-01-01

Presents the results of a study comparing student reactions to and perceptions of learning in introductory public relations courses using a traditional lecture format and a Socratic approach. Finds significant differences in the two groups showing that students who received the Socratic instruction reported more opportunities in practicing their…

Activity-Based Introductory Physics Reform *

Science.gov (United States)

Thornton, Ronald

2004-05-01

Physics education research has shown that learning environments that engage students and allow them to take an active part in their learning can lead to large conceptual gains compared to those of good traditional instruction. Examples of successful curricula and methods include Peer Instruction, Just in Time Teaching, RealTime Physics, Workshop Physics, Scale-Up, and Interactive Lecture Demonstrations (ILDs). RealTime Physics promotes interaction among students in a laboratory setting and makes use of powerful real-time data logging tools to teach concepts as well as quantitative relationships. An active learning environment is often difficult to achieve in large lecture sessions and Workshop Physics and Scale-Up largely eliminate lectures in favor of collaborative student activities. Peer Instruction, Just in Time Teaching, and Interactive Lecture Demonstrations (ILDs) make lectures more interactive in complementary ways. This presentation will introduce these reforms and use Interactive Lecture Demonstrations (ILDs) with the audience to illustrate the types of curricula and tools used in the curricula above. ILDs make use real experiments, real-time data logging tools and student interaction to create an active learning environment in large lecture classes. A short video of students involved in interactive lecture demonstrations will be shown. The results of research studies at various institutions to measure the effectiveness of these methods will be presented.

Evaluation of a flipped classroom approach to learning introductory epidemiology.

Science.gov (United States)

Shiau, Stephanie; Kahn, Linda G; Platt, Jonathan; Li, Chihua; Guzman, Jason T; Kornhauser, Zachary G; Keyes, Katherine M; Martins, Silvia S

2018-04-02

Although the flipped classroom model has been widely adopted in medical education, reports on its use in graduate-level public health programs are limited. This study describes the design, implementation, and evaluation of a flipped classroom redesign of an introductory epidemiology course and compares it to a traditional model. One hundred fifty Masters-level students enrolled in an introductory epidemiology course with a traditional format (in-person lecture and discussion section, at-home assignment; 2015, N = 72) and a flipped classroom format (at-home lecture, in-person discussion section and assignment; 2016, N = 78). Using mixed methods, we compared student characteristics, examination scores, and end-of-course evaluations of the 2016 flipped classroom format and the 2015 traditional format. Data on the flipped classroom format, including pre- and post-course surveys, open-ended questions, self-reports of section leader teaching practices, and classroom observations, were evaluated. There were no statistically significant differences in examination scores or students' assessment of the course between 2015 (traditional) and 2016 (flipped). In 2016, 57.1% (36) of respondents to the end-of-course evaluation found watching video lectures at home to have a positive impact on their time management. Open-ended survey responses indicated a number of strengths of the flipped classroom approach, including the freedom to watch pre-recorded lectures at any time and the ability of section leaders to clarify targeted concepts. Suggestions for improvement focused on ways to increase regular interaction with lecturers. There was no significant difference in students' performance on quantitative assessments comparing the traditional format to the flipped classroom format. The flipped format did allow for greater flexibility and applied learning opportunities at home and during discussion sections.

Transversality of Electromagnetic Waves in the Calculus--Based Introductory Physics Course

Science.gov (United States)

Burko, Lior M.

2009-05-01

Introductory calculus--based physics textbooks state that electromagnetic waves are transverse and list many of their properties, but most such textbooks do not bring forth arguments why this is so. Both physical and theoretical arguments are at a level appropriate for students of courses based on such books, and could be readily used by instructors of such courses. Here, we discuss two physical arguments (based on polarization experiments and on lack of monopole electromagnetic radiation), and the full argument for the transversality of (plane) electromagnetic waves based on the integral Maxwell equations. We also show, at a level appropriate for the introductory course, why the electric and magnetic fields in a wave are in phase and the relation of their magnitudes. We have successfully integrated this approach in the calculus--based introductory physics course at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.

The Effects of Guided Notes on Pre-Lecture Quiz Scores in Introductory Psychology

Science.gov (United States)

Glodowski, Kathryn; Thompson, Rachel

2018-01-01

Guided notes covering lectures have been shown to improve note quality and increase scores on quizzes covering lecture material. We sought to determine whether guided notes would also be beneficial in helping students prepare for quizzes covering assigned readings. We evaluated the efficacy of guided notes for reading assignments on…

Do evidence-based active-engagement courses reduce the gender gap in introductory physics?

Science.gov (United States)

Karim, Nafis I.; Maries, Alexandru; Singh, Chandralekha

2018-03-01

Prior research suggests that using evidence-based pedagogies can not only improve learning for all students, it can also reduce the gender gap. We describe the impact of physics education research-based pedagogical techniques in flipped and active-engagement non-flipped courses on the gender gap observed with validated conceptual surveys. We compare male and female students’ performance in courses which make significant use of evidence-based active-engagement (EBAE) strategies with courses that primarily use lecture-based (LB) instruction. All courses had large enrolment and often had more than 100 students. The analysis of data for validated conceptual surveys presented here includes data from two-semester sequences of algebra-based and calculus-based introductory physics courses. The conceptual surveys used to assess student learning in the first and second semester courses were the force concept inventory and the conceptual survey of electricity and magnetism, respectively. In the research discussed here, the performance of male and female students in EBAE courses at a particular level is compared with LB courses in two situations: (I) the same instructor taught two courses, one of which was an EBAE course and the other an LB course, while the homework, recitations and final exams were kept the same; (II) student performance in all of the EBAE courses taught by different instructors was averaged and compared with LB courses of the same type also averaged over different instructors. In all cases, on conceptual surveys we find that students in courses which make significant use of active-engagement strategies, on average, outperformed students in courses of the same type using primarily lecture-based instruction even though there was no statistically significant difference on the pre-test before instruction. However, the gender gap persisted even in courses using EBAE methods. We also discuss correlations between the performance of male and female students on

Efficacy of Multimedia Learning Modules as Preparation for Lecture-Based Tutorials in Electromagnetism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

James Christopher Moore

2018-02-01

Full Text Available We have investigated the efficacy of on-line, multimedia learning modules (MLMs as preparation for in-class, lecture-based tutorials in electromagnetism in a physics course for natural science majors (biology and marine science. Specifically, we report the results of a multiple-group pre/post-test research design comparing two groups receiving different treatments with respect to activities preceding participation in Tutorials in Introductory Physics. The different pre-tutorial activities were as follows: (1 students were assigned reading from a traditional textbook, followed by a traditional lecture; and (2 students completed on-line MLMs developed by the Physics Education Research Group at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign (UIUC, and commercially known as FlipItPhysics. The MLM treatment group earned significantly higher mid-term examination scores and larger gains in content knowledge as measured by the Conceptual Survey of Electricity and Magnetism (CSEM. Student attitudes towards “reformed” instruction in the form of active-engagement tutorials were also improved. Specifically, post-course surveys showed that MLM-group students believed class time was more effective and the instructor was more clear than reported by non-MLM students, even though there was no significant difference between groups with respect to in-class activities and the same instructor taught both groups. MLM activities can be a highly effective tool for some student populations, especially when student preparation and buy-in are important for realizing significant gains.

Using Online Lectures to Make Time for Active Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Prunuske, Amy J.; Batzli, Janet; Howell, Evelyn; Miller, Sarah

2012-01-01

To make time in class for group activities devoted to critical thinking, we integrated a series of short online lectures into the homework assignments of a large, introductory biology course at a research university. The majority of students viewed the online lectures before coming to class and reported that the online lectures helped them to complete the in-class activity and did not increase the amount of time they devoted to the course. In addition, students who viewed the online lecture performed better on clicker questions designed to test lower-order cognitive skills. The in-class activities then gave the students practice analyzing the information in groups and provided the instructor with feedback about the students’ understanding of the material. On the basis of the results of this study, we support creating hybrid course models that allow students to learn the fundamental information outside of class time, thereby creating time during the class period to be dedicated toward the conceptual understanding of the material. PMID:22714412

Impacts of curricular change: Implications from 8 years of data in introductory physics

Science.gov (United States)

Pollock, Steven J.; Finkelstein, Noah

2013-01-01

Introductory calculus-based physics classes at the University of Colorado Boulder were significantly transformed beginning in 2004. They now regularly include: interactive engagement using clickers in large lecture settings, Tutorials in Introductory Physics with use of undergraduate Learning Assistants in recitation sections, and a staffed help-room setting where students work on personalized CAPA homework. We compile and summarize conceptual (FMCE and BEMA) pre- and post-data from over 9,000 unique students after 16 semesters of both Physics 1 and 2. Within a single institution with stable pre-test scores, we reproduce results of Hake's 1998 study that demonstrate the positive impacts of interactive engagement on student performance. We link the degree of faculty's use of interactive engagement techniques and their experience levels on student outcomes, and argue for the role of such systematic data collection in sustained course and institutional transformations.

A Case-Based Curriculum for Introductory Geology

Science.gov (United States)

Goldsmith, David W.

2011-01-01

For the past 5 years I have been teaching my introductory geology class using a case-based method that promotes student engagement and inquiry. This article presents an explanation of how a case-based curriculum differs from a more traditional approach to the material. It also presents a statistical analysis of several years' worth of student…

Albert Einstein memorial lectures

CERN Document Server

Mechoulam, Raphael; The Israel Academy for Sciences and Humanities

2012-01-01

This volume consists of a selection of the Albert Einstein Memorial Lectures presented annually at the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities. Delivered by eminent scientists and scholars, including Nobel laureates, they cover a broad spectrum of subjects in physics, chemistry, life science, mathematics, historiography and social issues. This distinguished memorial lecture series was inaugurated by the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities following an international symposium held in Jerusalem in March 1979 to commemorate the centenary of Albert Einstein's birth. Considering that Einstein's interests, activities and influence were not restricted to theoretical physics but spanned broad fields affecting society and the welfare of humankind, it was felt that these memorial lectures should be addressed to scientists, scholars and erudite laypersons rather than to physicists alone.

Introduction to neutron scattering. Lecture notes of the introductory course

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Furrer, A.

1996-01-01

These proceedings enclose ten papers presented at the 1. European Conference on Neutron scattering (ECNS '96). The aim of the Introductory Course was fourfold: - to learn the basic principles of neutron scattering, - to get introduced into the most important classes of neutron scattering instruments, -to learn concepts and their transformation into neutron scattering experiments in various fields of condensed matter research, - to recognize the limitations of the neutron scattering technique as well as to the complementarity of other methods. figs., tabs., refs

Lecture Notes on Topics in Accelerator Physics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chao, Alex W.

2002-01-01

These are lecture notes that cover a selection of topics, some of them under current research, in accelerator physics. I try to derive the results from first principles, although the students are assumed to have an introductory knowledge of the basics. The topics covered are: (1) Panofsky-Wenzel and Planar Wake Theorems; (2) Echo Effect; (3) Crystalline Beam; (4) Fast Ion Instability; (5) Lawson-Woodward Theorem and Laser Acceleration in Free Space; (6) Spin Dynamics and Siberian Snakes; (7) Symplectic Approximation of Maps; (8) Truncated Power Series Algebra; and (9) Lie Algebra Technique for nonlinear Dynamics. The purpose of these lectures is not to elaborate, but to prepare the students so that they can do their own research. Each topic can be read independently of the others

Lecture Notes on Topics in Accelerator Physics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chao, Alex W.

2002-11-15

These are lecture notes that cover a selection of topics, some of them under current research, in accelerator physics. I try to derive the results from first principles, although the students are assumed to have an introductory knowledge of the basics. The topics covered are: (1) Panofsky-Wenzel and Planar Wake Theorems; (2) Echo Effect; (3) Crystalline Beam; (4) Fast Ion Instability; (5) Lawson-Woodward Theorem and Laser Acceleration in Free Space; (6) Spin Dynamics and Siberian Snakes; (7) Symplectic Approximation of Maps; (8) Truncated Power Series Algebra; and (9) Lie Algebra Technique for nonlinear Dynamics. The purpose of these lectures is not to elaborate, but to prepare the students so that they can do their own research. Each topic can be read independently of the others.

Nuclear chemistry 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Macasek, F.

2009-01-01

This text-book (electronic book - multi-media CD-ROM) constitutes a course-book - author's collection of lectures. It consists of 9 lectures in which the reader acquaints with the basis of nuclear chemistry and radiochemistry: History of nucleus; Atomic nuclei; Radioactivity; Nuclear reactions and nucleogenesis; Isotopism; Ionizing radiation; Radiation measurement; Nuclear energetics; Isotopic indicators. This course-book may be interesting for students, post-graduate students of chemistry, biology, physics, medicine a s well as for teachers, scientific workers and physicians. (author)

Medicinal Chemistry/Pharmacology in Sophomore Organic Chemistry.

Science.gov (United States)

Harrison, Aline M.

1989-01-01

Discussed is a series of lectures designed to illustrate the use of general organic chemical principles in molecular biology, introduce current research in interdisciplinary areas to the beginner, increase interest in organic chemistry, and bridge the gap between traditional organic chemistry, biology, and the consumer. An outline is presented.…

Conformational Analysis of Drug Molecules: A Practical Exercise in the Medicinal Chemistry Course

Science.gov (United States)

Yuriev, Elizabeth; Chalmers, David; Capuano, Ben

2009-01-01

Medicinal chemistry is a specialized, scientific discipline. Computational chemistry and structure-based drug design constitute important themes in the education of medicinal chemists. This problem-based task is associated with structure-based drug design lectures. It requires students to use computational techniques to investigate conformational…

What Do Conceptual Holes in Assessment Say about the Topics We Teach in General Chemistry?

Science.gov (United States)

Luxford, Cynthia J.; Holme, Thomas A.

2015-01-01

Introductory chemistry has long been considered a service course by various departments that entrust chemistry departments with teaching their students. As a result, most introductory courses include a majority of students who are not chemistry majors, and many are health and science related majors who are required to take chemistry. To identify…

Course Format Effects on Learning Outcomes in an Introductory Statistics Course

Science.gov (United States)

Sami, Fary

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine if course format significantly impacted student learning and course completion rates in an introductory statistics course taught at Harford Community College. In addition to the traditional lecture format, the College offers an online, and a hybrid (blend of traditional and online) version of this class.…

comparative assessment of university chemistry undergraduate

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Temechegn

The areas of chemistry covered are Introductory, Inorganic, Physical, Organic, and Quantum and ... various specialisations like Pure and Applied Chemistry, Analytical ... even engineering disciplines, a degree in chemistry can be the starting point. .... It is also to show the relevance of the instructional methods relative to the.

SIGKit: a New Data-based Software for Learning Introductory Geophysics

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Y.; Kruse, S.; George, O.; Esmaeili, S.; Papadimitrios, K. S.; Bank, C. G.; Cadmus, A.; Kenneally, N.; Patton, K.; Brusher, J.

2016-12-01

Students of diverse academic backgrounds take introductory geophysics courses to learn the theory of a variety of measurement and analysis methods with the expectation to be able to apply their basic knowledge to real data. Ideally, such data is collected in field courses and also used in lecture-based courses because they provide a critical context for better learning and understanding of geophysical methods. Each method requires a separate software package for the data processing steps, and the complexity and variety of professional software makes the path through data processing to data interpretation a strenuous learning process for students and a challenging teaching task for instructors. SIGKit (Student Investigation of Geophysics Toolkit) being developed as a collaboration between the University of South Florida, the University of Toronto, and MathWorks intends to address these shortcomings by showing the most essential processing steps and allowing students to visualize the underlying physics of the various methods. It is based on MATLAB software and offered as an easy-to-use graphical user interface and packaged so it can run as an executable in the classroom and the field even on computers without MATLAB licenses. An evaluation of the software based on student feedback from focus-group interviews and think-aloud observations helps drive its development and refinement. The toolkit provides a logical gateway into the more sophisticated and costly software students will encounter later in their training and careers by combining essential visualization, modeling, processing, and analysis steps for seismic, GPR, magnetics, gravity, resistivity, and electromagnetic data.

Automatic Online Lecture Highlighting Based on Multimedia Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Che, Xiaoyin; Yang, Haojin; Meinel, Christoph

2018-01-01

Textbook highlighting is widely considered to be beneficial for students. In this paper, we propose a comprehensive solution to highlight the online lecture videos in both sentence- and segment-level, just as is done with paper books. The solution is based on automatic analysis of multimedia lecture materials, such as speeches, transcripts, and…

A Survey of Introductory Statistics Courses at University Faculties of Pharmaceutical Sciences in Japan.

Science.gov (United States)

Matsumura, Mina; Nakayama, Takuto; Sozu, Takashi

2016-01-01

A survey of introductory statistics courses at Japanese medical schools was published as a report in 2014. To obtain a complete understanding of the way in which statistics is taught at the university level in Japan, it is important to extend this survey to related fields, including pharmacy, dentistry, and nursing. The current study investigates the introductory statistics courses offered by faculties of pharmaceutical sciences (six-year programs) at Japanese universities, comparing the features of these courses with those studied in the survey of medical schools. We collected relevant data from the online syllabi of statistics courses published on the websites of 71 universities. The survey items included basic course information (for example, the course names, the targeted student grades, the number of credits, and course classification), textbooks, handouts, the doctoral subject and employment status of each lecturer, and course contents. The period surveyed was July-September 2015. We found that these 71 universities offered a total of 128 statistics courses. There were 67 course names, the most common of which was "biostatistics (iryou toukeigaku)." About half of the courses were designed for first- or second-year students. Students earned fewer than two credits. There were 62 different types of textbooks. The lecturers held doctoral degrees in 18 different subjects, the most common being a doctorate in pharmacy or science. Some course content differed, reflecting the lecturers' academic specialties. The content of introductory statistics courses taught in pharmaceutical science programs also differed slightly from the equivalent content taught in medical schools.

Based on a True Story: Using Movies as Source Material for General Chemistry Reports

Science.gov (United States)

Griep, Mark A.; Mikasen, Marjorie L.

2005-10-01

Research for chemical reports and case study analysis of chemical topics are two commonly used learning activities to engage and enrich student understanding of the content in introductory chemistry courses. Even though movies are excellent vehicles for exploring the human dimension of events, they have been used only sparingly as source material in introductory science courses. One reason for this sparing use has been the lack of a list of suitable movies. To fill this void, a list of one dozen highly rated movies is presented. The focus of these movies is either a scientist's chemical research or the societal impact of some chemical compound. The method by which two of these movies were used as source material for a written report in a general chemistry course is described. The student response to the exercise was enthusiastic.

Organic Chemistry in Action! What Is the Reaction?

Science.gov (United States)

O'Dwyer, Anne; Childs, Peter

2015-01-01

The "Organic Chemistry in Action!" ("OCIA!") program is a set of teaching resources designed to facilitate the teaching and learning of introductory level organic chemistry. The "OCIA!" program was developed in collaboration with practicing and experienced chemistry teachers, using findings from Chemistry Education…

Active Learning Outside the Classroom: Implementation and Outcomes of Peer-Led Team-Learning Workshops in Introductory Biology

OpenAIRE

Kudish, Philip; Shores, Robin; McClung, Alex; Smulyan, Lisa; Vallen, Elizabeth A.; Siwicki, Kathleen K.

2016-01-01

Study group meetings (SGMs) are voluntary-attendance peer-led team-learning workshops that supplement introductory biology lectures at a selective liberal arts college. While supporting all students? engagement with lecture material, specific aims are to improve the success of underrepresented minority (URM) students and those with weaker backgrounds in biology. Peer leaders with experience in biology courses and training in science pedagogy facilitate work on faculty-generated challenge prob...

Interactive Computer Visualization in the Introductory Chemistry Curriculum

Science.gov (United States)

Bragin, Victoria M.

1996-08-01

Increasingly, chemistry instructors, especially in two-year colleges, find themselves teaching classes where there is great disparity in the academic preparation of the students and where even those students with good mathematics and basic science backgrounds have poor English language and communication skills. This project explores the use of technological innovations to facilitate learning in introductory chemistry courses by those with a poor academic background, while also challenging those prepared to master the curriculum. An additional objective is to improve the communication skills of all students. Material is presented visually and in as engaging a fashion as possible, students are provided ready access to relevant information about the course content in ways that are adapted to their individual learning styles, and collaborative learning is encouraged, especially among those who work and live at a distance from campus. The chief tactics employed are: Development of software that can be customized to meet the varying needs of individual students, courses, and instructors. Use of simulations that, while not replacing laboratory bench experiments, allow students to practice important laboratory techniques and observe the physical behavior of chemical systems. Use of software that allows students to explore the molecular basis of chemical phenomena. Use of software that allows students to display and analyze data in ways that facilitate drawing general conclusions about the quantitative relationships between observable properties. Use of the computer as a communications device. The ability to customize software is important in adapting to different learning styles and in encouraging students to learn by discovery. For example, TitrationLab was developed so that the material may merely be presented empirically or in ways in which the principles of equilibrium are demonstrated. At the advanced level, automatically generated titration curves are used to

Comparing Linear and Nonlinear Delivery of Introductory Psychology Lectures: Improving Student Retention

Science.gov (United States)

Cramer, Kenneth M.; Sands, Mandy

2016-01-01

As in most disciplines, the typical introductory class presents topics to students in a linear fashion, beginning (to use psychology as an example) with the history of the field, research methods, brain and neurons, sensation and perception, and so on. This study examined the impact of topic sequence on student achievement. The same professor…

Gender Gaps in Achievement and Participation in Multiple Introductory Biology Classrooms

Science.gov (United States)

Brownell, Sara E.; Wenderoth, Mary Pat

2014-01-01

Although gender gaps have been a major concern in male-dominated science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines such as physics and engineering, the numerical dominance of female students in biology has supported the assumption that gender disparities do not exist at the undergraduate level in life sciences. Using data from 23 large introductory biology classes for majors, we examine two measures of gender disparity in biology: academic achievement and participation in whole-class discussions. We found that females consistently underperform on exams compared with males with similar overall college grade point averages. In addition, although females on average represent 60% of the students in these courses, their voices make up less than 40% of those heard responding to instructor-posed questions to the class, one of the most common ways of engaging students in large lectures. Based on these data, we propose that, despite numerical dominance of females, gender disparities remain an issue in introductory biology classrooms. For student retention and achievement in biology to be truly merit based, we need to develop strategies to equalize the opportunities for students of different genders to practice the skills they need to excel. PMID:25185231

Measuring Student Engagement, Knowledge, and Perceptions of Climate Change in an Introductory Environmental Geology Course

Science.gov (United States)

McNeal, Karen S.; Spry, Jacob M.; Mitra, Ritayan; Tipton, Jamie L.

2014-01-01

This research examines a semester-long introductory environmental geology course, which emphasized climate science using an Earth systems approach and employed a multipronged teaching strategy comprising lecture, movie viewing, class dialogues, and journaling. Evidence of student engagement during various pedagogical approaches (e.g., movie…

Systematic Changes in the Undergraduate Chemistry Curriculum Progam Award and Course and Curriculum Development Program Awards

Science.gov (United States)

1996-06-01

,000 Application modules in the form of projects and active learning techniques to provide a strong foundation in the principles of chemical measurement and to pique the interest of both chemistry majors and nonmajors will be developed for use in introductory analytical courses. The modules will address an analytical problem drawn from current research in biological, environmental, or materials science. Students will be responsible for proposing and evaluating analytical protocols to solve the problems: they will conduct workshops and design their own laboratory experiments. A multidisciplinary Advisory Council will guide the PIs in problem selection and module development. A two-week faculty workshop will provide training in the use of these modules. A World Wide Web home page will be used to distribute information about the modules and will allow users to share experiences using them. Modules will ultimately be distributed by a commercial publisher. Process Workshops for General Chemistry. David M. Hanson SUNY at Stony Brook DUE 9555142 150,000 The process skills needed by students will be addressed by developing innovations in both content and methodology to replace recitation sessions associated with large lecture courses by process workshops, specifically for introductory chemistry courses. The novel format involves process skills, student participation, and active learning at the forefront. Students will work in cooperative-learning groups on lessons that involve discovery learning, critical thinking, problem solving, reporting, and assessment. Computer-based technology will be used to provide personalized quizzes, and the workshop lessons will be transported to a computer network, multi-media format. The objectives of this project are to develop teaching strategies that support a successful cooperative-learning environment, develop lessons that enhance the understanding of concepts and promote learning and problem solving through the use of higher order thinking skills

NKS Workshop on Radioanalytical Chemistry - Final report

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

The NKS-B workshop on radioanalytical chemistry was held 2-6th Sept 2013 at Risø, Denmark. There were a total of 49 persons participating in the workshop, including 32 young participants and 15 lecturers. The work-shop started with 3 days of lab practice followed by 1.5 day’s lectures by the expe......The NKS-B workshop on radioanalytical chemistry was held 2-6th Sept 2013 at Risø, Denmark. There were a total of 49 persons participating in the workshop, including 32 young participants and 15 lecturers. The work-shop started with 3 days of lab practice followed by 1.5 day’s lectures...

Annual report 1986 chemistry department

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Funck, J.; Larsen, E.; Nielsen, O.J.

1987-03-01

This report contains a brief survey of the main activities in the Chemistry Department. All articles and reports published and lectures given in 1986 are presented. The facilities and equipment are mentioned briefly. The activities are divided into the following groups: radioisotope chemistry, analytical- and organic chemistry, environmental chemistry, polymer chemistry, radical chemistral, mineral processing, and general. (author)

Research and Teaching: Correlations between Students' Written Responses to Lecture-Tutorial Questions and Their Understandings of Key Astrophysics Concepts

Science.gov (United States)

Eckenrode, Jeffrey; Prather, Edward E.; Wallace, Colin S.

2016-01-01

This article reports on an investigation into the correlations between students' understandings of introductory astronomy concepts and the correctness and coherency of their written responses to targeted Lecture-Tutorial questions.

Qualitative Analysis of Collaborative Learning Groups in Large Enrollment Introductory Astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

Skala, Chija; Slater, Timothy F.; Adams, Jeffrey P.

2000-08-01

Large-lecture introductory astronomy courses for undergraduate, non-science majors present numerous problems for faculty. As part of a systematic effort to improve the course learning environment, a series of small-group, collaborative learning activities were implemented in an otherwise conventional lecture astronomy survey course. These activities were used once each week during the regularly scheduled lecture period. After eight weeks, ten focus group interviews were conducted to qualitatively assess the impact and dynamics of these small group learning activities. Overall, the data strongly suggest that students enjoy participating in the in-class learning activities in learning teams of three to four students. These students firmly believe that they are learning more than they would from lectures alone. Inductive analysis of the transcripts revealed five major themes prevalent among the students' perspectives: (1) self-formed, cooperative group composition and formation should be more regulated by the instructor; (2) team members' assigned rolls should be less formally structured by the instructors; (3) cooperative groups helped in learning the course content; (4) time constraints on lectures and activities need to be more carefully aligned; and (5) gender issues can exist within the groups. These themes serve as a guide for instructors who are developing instructional interventions for large lecture courses.

Incorporating Code-Based Software in an Introductory Statistics Course

Science.gov (United States)

Doehler, Kirsten; Taylor, Laura

2015-01-01

This article is based on the experiences of two statistics professors who have taught students to write and effectively utilize code-based software in a college-level introductory statistics course. Advantages of using software and code-based software in this context are discussed. Suggestions are made on how to ease students into using code with…

Lectures in relativistic quantum mechanics an introductory course for postgraduates in particle physics

CERN Document Server

Azfar, Farrukh

2017-01-01

This book is based on a series of lectures taught by the author to all incoming first year Oxford University postgraduates in experimental particle physics. It begins by deriving the Dirac equation and incorporating the electro-magnetic interaction and calculating several bread and butter processes at tree level using the Feynman Stueckelberg approach: Mott scattering, electron-electron scattering, electron-positron scattering, Compton scattering, Bremsstrahlung and electron-positron to muon-anti-muon. The intention is for the student to become fluent in detail with all the steps leading to the calculation of these processes. Every step is motivated using the most basic arguments.

Annual report 1984 Chemistry Department

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Funck, J.; Larsen, E.; Nielsen, O.J.

1985-03-01

This report contains a brief survey of the main activities in the Chemistry Department. All articles and reports published and lectures given in 1984 are presented. The facilities and equipment are mentioned briefly. The activities are divided into the following groups: radioisotope chemistry, analytical- and organic chemistry , environmental chemistry, polymer chemistry, geochemistry and waste disposal, radical chemistry, positron annihilation, mineral processing, and general. (author)

Annual report 1987 Chemistry Department

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Funck, J.; Larsen, E.; Nielsen, O.J.

1988-04-01

This report contains a brief survey of the main activities in the Chemistry Department. The names and abstracts of all articles and reports published and lectures given in 1987 are presented. The facilities and equipment are mentioned briefly. The activities are divided into the following groups: radioisotope chemistry, analytical- and organic chemistry, environmental chemistry, polymer chemistry, radical chemistry, mineral processing, and general. 13 ills., (author)

Annual report 1985 Chemistry Department

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Funck, J.; Larsen, E.; Nielsen, O.J.

1986-03-01

This report contains a brief survey of the main activities in the Chemistry Department. All particles and reports published and lectures given in 1985 are presented. The facilities and equipment are mentioned briefly. The activities are divided into the following groups: radioisotope chemistry, analytical- and organic chemistry, environmental chemistry, polymer chemistry, geochemistry and waste disposal, radical chemistry, positron annihilation, mineral processing, and general. (author)

Do Active Learning Approaches in Recitation Sections Improve Student Performance? A Case Study from an Introductory Mechanics Course

Science.gov (United States)

Tobin, R. G.

2018-01-01

Abundant research leaves little question that pedagogical approaches involving active student engagement with the material, and opportunities for student-to-student discussions, lead to much better learning outcomes than traditional instructor-led, expository instructional formats, in physics and in many other fields. In introductory college physics classes, some departments have departed radically from conventional lecture-recitation-laboratory course structures, but many, including my own, retain the basic format of large-group classroom sessions (lectures) supplemented by smaller-group meetings focused on problem solving (recitations) and separate laboratory meetings. Active student engagement in the lectures is encouraged through approaches such as Peer Instruction and Interactive Lecture Demonstrations, and these approaches have been demonstrably successful.

Physical Chemistry '98: Fourth International Conference on Fundamental and Applied Aspects of Physical Chemistry - Papers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ribnikar, S.; Anic, S.

1998-01-01

The proceedings has following chapters: Plenary lectures; Chemical Thermodynamics; Spectroscopy, Molecular Structures, Physical Chemistry of Plasma; Kinetics, Catalysis, Nonlinear Dynamics; Electrochemistry; Biophysical Chemistry, Photochemistry, Radiation Chemistry; Radiochemistry, Nuclear Chemistry; Solid State Physical Chemistry, Material Science; Macromolecular Physical Chemistry; Environmental Protection; Phase Boundaries; Complex Compounds; General Physical Chemistry. A separated abstract was prepared for each of the 20 papers selected from the three chapters: Biophysical Chemistry, Photochemistry, Radiation Chemistry; Radiochemistry, Nuclear Chemistry. and Environmental Protection. Refs and figs

Why do some students struggle while others succeed in chemistry? A study of the influence of undergraduate student beliefs, perceptions, and use of resources on performance in introductory chemistry

Science.gov (United States)

Sinapuelas, Michelle Leigh Shaver

This dissertation explores how student beliefs about the nature of science learning, beliefs in their academic ability, perceptions of the classroom environment, perceptions of external support, and use of resources contribute to success in introductory chemistry as measured by midterm and final exam scores. These factors were selected for study because they are susceptible to instructional intervention. A beliefs and perceptions survey and use of resources framework were developed, tested, and utilized to find predictors for student grades. To measure beliefs and perceptions the Chemistry Beliefs and Perceptions Survey was developed and tested. A total of 428 introductory chemistry students responded to the survey measuring their beliefs and perceptions during Fall 2009. Factor analysis of student responses yielded four categories of beliefs and perceptions: nature of science learning, academic ability, classroom environment, and external support. A hierarchical linear model estimated the influence of student beliefs and perceptions on exam scores. There was a positive relationship between exam scores and (a) belief in academic ability and (b) belief that learning science involves understanding dynamic processes. There was a negative relationship between exam scores and perception of external support. Perceptions of the classroom environment were not strongly related to exam scores. These results were replicated with survey responses collected from students taking the course the following Fall (N=597). To characterize student use of resources, a subset of survey participants (N=61) were interviewed at three time-points spanning the Fall 2009 semester. Interview responses were used to create a Use of Resources Framework. This framework described students as memorizers, procedural thinkers, critical thinkers, or researchers. Students characterized as memorizers or procedural thinkers view outside sources of information as the "authority," while critical thinkers and

Annual report 1988 Chemistry Department

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Funck, J.; Neve Larsen, Aa.; Larsen, E.; Nielsen, O.J.

1989-05-01

This report contains a brief survey of the main activities in the Chemistry Department. The names and abstracts of all articles and reports published and lectures given in 1988 are presented. The facilities and equipment are mentioned briefly. The activities are divided into the following groups: radioisotope chemistry, analytical- and organic chemistry, environmental chemistry, polymer chemistry, chemical reactivity, mineral processing, and general. (author)

Annual report 1989 Chemistry Department

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Funck, J.; Neve Larsen, Aa.; Larsen, E.; Nielsen, O.J.

1990-03-01

This report contains a brief survey of the main activities in the Chemistry Department. The names and abstracts of all articles and reports published and lectures given in 1989 are presented. The facilities and equipment are mentioned briefly. The activities are divided into the following groups: radioisotope chemistry, analytical- and organic chemistry, environmental chemistry, polymer chemistry, chemical reactivity, mineral processing, and general. (author)

Koshiba, Tanaka give Nobel lectures

CERN Multimedia

2002-01-01

Masatoshi Kosiba and Koichi Tanaka presented lectures in English on Sunday, touching on topics ranging from particle physics, to teamwork to commemorate their reception of this year's Nobel Prize for Physics and Chemistry. The two will receive their respective prizes in an awards ceremony scheduled for Tuesday (1 page).

Lecturing skills as predictors of tutoring skills in a problem-based medical curriculum.

Science.gov (United States)

Kassab, Salah Eldin; Hassan, Nahla; Abu-Hijleh, Marwan F; Sequeira, Reginald P

2016-01-01

Recruitment of tutors to work in problem-based learning (PBL) programs is challenging, especially in that most of them are graduated from discipline-based programs. Therefore, this study aims at examining whether lecturing skills of faculty could predict their PBL tutoring skills. This study included evaluation of faculty (n=69) who participated in both tutoring and lecturing within particular PBL units at the College of Medicine and Medical Sciences (CMMS), Arabian Gulf University, Bahrain. Each faculty was evaluated by medical students (n=45±8 for lecturing and 8±2 for PBL tutoring) using structured evaluation forms based on a Likert-type scale (poor to excellent). The prediction of tutoring skills using lecturing skills was statistically analyzed using stepwise linear regression. Among the parameters used to judge lecturing skills, the most important predictor for tutoring skills was subject matter mastery in the lecture by explaining difficult concepts and responding effectively to students' questions. Subject matter mastery in the lecture positively predicted five tutoring skills and accounted for 25% of the variance in overall effectiveness of the PBL tutors (F=22.39, P=0.000). Other important predictors for tutoring skills were providing a relaxed class atmosphere and effective use of audiovisual aids in the lecture. Predicting the tutoring skills based on lecturing skills could have implications for recruiting tutors in PBL medical programs and for tutor training initiatives.

Theme-Based Bidisciplinary Chemistry Laboratory Modules

Science.gov (United States)

Leber, Phyllis A.; Szczerbicki, Sandra K.

1996-12-01

A thematic approach to each of the two introductory chemistry laboratory sequences, general and organic chemistry, not only provides an element of cohesion but also stresses the role that chemistry plays as the "central science" and emphasizes the intimate link between chemistry and other science disciplines. Thus, in general chemistry the rubric "Environmental Chemistry" affords connections to the geosciences, whereas experiments on the topic of "Plant Assays" bridge organic chemistry and biology. By establishing links with other science departments, the theme-based laboratory experiments will satisfy the following multidisciplinary criteria: (i) to demonstrate the general applicability of core methodologies to the sciences, (ii) to help students relate concepts to a broader multidisciplinary context, (iii) to foster an attitude of both independence and cooperation that can transcend the teaching laboratory to the research arena, and (iv) to promote greater cooperation and interaction between the science departments. Fundamentally, this approach has the potential to impact the chemistry curriculum significantly by including student decision-making in the experimental process. Furthermore, the incorporation of GC-MS, a powerful tool for separation and identification as well as a state-of-the-art analytical technique, in the modules will enhance the introductory general and organic chemistry laboratory sequences by making them more instrument-intensive and by providing a reliable and reproducible means of obtaining quantitative analyses. Each multifaceted module has been designed to meet the following criteria: (i) a synthetic protocol including full spectral characterization of products, (ii) quantitative and statistical analyses of data, and (iii) construction of a database of results. The database will provide several concrete functions. It will foster the idea that science is a continuous incremental process building on the results of earlier experimentalists

Enhancing the Teaching of Introductory Economics with a Team-Based, Multi-Section Competition

Science.gov (United States)

Beaudin, Laura; Berdiev, Aziz N.; Kaminaga, Allison Shwachman; Mirmirani, Sam; Tebaldi, Edinaldo

2017-01-01

The authors describe a unique approach to enhancing student learning at the introductory economics level that utilizes a multi-section, team-based competition. The competition is structured to supplement learning throughout the entire introductory course. Student teams are presented with current economic issues, trends, or events, and use economic…

Hiding data selected topics : Rudolf Ahlswede’s lectures on information theory 3

CERN Document Server

Althöfer, Ingo; Deppe, Christian; Tamm, Ulrich

2016-01-01

Devoted to information security, this volume begins with a short course on cryptography, mainly based on lectures given by Rudolf Ahlswede at the University of Bielefeld in the mid 1990s. It was the second of his cycle of lectures on information theory which opened with an introductory course on basic coding theorems, as covered in Volume 1 of this series. In this third volume, Shannon’s historical work on secrecy systems is detailed, followed by an introduction to an information-theoretic model of wiretap channels, and such important concepts as homophonic coding and authentication. Once the theoretical arguments have been presented, comprehensive technical details of AES are given. Furthermore, a short introduction to the history of public-key cryptology, RSA and El Gamal cryptosystems is provided, followed by a look at the basic theory of elliptic curves, and algorithms for efficient addition in elliptic curves. Lastly, the important topic of “oblivious transfer” is discussed, which is strongly conne...

Paris-Princeton Lectures on Mathematical Finance

CERN Document Server

Carmona, René A; Kohatsu-Higa, Arturo; Lasry, Jean-Michel; Lions, Pierre-Louis; Pham, Huyên; Taflin, Erik

2007-01-01

The Paris-Princeton Lectures in Financial Mathematics, of which this is the third volume, will, on an annual basis, publish cutting-edge research in self-contained, expository articles from outstanding - established or upcoming! - specialists. The aim is to produce a series of articles that can serve as an introductory reference for research in the field. It arises as a result of frequent exchanges between the finance and financial mathematics groups in Paris and Princeton. The present volume sets standards with articles by René Carmona, Ivar Ekeland/Erik Taflin, Arturo Kohatsu-Higa, Pierre-Louis Lions/Jean-Michel Lasry, and Hyuên Pham.

Transversality of electromagnetic waves in the calculus-based introductory physics course

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burko, Lior M

2008-01-01

Introductory calculus-based physics textbooks state that electromagnetic waves are transverse and list many of their properties, but most such textbooks do not bring forth arguments why this is so. Both physical and theoretical arguments are at a level appropriate for students of courses based on such books, and could be readily used by instructors of such courses. Here, we discuss two physical arguments (based on polarization experiments and on lack of monopole electromagnetic radiation) and the full argument for the transversality of (plane) electromagnetic waves based on the integral Maxwell equations. We also show, at a level appropriate for the introductory course, why the electric and magnetic fields in a wave are in phase and the relation of their magnitudes

Transversality of electromagnetic waves in the calculus-based introductory physics course

Science.gov (United States)

Burko, Lior M.

2008-11-01

Introductory calculus-based physics textbooks state that electromagnetic waves are transverse and list many of their properties, but most such textbooks do not bring forth arguments why this is so. Both physical and theoretical arguments are at a level appropriate for students of courses based on such books, and could be readily used by instructors of such courses. Here, we discuss two physical arguments (based on polarization experiments and on lack of monopole electromagnetic radiation) and the full argument for the transversality of (plane) electromagnetic waves based on the integral Maxwell equations. We also show, at a level appropriate for the introductory course, why the electric and magnetic fields in a wave are in phase and the relation of their magnitudes.

Chemistry in power plants 2010. Lectures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2010-01-01

This year's conference starts with the analytical control of lubricating and hydraulic oil in turbine machines as well as with sampling and analysis in the water steam cycle. Other papers are dealing with the analysis of film-forming amines, the transformation of data from the water steam cycle into information for action, the improvement of water steam cycle chemistry in cyclic operation and finally the environmental application of closed loop recycling methods avoiding the discharge of waste water. Furthermore items of nuclear power plant chemistry as well as of flue gas cleaning and coal analysis are presented in two sections. [de

PLACEMENT APPLICATIONS SCHEDULING LECTURE IN INTERNATIONAL PROGRAM UNIKOM BASED ANDROID

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andri Sahata Sitanggang

2017-12-01

Full Text Available One who determines life of a classroom namely mapping scheduling courses especially at college. The process scheduling has included time or schedule of a class of available, room available, lecture who is scheduled for, and schedule for lecturer going to teach. Hopefully with a scheduling it will facilitate the students and teachers in obtaining information lecture schedule. With the emergence of the android application ( is implanted in mobile phones , the public can now use the internet so fast that is based .So with that researchers give one a technology based solutions to build android application .This is because one of the technology has given the functions which may make it easier for students and university lecturers in terms of access to information. In building this application used method of the prototype consisting 2 access namely access user and admin , where module user consisting of modules register , login , scheduling module , while for admin given module login , register and arrangement information scheduling courses both the administration and lecturers .Application made will be integrated with internet so that this program is real-time application.

Comparison of lecture and team-based learning in medical ethics education.

Science.gov (United States)

Ozgonul, Levent; Alimoglu, Mustafa Kemal

2017-01-01

Medical education literature suggests that ethics education should be learner-centered and problem-based rather than theory-based. Team-based learning is an appropriate method for this suggestion. However, its effectiveness was not investigated enough in medical ethics education. Is team-based learning effective in medical ethics education in terms of knowledge retention, in-class learner engagement, and learner reactions? This was a prospective controlled follow-up study. We changed lecture with team-based learning method to teach four topics in a 2-week medical ethics clerkship, while the remaining topics were taught by lectures. For comparison, we formed team-based learning and lecture groups, in which the students and instructor are the same, but the topics and teaching methodologies are different. We determined in-class learner engagement by direct observation and student satisfaction by feedback forms. Student success for team-based learning and lecture topics in the end-of-clerkship exam and two retention tests performed 1 year and 2 years later were compared. Ethical considerations: Ethical approval for the study was granted by Akdeniz University Board of Ethics on Noninvasive Clinical Human Studies Ethics committee. Short-term knowledge retention did not differ; however, team-based learning was found superior to lecture at long-term retention tests. Student satisfaction was high with team-based learning and in-class engagement was better in team-based learning sessions. Our results on learner engagement and satisfaction with team-based learning were similar to those of previous reports. However, knowledge retention results in our study were contrary to literature. The reason might be the fact that students prepared for the end-of-clerkship pass/fail exam (short term) regardless of the teaching method. But, at long-term retention tests, they did not prepare for the exam and answered the questions just using the knowledge retained in their memories. Our

A guided note taking strategy supports student learning in the large lecture classes

Science.gov (United States)

Tanamatayarat, J.; Sujarittham, T.; Wuttiprom, S.; Hefer, E.

2017-09-01

In higher education, lecturing has been found to be the most prevalent teaching format for large classes. Generally, this format tends not to result in effective learning outcomes. Therefore, to support student learning in these large lecture classes, we developed guided notes containing quotations, blank spaces, pictures, and problems. A guided note taking strategy was selected and has been used in our introductory physics course for many years. In this study, we investigated the results of implementing the guided note taking strategy to promote student learning on electrostatics. The samples were three groups of first-year students from two universities: 163 and 224 science students and 147 engineering students. All of the students were enrolled in the introductory physics course in the second semester. To assess the students’ understanding, we administered pre- and post-tests to the students by using the electrostatics test. The questions were selected from the conceptual survey of electricity and magnetism (CSEM) and some leading physics textbooks. The results of the students’ understanding were analyzed by the average normalized gains (). The value of each group was 0.61, 0.55, and 0.54, respectively. Furthermore, the students’ views on learning with the guided note taking strategy were explored by using the five-point rating scale survey. Most students perceived that the strategy helped support their active learning and engagement in the lectures.

Water chemistry regimes for VVER-440 units: water chemistry influence on fuel cladding behaviour

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zmitko, M.

1999-01-01

In this lecture next problems of water chemistry influence on fuel cladding behaviour for VVER-440 units are presented: primary coolant technologies; water chemistry specification and control; fuel integrity considerations; zirconium alloys cladding corrosion (corrosion versus burn-up; water chemistry effect; crud deposition; hydrogen absorption; axial offset anomaly); alternatives for the primary coolant regimes

Annual report 1983 Chemistry Department

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Funck, J.; Larsen, E.; Nielsen, O.J.

1984-05-01

This report contains a brief survey of the main activities in the Chemistry Department. All articles and reports published and lectures given in 1983 are presented. The facilities and equipment are barely mentioned. The activities are divided into nine groups: 1. radioisotope chemistry 2. analytical- and organic chemistry 3. environmental chemistry 4. polymer chemistry 5. geochemistry and waste disposal 6. radical chemstry 7. positron annihilation 8. mineral processing 9. general. (author)

Lecturing skills as predictors of tutoring skills in a problem-based medical curriculum

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kassab SE

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Salah Eldin Kassab,1 Nahla Hassan,1 Marwan F Abu-Hijleh,2 Reginald P Sequeira3 1Department of Medical Education, Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt; 2College of Medicine, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar; 3College of Medicine and Medical Sciences, Arabian Gulf University, Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain Purpose: Recruitment of tutors to work in problem-based learning (PBL programs is challenging, especially in that most of them are graduated from discipline-based programs. Therefore, this study aims at examining whether lecturing skills of faculty could predict their PBL tutoring skills. Methods: This study included evaluation of faculty (n=69 who participated in both tutoring and lecturing within particular PBL units at the College of Medicine and Medical Sciences (CMMS, Arabian Gulf University, Bahrain. Each faculty was evaluated by medical students (n=45±8 for lecturing and 8±2 for PBL tutoring using structured evaluation forms based on a Likert-type scale (poor to excellent. The prediction of tutoring skills using lecturing skills was statistically analyzed using stepwise linear regression. Results: Among the parameters used to judge lecturing skills, the most important predictor for tutoring skills was subject matter mastery in the lecture by explaining difficult concepts and responding effectively to students' questions. Subject matter mastery in the lecture positively predicted five tutoring skills and accounted for 25% of the variance in overall effectiveness of the PBL tutors (F=22.39, P=0.000. Other important predictors for tutoring skills were providing a relaxed class atmosphere and effective use of audiovisual aids in the lecture. Conclusion: Predicting the tutoring skills based on lecturing skills could have implications for recruiting tutors in PBL medical programs and for tutor training initiatives. Keywords: PBL, tutor, tutoring skills, lecturing skills

Green Chemistry Pedagogy

Science.gov (United States)

Kolopajlo, Larry

2017-02-01

This chapter attempts to show how the practice of chemistry teaching and learning is enriched by the incorporation of green chemistry (GC) into lectures and labs. To support this viewpoint, evidence from a wide range of published papers serve as a cogent argument that GC attracts and engages both science and nonscience students, enhances chemistry content knowledge, and improves the image of the field, while preparing the world for a sustainable future. Published pedagogy associated with green and sustainable chemistry is critically reviewed and discussed.

Feynman Lectures on Gravitation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Borcherds, P

2003-01-01

In the early 1960s Feynman lectured to physics undergraduates and, with the assistance of his colleagues Leighton and Sands, produced the three-volume classic Feynman Lectures in Physics. These lectures were delivered in the mornings. In the afternoons Feynman was giving postgraduate lectures on gravitation. This book is based on notes compiled by two students on that course: Morinigo and Wagner. Their notes were checked and approved by Feynman and were available at Caltech. They have now been edited by Brian Hatfield and made more widely available. The book has a substantial preface by John Preskill and Kip Thorne, and an introduction entitled 'Quantum Gravity' by Brian Hatfield. You should read these before going on to the lectures themselves. Preskill and Thorne identify three categories of potential readers of this book. 1. Those with a postgraduate training in theoretical physics. 2. 'Readers with a solid undergraduate training in physics'. 3. 'Admirers of Feynman who do not have a strong physics background'. The title of the book is perhaps misleading: readers in category 2 who think that this book is an extension of the Feynman Lectures in Physics may be disappointed. It is not: it is a book aimed mainly at those in category 1. If you want to get to grips with gravitation (and general relativity) then you need to read an introductory text first e.g. General Relativity by I R Kenyon (Oxford: Oxford University Press) or A Unified Grand Tour of Theoretical Physics by Ian D Lawrie (Bristol: IoP). But there is no Royal Road. As pointed out in the preface and in the introduction, the book represents Feynman's thinking about gravitation some 40 years ago: the lecture course was part of his attempts to understand the subject himself, and for readers in all three categories it is this that makes the book one of interest: the opportunity to observe how a great physicist attempts to tackle some of the hardest challenges of physics. However, the book was written 40

Comparing Student Success and Understanding in Introductory Statistics under Consensus and Simulation-Based Curricula

Science.gov (United States)

Hldreth, Laura A.; Robison-Cox, Jim; Schmidt, Jade

2018-01-01

This study examines the transferability of results from previous studies of simulation-based curriculum in introductory statistics using data from 3,500 students enrolled in an introductory statistics course at Montana State University from fall 2013 through spring 2016. During this time, four different curricula, a traditional curriculum and…

A collaborative learning approach for service-oriented introductory physics

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Michael R.

1997-03-01

I have taught algebra-based introductory physics for six years to liberal arts students. It was primarily a service course for students majoring in Athletic Training, Physical Therapy, Geology, Biology, and Pre-Med. The typical student was characterized by having a minimal math and problem-solving proficiency. There also was a pattern of students being predisposed to memorizing facts and formulas, and attempting to solve problems by finding the correct formula and "plugging in" numbers to get an answer. The students seemed to have a minimal ability in deductive reasoning and problem solving, starting from basic principles. It is no wonder that they entered the introductory physics service course with extreme trepidation, based upon a strongly perceived physics phobia. A standard lecture format was used for the class size of approximately 25-30 students; and an attempt was always made to engage the students through the Socratic approach, by asking leading questions during the course of the lecture. The students were relatively unprepared and couldn't participate in the class, and often responded antagonistically. They indicated they didn't want to be asked to think about an issue, but would rather just be told the facts so they could take specific notes for subsequent memorization. It was clear from the results of the open book exams given during the semester that the majority of students could not approach problem solving using deductive reasoning based on basic principles, but relied on attempting to force-fit the problem into a worked example in the text (often out of context, with illogical results). The absentee rate in the classroom was usually around 30-40%. The academic administration of my liberal arts university has the policy of formal course evaluations by the students at the end of each semester. The evaluation questionnaire appears to be primarily a measurement of the stress level of the student during the course, and the evaluation score I received

Technology and Bloom's Taxonomy: Tools to Facilitate Higher-Level Learning in Chemistry

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Morgan, Matthew

1997-01-01

This research project ties together chemistry data acquisition technology, introductory chemistry laboratory experiments, and Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives into a unified learning model...

Video-based lectures: An emerging paradigm for teaching human anatomy and physiology to student nurses

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rabab El-Sayed Hassan El-Sayed

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Video-based teaching material is a rich and powerful medium being used in computer assisted learning. This paper aimed to assess the learning outcomes and student nurses’ acceptance and satisfaction with the video-based lectures versus the traditional method of teaching human anatomy and physiology courses. Data were collected from 27 students in a Bachelor of Nursing program and experimental control was achieved using an alternating-treatments design. Overall, students experienced 10 lectures, which delivered by the teacher as either video-based or PowerPoint-based lectures. Results revealed that video-based lectures offer more successes and reduce failures in the immediate and follow-up measures as compared with the traditional method of teaching human anatomy and physiology that was based on printout illustrations, but these differences were not statistically significant. Moreover, nurse students appeared positive about their learning experiences, as they rated highly all the items assessing their acceptance and satisfaction with the video-based lectures. KEYWORDS: Video-based lecture, Traditional, Print-based illustration

The Use of Group Activities in Introductory Biology Supports Learning Gains and Uniquely Benefits High-Achieving Students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gili Marbach-Ad

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This study describes the implementation and effectiveness of small-group active engagement (GAE exercises in an introductory biology course (BSCI207 taught in a large auditorium setting. BSCI207 (Principles of Biology III—Organismal Biology is the third introductory core course for Biological Sciences majors. In fall 2014, the instructors redesigned one section to include GAE activities to supplement lecture content. One section (n = 198 employed three lectures per week. The other section (n = 136 replaced one lecture per week with a GAE class. We explored the benefits and challenges associated with implementing GAE exercises and their relative effectiveness for unique student groups (e.g., minority students, high- and low-grade point average [GPA] students. Our findings show that undergraduates in the GAE class exhibited greater improvement in learning outcomes than undergraduates in the traditional class. Findings also indicate that high-achieving students experienced the greatest benefit from GAE activities. Some at-risk student groups (e.g., two-year transfer students showed comparably low learning gains in the course, despite the additional support that may have been afforded by active learning. Collectively, these findings provide valuable feedback that may assist other instructors who wish to revise their courses and recommendations for institutions regarding prerequisite coursework approval policies.

Rudolf Ahlswede’s lectures on information theory

CERN Document Server

Althöfer, Ingo; Deppe, Christian; Tamm, Ulrich

Volume 1 : The volume “Storing and Transmitting Data” is based on Rudolf Ahlswede's introductory course on "Information Theory I" and presents an introduction to Shannon Theory. Readers, familiar or unfamiliar with the technical intricacies of Information Theory, will benefit considerably from working through the book; especially Chapter VI with its lively comments and uncensored insider views from the world of science and research offers informative and revealing insights. This is the first of several volumes that will serve as a collected research documentation of Rudolf Ahlswede’s lectures on information theory. Each volume includes comments from an invited well-known expert. Holger Boche contributed his insights in the supplement of the present volume. Classical information processing concerns the main tasks of gaining knowledge, storage, transmitting and hiding data. The first task is the prime goal of Statistics. For the two next, Shannon presented an impressive mathematical theory called Informat...

Paris-Princeton lectures on mathematical finance 2002

CERN Document Server

2003-01-01

The Paris-Princeton Lectures in Financial Mathematics, of which this is the first volume, will, on an annual basis, publish cutting-edge research in self-contained, expository articles from outstanding - established or upcoming! - specialists. The aim is to produce a series of articles that can serve as an introductory reference for research in the field. It arises as a result of frequent exchanges between the finance and financial mathematics groups in Paris and Princeton. The present volume sets standards with articles by P. Bank/H. Föllmer, F. Baudoin, L.C.G. Rogers, and M. Soner/N. Touzi.

A Lecture Supporting System Based on Real-Time Learning Analytics

Science.gov (United States)

Shimada, Atsushi; Konomi, Shin'ichi

2017-01-01

A new lecture supporting system based on real-time learning analytics is proposed. Our target is on-site classrooms where teachers give their lectures, and a lot of students listen to teachers' explanation, conduct exercises etc. We utilize not only an e-Learning system, but also an e-Book system to collect real-time learning activities during the…

Fundamentals of nuclear chemistry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matel, L.; Dulanska, S.

2013-01-01

This text-book is an introductory text in nuclear chemistry and radiochemistry, aimed on university undergraduate students in chemistry and related disciplines (physics, nuclear engineering). It covers the key aspects of modern nuclear chemistry. The text begins with basic theories in contemporary physics. It relates nuclear phenomena to key divisions of chemistry such as atomic structure, spectroscopy, equilibria and kinetics. It also gives an introduction to sources of ionizing radiation, detection of ionizing radiation, nuclear power industry and accident on nuclear installations as well as basic knowledge's of radiobiology. This book is essential reading for those taking a first course in nuclear chemistry and is a useful companion to other volumes in physical and analytical chemistry. It will also be of use to those new to working in nuclear chemistry or radiochemistry.

Introductory speeches

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2001-01-01

This CD is multimedia presentation of programme safety upgrading of Bohunice V1 NPP. This chapter consist of introductory commentary and 4 introductory speeches (video records): (1) Introductory speech of Vincent Pillar, Board chairman and director general of Slovak electric, Plc. (SE); (2) Introductory speech of Stefan Schmidt, director of SE - Bohunice Nuclear power plants; (3) Introductory speech of Jan Korec, Board chairman and director general of VUJE Trnava, Inc. - Engineering, Design and Research Organisation, Trnava; Introductory speech of Dietrich Kuschel, Senior vice-president of FRAMATOME ANP Project and Engineering

Movies in Chemistry Education

Science.gov (United States)

Pekdag, Bulent; Le Marechal, Jean-Francois

2010-01-01

This article reviews numerous studies on chemistry movies. Movies, or moving pictures, are important elements of multimedia and signify a privileged or motivating means of presenting knowledge. Studies on chemistry movies show that the first movie productions in this field were devoted to university lectures or documentaries. Shorter movies were…

Enhancing Preservice Teachers' Understanding of Students' Misconceptions in Learning Chemistry

Science.gov (United States)

Naah, Basil Mugaga

2015-01-01

Preservice teachers enrolled in a modified introductory chemistry course used an instructional rubric to improve and evaluate their understanding of students' misconceptions in learning various chemistry concepts. A sample of 79 preservice teachers first explored the state science standards to identify chemistry misconceptions associated with the…

Computer-based teaching is as good as face to face lecture-based teaching of evidence based medicine: a randomised controlled trial

Science.gov (United States)

2007-01-01

Background At postgraduate level evidence based medicine (EBM) is currently taught through tutor based lectures. Computer based sessions fit around doctors' workloads, and standardise the quality of educational provision. There have been no randomized controlled trials comparing computer based sessions with traditional lectures at postgraduate level within medicine. Methods This was a randomised controlled trial involving six postgraduate education centres in the West Midlands, U.K. Fifty five newly qualified foundation year one doctors (U.S internship equivalent) were randomised to either computer based sessions or an equivalent lecture in EBM and systematic reviews. The change from pre to post-intervention score was measured using a validated questionnaire assessing knowledge (primary outcome) and attitudes (secondary outcome). Results Both groups were similar at baseline. Participants' improvement in knowledge in the computer based group was equivalent to the lecture based group (gain in score: 2.1 [S.D = 2.0] versus 1.9 [S.D = 2.4]; ANCOVA p = 0.078). Attitudinal gains were similar in both groups. Conclusion On the basis of our findings we feel computer based teaching and learning is as effective as typical lecture based teaching sessions for educating postgraduates in EBM and systematic reviews. PMID:17659076

A Colorful Solubility Exercise for Organic Chemistry

Science.gov (United States)

Shugrue, Christopher R.; Mentzen, Hans H., II; Linton, Brian R.

2015-01-01

A discovery chemistry laboratory has been developed for the introductory organic chemistry student to investigate the concepts of polarity, miscibility, solubility, and density. The simple procedure takes advantage of the solubility of two colored dyes in a series of solvents or solvent mixtures, and the diffusion of colors can be easily…

Introductory Education for Mechanical Engineering by Exercise in Mechanical Disassembly

Science.gov (United States)

Matsui, Yoshio; Asakawa, Naoki; Iwamori, Satoru

An introductory program “Exercise for engineers in mechanical disassembly” is an exercise that ten students of every team disassemble a motor scooter to the components and then assemble again to the initial form in 15 weeks. The purpose of this program is to introduce mechanical engineering by touching the real machine and learning how it is composed from various mechanical parts to the students at the early period after the entrance into the university. Additional short lectures by young teachers and a special lecture by a top engineer in the industry encourage the students to combine the actual machine and the mechanical engineering subjects. Furthermore, various educations such as group leader system, hazard prediction training, parts filing are included in this program. As a result, students recognize the importance of the mechanical engineering study and the way of group working.

Using In-class Group Exercises to Enhance Lectures and Provide Introductory Physics Students an Opportunity to Perfect Problem Solving Skills through Interactions with Fellow Students

Science.gov (United States)

Trout, Joseph; Bland, Jared

2013-03-01

In this pilot project, one hour of lecture time was replaced with one hour of in-class assignments, which groups of students collaborated on. These in-class assignments consisted of problems or projects selected for the calculus-based introductory physics students The first problem was at a level of difficulty that the majority of the students could complete with a small to moderate amount of difficulty. Each successive problem was increasingly more difficult, the last problem being having a level of difficulty that was beyond the capabilities of the majority of the students and required some instructor intervention. The students were free to choose their own groups. Students were encouraged to interact and help each other understand. The success of the in-class exercises were measured using pre-tests and post-tests. The pre-test and post-test were completed by each student independently. Statistics were also compiled on each student's attendance record and the amount of time spent reading and studying, as reported by the student. Statistics were also completed on the student responses when asked if they had sufficient time to complete the pre-test and post-test and if they would have completed the test with the correct answers if they had more time. The pre-tests and post-tests were not used in the computation of the grades of the students.

Memory for Lectures: How Lecture Format Impacts the Learning Experience.

Science.gov (United States)

Varao-Sousa, Trish L; Kingstone, Alan

2015-01-01

The present study investigated what impact the presentation style of a classroom lecture has on memory, mind wandering, and the subjective factors of interest and motivation. We examined if having a professor lecturing live versus on video alters the learning experience of the students in the classroom. During the lectures, students were asked to report mind wandering and later complete a memory test. The lecture format was manipulated such that all the students received two lectures, one live and one a pre-recorded video. Results indicate that lecture format affected memory performance but not mind wandering, with enhanced memory in the live lectures. Additionally, students reported greater interest and motivation in the live lectures. Given that a single change to the classroom environment, professor presence, impacted memory performance, as well as motivation and interest, the present results have several key implications for technology-based integrations into higher education classrooms.

HMI scientific report - chemistry 1987

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1989-01-01

Results of the R and D activities of the Radiation Chemistry Department, Hahn-Meitner-Institut, are reported, primarily dealing with the following subjects: Interface processes and energy conversion, high-energy photochemistry and radiation chemistry as well as trace elements chemistry. A list of publications and lectures is added and gives a view on results obtained in research and development. (EF) [de

"Flipping" the introductory clerkship in radiology: impact on medical student performance and perceptions.

Science.gov (United States)

Belfi, Lily M; Bartolotta, Roger J; Giambrone, Ashley E; Davi, Caryn; Min, Robert J

2015-06-01

Among methods of "blended learning" (ie, combining online modules with in-class instruction), the "flipped classroom" involves student preclass review of material while reserving class time for interactive knowledge application. We integrated blended learning methodology in a "flipped" introductory clerkship in radiology, and assessed the impact of this approach on the student educational experience (performance and perception). In preparation for the "flipped clerkship," radiology faculty and residents created e-learning modules that were uploaded to an open-source website. The clerkship's 101 rising third-year medical students were exposed to different teaching methods during the course, such as blended learning, traditional lecture learning, and independent learning. Students completed precourse and postcourse knowledge assessments and surveys. Student knowledge improved overall as a result of taking the course. Blended learning achieved greater pretest to post-test improvement of high statistical significance (P value, .0060) compared to lecture learning alone. Blended learning also achieved greater pretest to post-test improvement of borderline statistical significance (P value, .0855) in comparison to independent learning alone. The difference in effectiveness of independent learning versus lecture learning was not statistically significant (P value, .2730). Student perceptions of the online modules used in blended learning portions of the course were very positive. They specifically enjoyed the self-paced interactivity and the ability to return to the modules in the future. Blended learning can be successfully applied to the introductory clerkship in radiology. This teaching method offers educators an innovative and efficient approach to medical student education in radiology. Copyright © 2015 AUR. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Making of Evalution’s Information System of Lecturer's Lecture and Major’s Service-Based Web in PTIK Major FKIP UNS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Irma Nuur Rochmah

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The quality of education of a study program can be measured from the level of customer satisfaction with the existing service. In accordance with ISO 9001: 2008, an organization should measure and obtain information related to customers and customers. Measurements and information that can be done survey data on customer satisfaction. From this survey data, Informatics and Computer Education Study Program can follow which aspect need improvement for program quality. One way to get survey data by doing the evaluation. In the Study Program of Informatics and Computer Engineering, evaluation using application form online form. The study program does not yet have its own evaluation information system. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to produce information technology and pelaynaan web-based program in the Study Program (Prodi Educational Engineering and Computer Informatics and to determine the level of the feasibility of information. In this study used research and development model with the first phase of the preliminary study, the second stage of product development and the last stage. At the product development stage is done by using software development model. From the stages of inputs obtained from the assessment of students on lecturers' lectures and prodi services in Education Program Informatics and Computer Engineering. The result of evaluation of lecturers' lectures and prodi services by selected students with their rena as output that can be seen by lecturer and admin. A system that can be used to help the services that have been given to the students, both in lecturers' lectures and prodi services. The results of this study, first, has created information and web-based programming services in Informatics and Computer Engineering Education Program, FKIP, UNS. Second, the feasibility of information and product and service development, Informatics and Computer Engineering Education Study Program, FKIP, UNS conducted by expert

Integrating Particulate Representations into AP Chemistry and Introductory Chemistry Courses

Science.gov (United States)

Prilliman, Stephen G.

2014-01-01

The College Board's recently revised curriculum for advanced placement (AP) chemistry places a strong emphasis on conceptual understanding, including representations of particle phenomena. This change in emphasis is informed by years of research showing that students could perform algorithmic calculations but not explain those calculations…

Memory for Lectures: How Lecture Format Impacts the Learning Experience.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Trish L Varao-Sousa

Full Text Available The present study investigated what impact the presentation style of a classroom lecture has on memory, mind wandering, and the subjective factors of interest and motivation. We examined if having a professor lecturing live versus on video alters the learning experience of the students in the classroom. During the lectures, students were asked to report mind wandering and later complete a memory test. The lecture format was manipulated such that all the students received two lectures, one live and one a pre-recorded video. Results indicate that lecture format affected memory performance but not mind wandering, with enhanced memory in the live lectures. Additionally, students reported greater interest and motivation in the live lectures. Given that a single change to the classroom environment, professor presence, impacted memory performance, as well as motivation and interest, the present results have several key implications for technology-based integrations into higher education classrooms.

Improving student learning and views of physics in a large enrollment introductory physics class

Science.gov (United States)

Salehzadeh Einabad, Omid

Introductory physics courses often serve as gatekeepers for many scientific and engineering programs and, increasingly, colleges are relying on large, lecture formats for these courses. Many students, however, leave having learned very little physics and with poor views of the subject. In interactive engagement (IE), classroom activities encourage students to engage with each other and with physics concepts and to be actively involved in their own learning. These methods have been shown to be effective in introductory physics classes with small group recitations. This study examined student learning and views of physics in a large enrollment course that included IE methods with no separate, small-group recitations. In this study, a large, lecture-based course included activities that had students explaining their reasoning both verbally and in writing, revise their ideas about physics concepts, and apply their reasoning to various problems. The questions addressed were: (a) What do students learn about physics concepts and how does student learning in this course compare to that reported in the literature for students in a traditional course?, (b) Do students' views of physics change and how do students' views of physics compare to that reported in the literature for students in a traditional course?, and (c) Which of the instructional strategies contribute to student learning in this course? Data included: pre-post administration of the Force Concept Inventory (FCI), classroom exams during the term, pre-post administration of the Colorado Learning Attitudes About Science Survey (CLASS), and student work, interviews, and open-ended surveys. The average normalized gain (=0.32) on the FCI falls within the medium-gain range as reported in the physics education literature, even though the average pre-test score was very low (30%) and this was the instructor's first implementation of IE methods. Students' views of physics remained relatively unchanged by instruction

Analytical chemistry: Principles and techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hargis, L.G.

1988-01-01

Although this text seems to have been intended for use in a one-semester course in undergraduate analytical chemistry, it includes the range of topics usually encountered in a two-semester introductory course in chemical analysis. The material is arranged logically for use in a two-semester course: the first 12 chapters contain the subjects most often covered in the first term, and the next 10 chapters pertain to the second (instrumental) term. Overall breadth and level of treatment are standards for an undergraduate text of this sort, and the only major omission is that of kinetic methods (which is a common omission in analytical texts). In the first 12 chapters coverage of the basic material is quite good. The emphasis on the underlying principles of the techniques rather than on specifics and design of instrumentation is welcomed. This text may be more useful for the instrumental portion of an analytical chemistry course than for the solution chemistry segment. The instrumental analysis portion is appropriate for an introductory textbook

Astronomy Matters for Chemistry Teachers

Science.gov (United States)

Huebner, Jay S.; Vergenz, Robert A.; Smith, Terry L.

1996-11-01

The purpose of this paper is to encourage more chemistry teachers to become familiar with some of the basic ideas described in typical introductory astronomy courses (1 - 9), including those about the origin of elements and forms of matter. These ideas would enrich chemistry courses and help resolve some basic misconceptions that are expressed in many introductory texts (10 - 16) and journal articles for chemistry teachers (17, 18). These misconceptions are typified by statements such as "we can classify all substances as either elements or compounds," and "nature has provided 92 elements out of which all matter is composed." If students accept these misconceptions, they could be deprived of (i) an appreciation of the history of elements and knowing that the elemental composition of the universe continues to evolve, (ii) knowing that of the first 92 elements in the periodic table, technetium and promethium do not occur naturally on Earth, and (iii) understanding that there are forms of matter other than elements and compounds. This paper briefly explores these ideas.

Lecture-based versus problem-based learning in ethics education among nursing students.

Science.gov (United States)

Khatiban, Mahnaz; Falahan, Seyede Nayereh; Amini, Roya; Farahanchi, Afshin; Soltanian, Alireza

2018-01-01

Moral reasoning is a vital skill in the nursing profession. Teaching moral reasoning to students is necessary toward promoting nursing ethics. The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of problem-based learning and lecture-based methods in ethics education in improving (1) moral decision-making, (2) moral reasoning, (3) moral development, and (4) practical reasoning among nursing students. This is a repeated measurement quasi-experimental study. Participants and research context: The participants were nursing students in a University of Medical Sciences in west of Iran who were randomly assigned to the lecture-based (n = 33) or the problem-based learning (n = 33) groups. The subjects were provided nursing ethics education in four 2-h sessions. The educational content was similar, but the training methods were different. The subjects completed the Nursing Dilemma Test before, immediately after, and 1 month after the training. The data were analyzed and compared using the SPSS-16 software. Ethical considerations: The program was explained to the students, all of whom signed an informed consent form at the baseline. The two groups were similar in personal characteristics (p > 0.05). A significant improvement was observed in the mean scores on moral development in the problem-based learning compared with the lecture-based group (p ethics education enhances moral development among nursing students. However, further studies are needed to determine whether such method improves moral decision-making, moral reasoning, practical considerations, and familiarity with the ethical issues among nursing students.

An Examination of Student Outcomes in Studio Chemistry

Science.gov (United States)

Kiste, Alan L.; Scott, Gregory E.; Bukenberger, Jesse; Markmann, Miles; Moore, Jennifer

2017-01-01

Twenty years ago, a major curriculum revision at a large, comprehensive university in the Western United States led to the implementation of an integrated lecture/laboratory (studio) experience for our engineering students taking general chemistry. Based on these twenty years of experience, construction of four purpose-built studio classrooms to…

[Practical chemistry education provided by team-based learning (TBL) and peer evaluation].

Science.gov (United States)

Yasuhara, Tomohisa; Konishi, Motomi; Nishida, Takahiro; Kushihata, Taro; Sone, Tomomichi; Kurio, Wasako; Yamamoto, Yumi; Nishikawa, Tomoe; Yanada, Kazuo; Nakamura, Mitsutaka

2014-01-01

Learning chemistry is cumulative: basic knowledge and chemical calculation skills are required to gain understanding of higher content. However, we often suffer from students' lack of learning skills to acquire these concepts. One of the reasons is the lack of adequate training in the knowledge and skills of chemistry, and one of the reasons for this lack is the lack of adequate evaluation of training procedures and content. Team-based learning (TBL) is a strong method for providing training in the knowledge and skills of chemistry and reaffirms the knowledge and skills of students of various levels. In our faculty, TBL exercises are provided for first-year students concurrently with lectures in physical chemistry and analytical chemistry. In this study, we researched the adoption of a peer evaluation process for this participatory learning model. Questionnaires taken after TBL exercises in the previous year showed a positive response to TBL. Further, a questionnaire taken after TBL exercises in the spring semester of the current year also yielded a positive response not only to TBL but also to peer evaluation. In addition, a significant correlation was observed between the improvement of students' grades in chemistry classes and the feeling the percentage (20%) of peer evaluation in overall evaluation low (logistic regression analysis, p=0.022). On the basis of the findings, we argue that TBL provides a generic, practical learning environment including an effective focus on learning strategy and evaluation of knowledge, skills, and attitudes, and studies on the educational effects of TBL and peer evaluation.

Impact of General Chemistry on Student Achievement and Progression to Subsequent Chemistry Courses: A Regression Discontinuity Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Shultz, Ginger V.; Gottfried, Amy C.; Winschel, Grace A.

2015-01-01

General chemistry is a gateway course that impacts the STEM trajectory of tens of thousands of students each year, and its role in the introductory curriculum as well as its pedagogical design are the center of an ongoing debate. To investigate the role of general chemistry in the curriculum, we report the results of a posthoc analysis of 10 years…

Paris-Princeton Lectures on Mathematical Finance

CERN Document Server

Çinlar, Erhan; Ekeland, Ivar; Jouini, Elyes; Scheinkman, José; Touzi, Nizar

2004-01-01

The Paris-Princeton Lectures in Financial Mathematics, of which this is the second volume, will, on an annual basis, publish cutting-edge research in self-contained, expository articles from outstanding - established or upcoming! - specialists. The aim is to produce a series of articles that can serve as an introductory reference for research in the field. It arises as a result of frequent exchanges between the finance and financial mathematics groups in Paris and Princeton. This volume presents the following articles: "Hedging of Defaultable Claims" by T. Bielecki, M. Jeanblanc, and M. Rutkowski; "On the Geometry of Interest Rate Models" by T. Björk; "Heterogeneous Beliefs, Speculation and Trading in Financial Markets" by J.A. Scheinkman, and W. Xiong.

Peer Instruction in Introductory Physics: A Method to Bring about Positive Changes in Students' Attitudes and Beliefs

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Ping; Ding, Lin; Mazur, Eric

2017-01-01

This paper analyzes pre-post matched gains in the epistemological views of science students taking the introductory physics course at Beijing Normal University (BNU) in China. In this study we examined the attitudes and beliefs of science majors (n = 441) in four classes, one taught using traditional (lecture) teaching methods, and the other three…

Mechanisms before Reactions: A Mechanistic Approach to the Organic Chemistry Curriculum Based on Patterns of Electron Flow

Science.gov (United States)

Flynn, Alison B.; Ogilvie, William W.

2015-01-01

A significant redesign of the introductory organic chemistry curriculum at the authors' institution is described. There are two aspects that differ greatly from a typical functional group approach. First, organic reaction mechanisms and the electron-pushing formalism are taught before students have learned a single reaction. The conservation of…

Paris-Princeton lectures on mathematical finance 2010

CERN Document Server

Cousin, Areski; Guéant, Olivier; Hobson, David; Jeanblanc, Monique; Lasry, Jean-Michel; Laurent, Jean-Paul; Lions, Pierre-Louis; Tankov, Peter

2011-01-01

The Paris-Princeton Lectures on Mathematical Finance, of which this is the fourth volume, publish cutting-edge research in self-contained, expository articles from outstanding specialists - established or on the rise! The aim is to produce a series of articles that can serve as an introductory reference source for research in the field. The articles are the result of frequent exchanges between the finance and financial mathematics groups in Paris and Princeton. The present volume sets standards with articles by Areski Cousin, Monique Jeanblanc and Jean-Paul Laurent, Stéphane Crépey, Olivier Guéant, Jean-Michel Lasry and Pierre-Louis Lions, David Hobson, and Peter Tankov.

Cognitive Transfer Outcomes for a Simulation-Based Introductory Statistics Curriculum

Science.gov (United States)

Backman, Matthew D.; Delmas, Robert C.; Garfield, Joan

2017-01-01

Cognitive transfer is the ability to apply learned skills and knowledge to new applications and contexts. This investigation evaluates cognitive transfer outcomes for a tertiary-level introductory statistics course using the CATALST curriculum, which exclusively used simulation-based methods to develop foundations of statistical inference. A…

Dynamic Combinatorial Chemistry

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lisbjerg, Micke

This thesis is divided into seven chapters, which can all be read individually. The first chapter, however, contains a general introduction to the chemistry used in the remaining six chapters, and it is therefore recommended to read chapter one before reading the other chapters. Chapter 1...... is a general introductory chapter for the whole thesis. The history and concepts of dynamic combinatorial chemistry are described, as are some of the new and intriguing results recently obtained. Finally, the properties of a broad range of hexameric macrocycles are described in detail. Chapter 2 gives...

Team-Based Learning Enhances Performance in Introductory Biology

Science.gov (United States)

Carmichael, Jeffrey

2009-01-01

Given the problems associated with the traditional lecture method, the constraints associated with large classes, and the effectiveness of active learning, continued development and testing of efficient student-centered learning approaches are needed. This study explores the effectiveness of team-based learning (TBL) in a large-enrollment…

Spotlight on medicinal chemistry education.

Science.gov (United States)

Pitman, Simone; Xu, Yao-Zhong; Taylor, Peter; Turner, Nicholas; Coaker, Hannah; Crews, Kasumi

2014-05-01

The field of medicinal chemistry is constantly evolving and it is important for medicinal chemists to develop the skills and knowledge required to succeed and contribute to the advancement of the field. Future Medicinal Chemistry spoke with Simone Pitman (SP), Yao-Zhong Xu (YX), Peter Taylor (PT) and Nick Turner (NT) from The Open University (OU), which offers an MSc in Medicinal Chemistry. In the interview, they discuss the MSc course content, online teaching, the future of medicinal chemistry education and The OU's work towards promoting widening participation. SP is a Qualifications Manager in the Science Faculty at The OU. She joined The OU in 1993 and since 1998 has been involved in the Postgraduate Medicinal Chemistry provision at The OU. YX is a Senior Lecturer in Bioorganic Chemistry at The OU. He has been with The OU from 2001, teaching undergraduate courses of all years and chairing the master's course on medicinal chemistry. PT is a Professor of Organic Chemistry at The OU and has been involved with the production and presentation of The OU courses in Science and across the university for over 30 years, including medicinal chemistry modules at postgraduate level. NT is a Lecturer in Analytical Science at The OU since 2009 and has been involved in the production of analytical sciences courses, as well as contributing to the presentation of a number of science courses including medicinal chemistry.

Four-Year Turfgrass Management Programs in the United States: II. Organization and Content of Introductory Turfgrass Management Courses.

Science.gov (United States)

Karnok, Keith J.; And Others

1993-01-01

A survey of 32 land-grant institutions was conducted to determine format, topical content, and teaching methods of introductory turfgrass management courses of 4-year turfgrass management programs in the United States. Required courses included a basic soils class and a course in biology or botany, usually transmitted by the lecture method. (MDH)

PROCESS-BASED LEARNING: TOWARDS THEORETICAL AND LECTURE-BASED COURSEWORK IN STUDIO STYLE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hatem Ezzat Nabih

2010-07-01

Full Text Available This article presents a process-based learning approach to design education where theoretical coursework is taught in studio-style. Lecture-based coursework is sometimes regarded as lacking in challenge and broadening the gap between theory and practice. Furthermore, lecture-based curricula tend to be detached from the studio and deny students from applying their theoretically gained knowledge. Following the belief that student motivation is increased by establishing a higher level of autonomy in the learning process, I argue for a design education that links theory with applied design work within the studio setting. By synthesizing principles of Constructivist Learning and Problem-Based Learning, PBL students are given greater autonomy by being actively involved in their education. Accordingly, I argue for a studio setting that incorporates learning in studio style by presenting three design applications involving students in investigation and experimentation in order to self-experience the design process.

Research-based approaches to nuclear education

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Donev, J.M.K.C., E-mail: jason.donev@ucalgary.ca [Univ. of Calgary, Calgary, AB (Canada); Carpenter, Y., E-mail: ycarpenter@gmail.com [Univ.ty of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO (United States)

2014-07-01

Teaching nuclear power requires an expert to communicate a significant number of abstract concepts from diverse disciplines, and assemble these into a larger intellectual framework for the students. Scholarly education research, particularly in individual science disciplines, has provided significant advances in teaching core subject material by breaking away from traditional lecturing. Thus far, however,little work has applied these results to introductory nuclear power classes. This paper explores a method of engaging introductory nuclear students deeply by using a combination of Socratic and mastery methods of teaching. Students develop conceptual understanding of the material through the group work and the use of diverse resources, including textbooks, online references, and computer models that encourage free exploration of these concepts. Marks have improved considerably, and students engage with the material at a significantly deeper level than in previous lecture-based iterations of this course. (author)

Research-based approaches to nuclear education

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Donev, J.M.K.C.; Carpenter, Y.

2014-01-01

Teaching nuclear power requires an expert to communicate a significant number of abstract concepts from diverse disciplines, and assemble these into a larger intellectual framework for the students. Scholarly education research, particularly in individual science disciplines, has provided significant advances in teaching core subject material by breaking away from traditional lecturing. Thus far, however,little work has applied these results to introductory nuclear power classes. This paper explores a method of engaging introductory nuclear students deeply by using a combination of Socratic and mastery methods of teaching. Students develop conceptual understanding of the material through the group work and the use of diverse resources, including textbooks, online references, and computer models that encourage free exploration of these concepts. Marks have improved considerably, and students engage with the material at a significantly deeper level than in previous lecture-based iterations of this course. (author)

11th National Meeting of Organic Chemistry and 4th Meeting of Therapeutic Chemistry

Science.gov (United States)

Sousa, Maria Emília; Araújo, Maria João; do Vale, Maria Luísa; Andrade, Paula B.; Branco, Paula; Gomes, Paula; Moreira, Rui; Pinho e Melo, Teresa M.V.D.; Freitas, Victor

2016-01-01

For the first time under the auspices of Sociedade Portuguesa de Química, the competences of two important fields of Chemistry are brought together into a single event, the 11st National Organic Chemistry Meeting and the the 4th National Medicinal Chemistry Meeting, to highlight complementarities and to promote new synergies. Abstracts of plenary lectures, oral communications, and posters presented during the meeting are collected in this report. PMID:27102166

11th National Meeting of Organic Chemistry and 4th Meeting of Therapeutic Chemistry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Emília Sousa

2016-03-01

Full Text Available For the first time under the auspices of Sociedade Portuguesa de Química, the competences of two important fields of Chemistry are brought together into a single event, the 11st National Organic Chemistry Meeting and the the 4th National Medicinal Chemistry Meeting, to highlight complementarities and to promote new synergies. Abstracts of plenary lectures, oral communications, and posters presented during the meeting are collected in this report.

HMI scientific report - chemistry 1988

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1989-01-01

Results of the R and D activities are reported, dealing with the following subjects: Interface processes and energy conversion, high-energy photochemistry and radiation chemistry as well as trace elements chemistry. A list of publications and lectures is added and gives a view on results obtained in research and development. (EF) [de

Organic Chemistry Educators' Perspectives on Fundamental Concepts and Misconceptions: An Exploratory Study

Science.gov (United States)

Duis, Jennifer M.

2011-01-01

An exploratory study was conducted with 23 organic chemistry educators to discover what general chemistry concepts they typically review, the concepts they believe are fundamental to introductory organic chemistry, the topics students find most difficult in the subject, and the misconceptions they observe in undergraduate organic chemistry…

Lecture Capture Podcasts: Differential Student Use and Performance in a Large Introductory Course

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Adrienne E.; Aguilar-Roca, Nancy M.; O'Dowd, Diane K.

2016-01-01

Video "podcast" recordings of lectures are popular with students, but are often associated with a decrease in attendance and little increase in performance. Assessment has generally focused on the class as a whole, potentially masking benefits to different subgroups. In this study, conducted in 2 sections of a large active-learning…

An approach to teaching general chemistry II that highlights the interdisciplinary nature of science.

Science.gov (United States)

Sumter, Takita Felder; Owens, Patrick M

2011-01-01

The need for a revised curriculum within the life sciences has been well-established. One strategy to improve student preparation in the life sciences is to redesign introductory courses like biology, chemistry, and physics so that they better reflect their disciplinary interdependence. We describe a medically relevant, context-based approach to teaching second semester general chemistry that demonstrates the interdisciplinary nature of biology and chemistry. Our innovative method provides a model in which disciplinary barriers are diminished early in the undergraduate science curriculum. The course is divided into three principle educational modules: 1) Fundamentals of General Chemistry, 2) Medical Approaches to Inflammation, and 3) Neuroscience as a connector of chemistry, biology, and psychology. We accurately anticipated that this modified approach to teaching general chemistry would enhance student interest in chemistry and bridge the perceived gaps between biology and chemistry. The course serves as a template for context-based, interdisciplinary teaching that lays the foundation needed to train 21st century scientists. Copyright © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Transversality of Electromagnetic Waves in the Calculus-Based Introductory Physics Course

Science.gov (United States)

Burko, Lior M.

2008-01-01

Introductory calculus-based physics textbooks state that electromagnetic waves are transverse and list many of their properties, but most such textbooks do not bring forth arguments why this is so. Both physical and theoretical arguments are at a level appropriate for students of courses based on such books, and could be readily used by…

Medical Mycology and the Chemistry Classroom: Germinating Student Interest in Organic Chemistry

Science.gov (United States)

Bliss, Joseph M.; Reid, Christopher W.

2013-01-01

Efforts to provide active research context to introductory courses in basic sciences are likely to better engage learners and provide a framework for relevant concepts. A simple teaching and learning experiment was conducted to use concepts in organic chemistry to solve problems in the life sciences. Bryant University is a liberal arts university…

A 21st century perspective as a primer to introductory physics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Curtis, Lorenzo J, E-mail: ljc@physics.utoledo.edu [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH 43606 (United States)

2011-09-15

Much effort over many years has been devoted to the reform of the teaching of physics. This has led to many new and imaginative approaches in the content and delivery of material. Great strides have been made in the delivery, and the content has been continually supplemented. However, attempts to modernize the basic structure of the presentation have faced resistance, and the majority of introductory physics textbooks in wide adoption today have a general structure that has changed little in over 60 years. Thus, in comparison to biology, chemistry, geology, etc, physics is unique in that its introductory course is not a survey of the current status of the field. In an attempt to circumvent this problem in a tractable way, we have developed a qualitative front-end course designed to create a 21st century perspective that can be embedded into the beginning of a standard introductory physics sequence.

A 21st century perspective as a primer to introductory physics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Curtis, Lorenzo J

2011-01-01

Much effort over many years has been devoted to the reform of the teaching of physics. This has led to many new and imaginative approaches in the content and delivery of material. Great strides have been made in the delivery, and the content has been continually supplemented. However, attempts to modernize the basic structure of the presentation have faced resistance, and the majority of introductory physics textbooks in wide adoption today have a general structure that has changed little in over 60 years. Thus, in comparison to biology, chemistry, geology, etc, physics is unique in that its introductory course is not a survey of the current status of the field. In an attempt to circumvent this problem in a tractable way, we have developed a qualitative front-end course designed to create a 21st century perspective that can be embedded into the beginning of a standard introductory physics sequence.

Video-based lectures: An emerging paradigm for teaching human ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Video-based teaching material is a rich and powerful medium being used in computer assisted learning. This paper aimed to assess the learning outcomes and student nurses' acceptance and satisfaction with the video-based lectures versus the traditional method of teaching human anatomy and physiology courses.

The effectiveness of computer-generated 3D animations in inquiry chemistry laboratory

Science.gov (United States)

Theall, Rachel Morgan

It has been shown that students need a molecular-level understanding of substances in order to comprehend chemistry. For solid structures, atomic-level understanding requires students to learn additional and different concepts than for other states of matter. To aid understanding, animations were created to model unit cell structures and depict the properties of unit cells. In order to determine if these animations are helpful to students, they were tested during a laboratory exercise in which students had previously been using model kits and images from textbooks to learn about solid structures. Students evaluated in this study were from two lecture sections of general chemistry, one that routinely used animations during lecture and one that used a more traditional lecture format that did not include animations or models. Twelve laboratory sections of these lectures, taught by six different instructors each teaching two sections, were chosen for participation. One section for each instructor was given the animations as an optional tool for completing the laboratory assignment, which consisted of questions about unit cells and crystal structures. The results of the study indicate that students who looked at the animations performed significantly better on the assignment. For the control group, students who routinely viewed multiple representations of chemistry in lecture performed significantly better on the lab assignment than students in the lecture section where chemistry concepts were only presented on the chalkboard and overhead projector. Students in the traditional lecture section also had significantly less appreciation for the model kits used in the laboratory than students in the other lecture section. Observations of students in the lab combined with statistical results led to the revision of the solid structures investigation. Additional animations were created and inserted into the module that covered areas where students indicated more help was needed

Effectiveness of a Low-Cost, Graduate Student-Led Intervention on Study Habits and Performance in Introductory Biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoskins, Tyler D; Gantz, J D; Chaffee, Blake R; Arlinghaus, Kel; Wiebler, James; Hughes, Michael; Fernandes, Joyce J

2017-01-01

Institutions have developed diverse approaches that vary in effectiveness and cost to improve student performance in introductory science, technology, engineering, and mathematics courses. We developed a low-cost, graduate student-led, metacognition-based study skills course taught in conjunction with the introductory biology series at Miami University. Our approach aimed to improve performance for underachieving students by combining an existing framework for the process of learning (the study cycle) with concrete tools (outlines and concept maps) that have been shown to encourage deep understanding. To assess the effectiveness of our efforts, we asked 1) how effective our voluntary recruitment model was at enrolling the target cohort, 2) how the course impacted performance on lecture exams, 3) how the course impacted study habits and techniques, and 4) whether there are particular study habits or techniques that are associated with large improvements on exam scores. Voluntary recruitment attracted only 11-17% of our target cohort. While focal students improved on lecture exams relative to their peers who did not enroll, gains were relatively modest, and not all students improved. Further, although students across both semesters of our study reported improved study habits (based on pre and post surveys) and on outlines and concept maps (based on retrospectively scored assignments), gains were more dramatic in the Fall semester. Multivariate models revealed that, while changes in study habits and in the quality of outlines and concept maps were weakly associated with change in performance on lecture exams, relationships were only significant in the Fall semester and were sometimes counterintuitive. Although benefits of the course were offset somewhat by the inefficiency of voluntary recruitment, we demonstrate the effectiveness our course, which is inexpensive to implement and has advantage of providing pedagogical experience to future educators. © 2017 T. D

1st Joint European Conference on Therapeutic Targets and Medicinal Chemistry (TTMC 2015)

Science.gov (United States)

Le Borgne, Marc; Haidar, Samer; Duval, Olivier; Wünsch, Bernhard; Jose, Joachim

2015-01-01

The European Conference on Therapeutic Targets and Medicinal Chemistry is a new two-day meeting on drug discovery that is focused on therapeutic targets and the use of tools to explore all fields of drug discovery and drug design such as molecular modelling, bioorganic chemistry, NMR studies, fragment screening, in vitro assays, in vivo assays, structure activity relationships, autodisplay. Abstracts of keynote lectures, plenary lectures, junior lectures, flash presentations, and posters presented during the meeting are collected in this report. PMID:26712767

An Approach to Teaching General Chemistry II that Highlights the Interdisciplinary Nature of Science*,†

Science.gov (United States)

Sumter, Takita Felder; Owens, Patrick M.

2012-01-01

The need for a revised curriculum within the life sciences has been well-established. One strategy to improve student preparation in the life sciences is to redesign introductory courses like biology, chemistry, and physics so that they better reflect their disciplinary interdependence. We describe a medically relevant, context-based approach to teaching second semester general chemistry that demonstrates the interdisciplinary nature of biology and chemistry. Our innovative method provides a model in which disciplinary barriers are diminished early in the undergraduate science curriculum. The course is divided into three principle educational modules: 1) Fundamentals of General Chemistry, 2) Medical Approaches to Inflammation, and 3) Neuroscience as a connector of chemistry, biology, and psychology. We accurately anticipated that this modified approach to teaching general chemistry would enhance student interest in chemistry and bridge the perceived gaps between biology and chemistry. The course serves as a template for context-based, interdisciplinary teaching that lays the foundation needed to train 21st century scientists. PMID:21445902

5th Paris-Princeton Lectures on Mathematical Finance

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Benth, Fred Espen; Guasoni, Paolo; Manolarakis, Konstantinos; Muhle-Karbe, Johannes; Nee, Colm; Protter, Philip

2013-01-01

The current volume presents four chapters touching on some of the most important and modern areas of research in Mathematical Finance: asset price bubbles (by Philip Protter); energy markets (by Fred Espen Benth); investment under transaction costs (by Paolo Guasoni and Johannes Muhle-Karbe); and numerical methods for solving stochastic equations (by Dan Crisan, K. Manolarakis and C. Nee).The Paris-Princeton Lecture Notes on Mathematical Finance, of which this is the fifth volume, publish cutting-edge research in self-contained, expository articles from renowned specialists. The aim is to produce a series of articles that can serve as an introductory reference source for research in the field.

Opera and Poison: A Secret and Enjoyable Approach to Teaching and Learning Chemistry

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Andre, Joao Paulo

2013-01-01

The storyline of operas, with historical or fictional characters, often include potions and poisons. This has prompted a study of the chemistry behind some operatic plots. The results were originally presented as a lecture given at the University of Minho in Portugal, within the context of the International Year of Chemistry. The same lecture was…

Assessing the learning potential of an interactive digital game versus an interactive-style didactic lecture: the continued importance of didactic teaching in medical student education.

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Courtier, Jesse; Webb, Emily M; Phelps, Andrew S; Naeger, David M

2016-12-01

Games with educational intent offer a possible advantage of being more interactive and increasing learner satisfaction. We conducted a two-armed experiment to evaluate student satisfaction and content mastery for an introductory pediatric radiology topic, taught by either an interactive digital game or with a traditional didactic lecture. Medical students participating in a fourth-year radiology elective were invited to participate. Student cohorts were alternatively given a faculty-supervised 1h session playing a simple interactive digital Tic-tac-toe quiz module on pediatric gastrointestinal radiology or a 1h didactic introductory lecture on the same topic. Survey questions assessed the learners' perceived ability to recall the material as well as their satisfaction with the educational experience. Results of an end-of-rotation exam were reviewed to evaluate a quantitative measure of learning between groups. Survey responses were analyzed with a chi-squared test. Exam results for both groups were analyzed with a paired Student's t-test. Students in the lecture group had higher test scores compared to students in the game group (4.0/5 versus 3.6/5, P = 0.045). Students in the lecture group reported greater understanding and recall of the material than students in the game group (P digital interactive materials reported by students in the game group (P = 0.146). Our experience supported the use of a traditional lecture over a digital game module. While these results might be affected by the specific lecture and digital content in any given comparison, a digital module is not always the superior option.

Mathematical Rigor in Introductory Physics

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Vandyke, Michael; Bassichis, William

2011-10-01

Calculus-based introductory physics courses intended for future engineers and physicists are often designed and taught in the same fashion as those intended for students of other disciplines. A more mathematically rigorous curriculum should be more appropriate and, ultimately, more beneficial for the student in his or her future coursework. This work investigates the effects of mathematical rigor on student understanding of introductory mechanics. Using a series of diagnostic tools in conjunction with individual student course performance, a statistical analysis will be performed to examine student learning of introductory mechanics and its relation to student understanding of the underlying calculus.

Introductory Linear Regression Programs in Undergraduate Chemistry.

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Gale, Robert J.

1982-01-01

Presented are simple programs in BASIC and FORTRAN to apply the method of least squares. They calculate gradients and intercepts and express errors as standard deviations. An introduction of undergraduate students to such programs in a chemistry class is reviewed, and issues instructors should be aware of are noted. (MP)

Retention of Statistical Concepts in a Preliminary Randomization-Based Introductory Statistics Curriculum

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Tintle, Nathan; Topliff, Kylie; VanderStoep, Jill; Holmes, Vicki-Lynn; Swanson, Todd

2012-01-01

Previous research suggests that a randomization-based introductory statistics course may improve student learning compared to the consensus curriculum. However, it is unclear whether these gains are retained by students post-course. We compared the conceptual understanding of a cohort of students who took a randomization-based curriculum (n = 76)…

Using Isomorphic Problems to Learn Introductory Physics

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Lin, Shih-Yin; Singh, Chandralekha

2011-01-01

In this study, we examine introductory physics students' ability to perform analogical reasoning between two isomorphic problems which employ the same underlying physics principles but have different surface features. Three hundred sixty-two students from a calculus-based and an algebra-based introductory physics course were given a quiz in the…

The Biology and Chemistry of Brewing: An Interdisciplinary Course

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Hooker, Paul D.; Deutschman, William A.; Avery, Brian J.

2014-01-01

For the past nine years, we have been offering an interdisciplinary course for science majors: The Biology and Chemistry of Brewing. This course is primarily laboratory- and inquiry-based; from a total of 24 h of student/instructor contact time, approximately 6 h are devoted to lecture, and the other 18 h are divided between laboratory exercises,…

Comparison between flipped classroom and lecture-based classroom in ophthalmology clerkship

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Tang, Fen; Chen, Chuan; Zhu, Yi; Zuo, Chengguo; Zhong, Yimin; Wang, Nan; Zhou, Lijun; Zou, Yuxian; Liang, Dan

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT Background: In recent years, the flipped classroom method of teaching has received much attention in health sciences education. However, the application of flipped classrooms in ophthalmology education has not been well investigated. Objective: The goal of this study was to investigate the effectiveness and acceptability of the flipped classroom approach to teaching ophthalmology at the clerkship level. Design: Ninety-five fourth year medical students in an ophthalmology clerkship were randomly divided into two groups. An ocular trauma module was chosen for the content of this study. One group (FG (flipped group), n = 48) participated in flipped classroom instruction and was asked to watch a recorded lecture video and to read study materials before a face-to-face class meeting. They used the in-class time for discussion. The other group (TG (traditional group), n = 47) was assigned to traditional lecture-based instruction. These students attended a didactic lecture and completed assigned homework after the lecture. Feedback questionnaires were collected to compare students’ perspectives on the teaching approach they experienced and to evaluate students’ self-perceived competence and interest in ocular trauma. Pre- and post-tests were performed to assess student learning of the course materials. Results: More students in the FG agreed that the classroom helped to promote their learning motivation, improve their understanding of the course materials, and enhance their communication skill and clinical thinking. However, students in the FG did not show a preference for this method of teaching, and also reported more burden and pressure than those from the TG. Students from the FG performed better on the post test over the ocular trauma-related questions when compared to those from the TG. Conclusions: The flipped classroom approach shows promise in ophthalmology clerkship teaching. However, it has some drawbacks. Further evaluation and modifications

Comparison between flipped classroom and lecture-based classroom in ophthalmology clerkship.

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Tang, Fen; Chen, Chuan; Zhu, Yi; Zuo, Chengguo; Zhong, Yimin; Wang, Nan; Zhou, Lijun; Zou, Yuxian; Liang, Dan

2017-01-01

In recent years, the flipped classroom method of teaching has received much attention in health sciences education. However, the application of flipped classrooms in ophthalmology education has not been well investigated. The goal of this study was to investigate the effectiveness and acceptability of the flipped classroom approach to teaching ophthalmology at the clerkship level. Ninety-five fourth year medical students in an ophthalmology clerkship were randomly divided into two groups. An ocular trauma module was chosen for the content of this study. One group (FG (flipped group), n = 48) participated in flipped classroom instruction and was asked to watch a recorded lecture video and to read study materials before a face-to-face class meeting. They used the in-class time for discussion. The other group (TG (traditional group), n = 47) was assigned to traditional lecture-based instruction. These students attended a didactic lecture and completed assigned homework after the lecture. Feedback questionnaires were collected to compare students' perspectives on the teaching approach they experienced and to evaluate students' self-perceived competence and interest in ocular trauma. Pre- and post-tests were performed to assess student learning of the course materials. More students in the FG agreed that the classroom helped to promote their learning motivation, improve their understanding of the course materials, and enhance their communication skill and clinical thinking. However, students in the FG did not show a preference for this method of teaching, and also reported more burden and pressure than those from the TG. Students from the FG performed better on the post test over the ocular trauma-related questions when compared to those from the TG. The flipped classroom approach shows promise in ophthalmology clerkship teaching. However, it has some drawbacks. Further evaluation and modifications are required before it can be widely accepted and implemented

Chemical Characterization and Source Apportionment of Size Fractionated Atmospheric Aerosols, and, Evaluating Student Attitudes and Learning in Large Lecture General Chemistry Classes

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Allen, Gregory Harold

between the OOA2 and WBOA factors and smoke levels indicates that these factors can be used to identify the influence of biomass burning on ambient aerosols. The effectiveness of using the ChemWiki instead of a traditional textbook was investigated during the spring quarter of 2014. Student performance was measured using common midterms, a final, and a pre/post content exams. We also employed surveys, the Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey (CLASS) for Chemistry, and a weekly time-on-task survey to quantify students' attitudes and study habits. The effectiveness of the ChemWiki compared to a traditional textbook was examined using multiple linear regression analysis with a standard non-inferiority testing framework. Results show that the performance of students in the section who were assigned readings from the ChemWiki was non-inferior to the performance of students in the section who were assigned readings from the traditional textbook, indicating that the ChemWiki does not substantially differ from the standard textbook in terms of student learning outcomes. The results from the surveys also suggest that the two classes were similar in their beliefs about chemistry and overall average time spent studying. These results indicate that the ChemWiki is a viable cost-saving alternative to traditional textbooks. The impact of using active learning techniques in a large lecture general chemistry class was investigated by assessing student performance and attitudes during the fall 2014 and winter 2015 quarters. One instructor applied active learning strategies while the remaining instructors employed more traditional lecture styles. Student performance, learning, learning environments, and attitudes were measured using a standardized pre/post exams, common final exams, classroom observations, and the CLASS chemistry instrument in large lecture general chemistry courses. Classroom observation data showed that the active learning class was the most student centered

For the Love of the Game: Game- Versus Lecture-Based Learning With Generation Z Patients.

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Adamson, Mary A; Chen, Hengyi; Kackley, Russell; Micheal, Alicia

2018-02-01

The current study evaluated adolescent patients' enjoyment of and knowledge gained from game-based learning compared with an interactive lecture format on the topic of mood disorders. It was hypothesized that game-based learning would be statistically more effective than a lecture in knowledge acquisition and satisfaction scores. A pre-post design was implemented in which a convenience sample of 160 adolescent patients were randomized to either a lecture (n = 80) or game-based (n = 80) group. Both groups completed a pretest/posttest and satisfaction survey. Results showed that both groups had significant improvement in knowledge from pretest compared to posttest. Game-based learning was statistically more effective than the interactive lecture in knowledge achievement and satisfaction scores. This finding supports the contention that game-based learning is an active technique that may be used with patient education. [Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 56(2), 29-36.]. Copyright 2018, SLACK Incorporated.

Development and Assessment of a Preliminary Randomization-Based Introductory Statistics Curriculum

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Tintle, Nathan; VanderStoep, Jill; Holmes, Vicki-Lynn; Quisenberry, Brooke; Swanson, Todd

2011-01-01

The algebra-based introductory statistics course is the most popular undergraduate course in statistics. While there is a general consensus for the content of the curriculum, the recent Guidelines for Assessment and Instruction in Statistics Education (GAISE) have challenged the pedagogy of this course. Additionally, some arguments have been made…

A comparative study on lecture based versus case based education on teaching general surgery to medical students

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M. Moazeni Bistegani

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Introduction : various methods of teaching have different learning outcomes. Using a combination of teaching and training methods of training may boost education. This study compared lecture based and case based teaching as a combined approach in learning general surgery by medical students. Methods: This study was a quasi-experimental performed on two consecutive groups of 33 and 36 students who were studying general surgery course. The two styles of teaching were lecture-based and real case teaching methods. The final exam included twenty multiple choice questions. The mean scores of each group of students were collected and analyzed accordingly with descriptive tests, Fisher’s test and T-test. Results: The mean final mark of students' who received real case based education was 16.8/20 ± 1.8 and for the lecture group was 12.7± 1.7. There was a significant difference between the two groups (P <0.0001. In both groups, there were significant differences in the mean scores of questions with taxonomy two and three, but not in the questions with taxonomy one. Students' evaluation score of the teacher of the real case group increased by 1.7/20 (8.7% in the case based group compared to the lecture group. Conclusions: Case based teaching of general surgery led to a better outcome and students were more satisfied. It is recommended that case based education of surgery be encouraged.

A Lab-Based, Lecture-Free General Physics Course

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Schneider, Mark B.

1997-04-01

The past four years have seen the development of a discovery style, lecture-free, lab-based General Physics course at Grinnell College. Similar in spirit to Priscilla Laws' Workshop Physics (P. Laws, Physics Today, Dec. 1991, p. 24.), this course is a calculus- based, two-semester sequence, which is offered in parallel with more conventional lecture sections, allowing students choice of pedagogical styles. This new course is taught without a text, allowing a somewhat atypical ordering of topics and the early inclusion of a modern introduction to quantum and statistical mechanics. A complete set of laboratory materials was developed at Grinnell for this course, with activities considerably different in most cases than Laws' activities. A quick overview of the pedagogical style and topics covered will be given, and then several specific activities will be described in greater detail. The course has been shown to be a popular and viable alternative to the more conventional sections for majors and non-majors; ongoing efforts to assess the course will be described, especially those that make comparisons between this course and more conventional sections.

Upper-Level Undergraduate Chemistry Students' Goals for Their Laboratory Coursework

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DeKorver, Brittland K.; Towns, Marcy H.

2016-01-01

Efforts to reform undergraduate chemistry laboratory coursework typically focus on the curricula of introductory-level courses, while upper-level courses are bypassed. This study used video-stimulated recall to interview 17 junior- and senior- level chemistry majors after they carried out an experiment as part of a laboratory course. It is assumed…

The Effects of Clickers and Online Homework on Students' Achievement in General Chemistry

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Gebru, Misganaw T.

2012-01-01

Retention of an introductory general chemistry course material is vital for student success in future chemistry and chemistry-related courses. This study investigated the effects of clickers versus online homework on students' long-term content retention, examined the effectiveness of online homework versus no graded homework on…

Investigating Effects of Problem-Based versus Lecture-Based Learning Environments on Student Motivation

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Wijnia, Lisette; Loyens, Sofie M. M.; Derous, Eva

2011-01-01

This study examines the effects of two learning environments (i.e., problem-based learning [PBL] versus lecture-based [LB] environments) on undergraduates' study motivation. Survey results demonstrated that PBL students scored higher on competence but did not differ from LB students on autonomous motivation. Analyses of focus groups further…

The effect of problem-based and lecture-based instructional strategies on learner problem solving performance, problem solving processes, and attitudes

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Visser, Yusra Laila

This study compared the effect of lecture-based instruction to that of problem-based instruction on learner performance (on near-transfer and far-transfer problems), problem solving processes (reasoning strategy usage and reasoning efficiency), and attitudes (overall motivation and learner confidence) in a Genetics course. The study also analyzed the effect of self-regulatory skills and prior-academic achievement on performance for both instructional strategies. Sixty 11th grade students at a public math and science academy were assigned to either a lecture-based instructional strategy or a problem-based instructional strategy. Both treatment groups received 18 weeks of Genetics instruction through the assigned instructional strategy. In terms of problem solving performance, results revealed that the lecture-based group performed significantly better on near-transfer post-test problems. The problem-based group performed significantly better on far-transfer post-test problems. In addition, results indicated the learners in the lecture-based instructional treatment were significantly more likely to employ data-driven reasoning in the solving of problems, whereas learners in the problem-based instructional treatment were significantly more likely to employ hypothesis-driven reasoning in problem solving. No significant differences in reasoning efficiency were uncovered between treatment groups. Preliminary analysis of the motivation data suggested that there were no significant differences in motivation between treatment groups. However, a post-research exploratory analysis suggests that overall motivation was significantly higher in the lecture-based instructional treatment than in the problem-based instructional treatment. Learner confidence was significantly higher in the lecture-based group than in the problem-based group. A significant positive correlation was detected between self-regulatory skills scores and problem solving performance scores in the problem-based

Reciprocal Questioning and Computer-based Instruction in Introductory Auditing: Student Perceptions.

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Watters, Mike

2000-01-01

An auditing course used reciprocal questioning (Socratic method) and computer-based instruction. Separate evaluations by 67 students revealed a strong aversion to the Socratic method; students expected professors to lecture. They showed a strong preference for the computer-based assignment. (SK)

Assessing the Relation between Language Comprehension and Performance in General Chemistry

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Pyburn, Daniel T.; Pazicni, Samuel; Benassi, Victor A.; Tappin, Elizabeth E.

2013-01-01

Few studies have focused specifically on the role that language plays in learning chemistry. We report here an investigation into the ability of language comprehension measures to predict performance in university introductory chemistry courses. This work is informed by theories of language comprehension, which posit that high-skilled…

Acid-base titration curves in an integrated computer learning environment

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Heck, A.; Kędzierska, E.; Rodgers, L.; Chmurska, M.

2008-01-01

The topic of acid-base reactions is a regular component of many chemistry curricula that requires integrated understanding of various areas of introductory chemistry. Many students have considerable difficulties understanding the concepts and processes involved. It has been suggested and confirmed

A Comparison of the Learning Outcomes of Traditional Lecturing with that of Computer-Based Learning in two Optometry Courses

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H Kangari

2009-07-01

Full Text Available Background and purpose: The literature on distance education has provided different reports about the effectiveness of traditional lecture based settings versus computer based study settings. This studyis an attempt to compare the learning outcomes of the traditional lecture based teaching with that of the computer based learning in the optometry curriculum.Methods: Two courses in the optometry curriculum, Optometry I, with 24 students and Optometry II, with 27 students were used in this study. In each course, the students were randomly divided into two groups. In each scheduled class session, one group randomly attended the lecture, while the other studied in the computer stations. The same content was presented to both groups and at end of each session the same quiz was given to both. In the next session, the groups switched place. This processcontinued for four weeks. The quizzes were scored and a paired t-test was used to examine any difference. The data was analyzed by SPSS 15 software.Results: The mean score for Optometry I, lecture settings was 3.36 +0.59, for Optometry I computer based study was 3.27+0.63 , for Optometry II, in lecture setting was 3.22+0.57 and for Optometry II, computer based setting was 2.85+0.69. The paired sample t-test was performed on the scores, revealing no statistical significant difference between the two settings. However, the mean score for lecture sessions was slightly higher in lecture settings.Conclusion: Since this study reveals that the learning outcomes in traditional lecture based settings and computer based study are not significantly different, the lecture sessions can be safely replacedby the computer based study session. Further practice in the computer based setting might reveal better outcomes in computer study settings.Key words: LECTURING, COMPUTER BASED LEARNING, DISTANCE EDUCATION

An Introductory Calculus-Based Mechanics Investigation

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Allen, Bradley

2017-01-01

One challenge for the introductory physics teacher is incorporating calculus techniques into the laboratory setting. It can be difficult to strike a balance between presenting an experimental task for which calculus is essential and making the mathematics accessible to learners who may be apprehensive about applying it. One-dimensional kinematics…

Replacement of traditional lectures with computer-based tutorials: a case study

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Derek Lavelle

1996-12-01

Full Text Available This paper reports on a pilot project with a group of 60 second-year undergraduates studying the use of standard forms of contract in the construction industry. The project entailed the replacement of two of a series of nine scheduled lectures with a computer-based tutorial. The two main aims of the project were to test the viability of converting existing lecture material into computer-based material on an in-house production basis, and to obtain feedback from the student cohort on their behavioural response to the change in media. The effect on student performance was not measured at this stage of development.

A Comprehensive General Chemistry Demonstration

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Sweeder, Ryan D.; Jeffery, Kathleen A.

2013-01-01

This article describes the use of a comprehensive demonstration suitable for a high school or first-year undergraduate introductory chemistry class. The demonstration involves placing a burning candle in a container adjacent to a beaker containing a basic solution with indicator. After adding a lid, the candle will extinguish and the produced…

Thinking about online sources: Exploring students' epistemic cognition in internet-based chemistry learning

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Dai, Ting

This dissertation investigated the relation between epistemic cognition---epistemic aims and source beliefs---and learning outcome in an Internet--based research context. Based on a framework of epistemic cognition (Chinn, Buckland, & Samarapungavan, 2011), a context--specific epistemic aims and source beliefs questionnaire (CEASBQ) was developed and administered to 354 students from college--level introductory chemistry courses. A series of multitrait--multimethod model comparisons provided evidence for construct convergent and discriminant validity for three epistemic aims--- true beliefs, justified beliefs, explanatory connection, which were all distinguished from, yet correlated with, mastery goals. Students' epistemic aims were specific to the chemistry topics in research. Multidimensional scaling results indicated that students' source evaluation was based on two dimensions--- professional expertise and first--hand knowledge, suggesting a multidimensional structure of source beliefs. Most importantly, online learning outcome was found to be significantly associated with two epistemic aims---justified beliefs and explanatory connection: The more students sought justifications in the online research, the lower they tended to score on the learning outcome measure, whereas the more students sought explanatory connections between information, the higher they scored on the outcome measure. There was a significant but small positive association between source beliefs and learning outcome. The influences of epistemic aims and source beliefs on learning outcome were found to be above and beyond the effects of a number of covariates, including prior knowledge and perceived ability with online sources.

Gender gaps in achievement and participation in multiple introductory biology classrooms.

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Eddy, Sarah L; Brownell, Sara E; Wenderoth, Mary Pat

2014-01-01

Although gender gaps have been a major concern in male-dominated science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines such as physics and engineering, the numerical dominance of female students in biology has supported the assumption that gender disparities do not exist at the undergraduate level in life sciences. Using data from 23 large introductory biology classes for majors, we examine two measures of gender disparity in biology: academic achievement and participation in whole-class discussions. We found that females consistently underperform on exams compared with males with similar overall college grade point averages. In addition, although females on average represent 60% of the students in these courses, their voices make up less than 40% of those heard responding to instructor-posed questions to the class, one of the most common ways of engaging students in large lectures. Based on these data, we propose that, despite numerical dominance of females, gender disparities remain an issue in introductory biology classrooms. For student retention and achievement in biology to be truly merit based, we need to develop strategies to equalize the opportunities for students of different genders to practice the skills they need to excel. © 2014 S. L. Eddy et al. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2014 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

Replacing lecture with peer-led workshops improves student learning.

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Preszler, Ralph W

2009-01-01

Peer-facilitated workshops enhanced interactivity in our introductory biology course, which led to increased student engagement and learning. A majority of students preferred attending two lectures and a workshop each week over attending three weekly lectures. In the workshops, students worked in small cooperative groups as they solved challenging problems, evaluated case studies, and participated in activities designed to improve their general learning skills. Students in the workshop version of the course scored higher on exam questions recycled from preworkshop semesters. Grades were higher over three workshop semesters in comparison with the seven preworkshop semesters. Although males and females benefited from workshops, there was a larger improvement of grades and increased retention by female students; although underrepresented minority (URM) and non-URM students benefited from workshops, there was a larger improvement of grades by URM students. As well as improving student performance and retention, the addition of interactive workshops also improved the quality of student learning: Student scores on exam questions that required higher-level thinking increased from preworkshop to workshop semesters.

35th International Symposium on Environmental Analytical Chemistry - ISEAC 35. Book of Abstracts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Namiestnik, J.; Gdaniec-Pietryka, M.; Klimaszewska, K.; Gorecka, A.; Sagajdakow, A.; Jakubowska, N.

2008-01-01

The ISEAC 35 is organized by the International Association of Environmental Analytical Chemistry (IAEAC), the Committee on Analytical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Science (PAS), and the Chemical Faculty of Gdansk University of Technology (GUT). The Symposium includes a number of invited lectures treating frontier topics of environmental analytical chemistry, such as: (a) miniaturized spectroscopic tools for environmental survey analysis, (b) remote sensing in marine research, (c) xenobiotics in natural waters, (d) sampling and sample handling for environmental analysis. Book of Abstracts contains abstracts of 9 invited lectures, 62 oral presentations and 250 posters.

Prebiotic chemistry - Lecture 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ponnamperuma, C.

1992-01-01

The nucleic acids and proteins are at the basis of all life. The energy source on the primitive earth acting on the earth's early atmosphere are believed to have produced all the molecules necessary for life. Laboratory experiments over the last four decades have clearly established the prebiotic synthesis of these components, amino acids, purines, pyrimidines, carbohydrates. The mechanisms of polymerization have also been outlined. We thus have a sequence from atoms to small molecules to the large molecules which are necessary for the emergence of life. The analysis of meteorites has given us fresh evidence that these reactions which we have presumed to have taken place on the primitive earth may have also occurred in the early solar system. The analysis of carbonaceous chondrites has given us unmistakable evidence for the presence of these molecules in outer space. Recent observational and theoretical studies have also pointed out that comets may be the location for prebiotic reactions and may also have contributed to organic matter on the primitive earth. The radio astronomers studying interstellar media have also provided us with ample evidence that there are a large number of organic molecules in interstellar space. Organic chemistry appears to be commonplace in the universe. (author)

Equity investigation of attitudinal shifts in introductory physics

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Adrienne Traxler

2015-11-01

Full Text Available We report on seven years of attitudinal data using the Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey from University Modeling Instruction (UMI sections of introductory physics at Florida International University. University Modeling Instruction is a curricular and pedagogical transformation of introductory university physics that engages students in building and testing conceptual models in an integrated lab and lecture learning environment. This work expands upon previous studies that reported consistently positive attitude shifts in UMI courses; here, we disaggregate the data by gender and ethnicity to look for any disparities in the pattern of favorable shifts. We find that women and students from statistically underrepresented ethnic groups have gains that are comparable to those of men and students from well-represented ethnic groups on this attitudinal measure, and that this result holds even when interaction effects of gender and ethnicity are included. We conclude with suggestions for future work in UMI courses and for attitudinal equity investigations generally. We encourage researchers to expand their scope beyond simple performance gaps when considering equity concerns, and to avoid relying on a single measure to evaluate student success. Finally, we conjecture that students’ social and academic networks are one means by which attitudinal and efficacy beliefs about the course are propagated.

Equity investigation of attitudinal shifts in introductory physics

Science.gov (United States)

Traxler, Adrienne; Brewe, Eric

2015-12-01

We report on seven years of attitudinal data using the Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey from University Modeling Instruction (UMI) sections of introductory physics at Florida International University. University Modeling Instruction is a curricular and pedagogical transformation of introductory university physics that engages students in building and testing conceptual models in an integrated lab and lecture learning environment. This work expands upon previous studies that reported consistently positive attitude shifts in UMI courses; here, we disaggregate the data by gender and ethnicity to look for any disparities in the pattern of favorable shifts. We find that women and students from statistically underrepresented ethnic groups have gains that are comparable to those of men and students from well-represented ethnic groups on this attitudinal measure, and that this result holds even when interaction effects of gender and ethnicity are included. We conclude with suggestions for future work in UMI courses and for attitudinal equity investigations generally. We encourage researchers to expand their scope beyond simple performance gaps when considering equity concerns, and to avoid relying on a single measure to evaluate student success. Finally, we conjecture that students' social and academic networks are one means by which attitudinal and efficacy beliefs about the course are propagated.

Cognitive development in introductory physics: A research-based approach to curriculum reform

Science.gov (United States)

Teodorescu, Raluca Elena

This project describes the research on a classification of physics problems in the context of introductory physics courses. This classification, called the Taxonomy of Introductory Physics Problems (TIPP), relates physics problems to the cognitive processes required to solve them. TIPP was created for designing and clarifying educational objectives, for developing assessments that can evaluate individual component processes of the problem-solving process, and for guiding curriculum design in introductory physics courses, specifically within the context of a "thinking-skills" curriculum. TIPP relies on the following resources: (1) cognitive research findings adopted by physics education research, (2) expert-novice research discoveries acknowledged by physics education research, (3) an educational psychology taxonomy for educational objectives, and (4) various collections of physics problems created by physics education researchers or developed by textbook authors. TIPP was used in the years 2006--2008 to reform the first semester of the introductory algebra-based physics course (called Phys 11) at The George Washington University. The reform sought to transform our curriculum into a "thinking-skills" curriculum that trades "breadth for depth" by focusing on fewer topics while targeting the students' cognitive development. We employed existing research on the physics problem-solving expert-novice behavior, cognitive science and behavioral science findings, and educational psychology recommendations. Our pedagogy relies on didactic constructs such as the GW-ACCESS problem-solving protocol, learning progressions and concept maps that we have developed and implemented in our introductory physics course. These tools were designed based on TIPP. Their purpose is: (1) to help students build local and global coherent knowledge structures, (2) to develop more context-independent problem-solving abilities, (3) to gain confidence in problem solving, and (4) to establish

Web-Based Lecture Technologies and Learning and Teaching: A Study of Change in Four Australian Universities

Science.gov (United States)

Gosper, Maree; McNeill, Margot; Woo, Karen; Phillips, Rob; Preston, Greg; Green, David

2011-01-01

The uptake of web-based lecture technologies for recording and delivering live lectures has increased markedly in recent years. Students have responded positively, and for many their use has transformed learning--freeing them up from rigid timetables by providing choice in lecture attendance and supporting learning by extending the lecture…

Assessing the impact of a tutorial intervention when teaching the ray model of light in introductory physics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kesonen, M H P; Asikainen, M A; Hirvonen, P E

2013-01-01

This paper presents a 90 min tutorial intervention which permits the use of the Tutorials in Introductory Physics curriculum in a conventional physics course. In addition, the paper describes the impact of the intervention on students' understanding of the ray model of light in the context of geometrical images. In 2011 and 2012 a total of 79 introductory students participated in the intervention, where they worked with the Light and Shadow tutorial after having received lecture-based instruction in a conventional physics course. The impact of the intervention on the students' learning was assessed by means of paper-and-pencil test questions at the beginning and end of the intervention. The results showed that the proportion of correct or nearly correct answers increased by 17 percentage points during the intervention. Thus, it can be claimed that the intervention was a useful supplement to a conventional physics course by helping students to improve their understanding of the ray model of light. In addition, the intervention may serve as an intermediate step towards adopting the tutorials, since it permits the curriculum of a conventional physics course to be tested without large changes being made to the course. This type of information is needed in support of institutional changes towards more research-based instructional practices. (paper)

Empowering the crowd: faculty discourse strategies for facilitating student reasoning in large lecture

Science.gov (United States)

Demaree, Dedra

2012-02-01

Oregon State University (OSU) has restructured its introductory calculus-based sequence including reformed curriculum modeled after the Interactive Science Learning Environment (ISLE). ISLE is driven by an experimental cycle roughly summarized as: observe phenomena, find patterns and devise explanations, test explanations, develop a model, apply the model to new observations. In implementing ISLE at OSU we have chosen to focus on student scientific reasoning, specifically student ability to develop and test models, make explicit judgments on how to approach open-ended tasks, and take an authoritative role in knowledge development. In order to achieve these goals, the lecture course heavily utilizes social engagement. During large-lecture group work, emphasis is placed on facilitating student discourse about issues such as what systems to choose or how to define an open-ended problem. Instructional strategies are aimed at building off the group discourse to create a full-class community where knowledge is developed through collaboration with peers. We are achieving these goals along with an increase in measured student conceptual knowledge and traditional problem solving abilities, and no loss of content coverage. It is an ongoing effort to understand ``best'' instructional strategies and to facilitate new faculty when they teach the curriculum. Our research has focused on understanding how to facilitate activities that promote this form of discourse. We have quantitative analysis of engagement based on video data, qualitative analysis of dialogue from audio data, classroom observations by an external researcher, and survey data. In this session we share a subset of what we have learned about how to engage students in scientific reasoning discourse during large lecture, both at the group-work and full-class level.

Student Perceptions of Team-based Learning vs Traditional Lecture-based Learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Frame, Tracy R; Cailor, Stephanie M; Gryka, Rebecca J; Chen, Aleda M; Kiersma, Mary E; Sheppard, Lorin

2015-05-25

To evaluate pharmacy student perceptions of team-based learning (TBL) vs traditional lecture-based learning formats. First professional year pharmacy students (N=111) at two universities used TBL in different courses during different semesters (fall vs spring). Students completed a 22-item team perceptions instrument before and after the fall semester. A 14-item teaching style preference instrument was completed at the end of the spring semester. Data were analyzed using Wilcoxon signed rank test and Mann-Whitney U test. Students who experienced TBL in the fall and went back to traditional format in the spring reported improved perceptions of teams and preferred TBL format over a traditional format more than students who experienced a traditional format followed by TBL. Students at both universities agreed that the TBL format assists with critical-thinking, problem-solving, and examination preparation. Students also agreed that teams should consist of individuals with different personalities and learning styles. When building teams, faculty members should consider ways to diversify teams by considering different views, perspectives, and strengths. Offering TBL early in the curriculum prior to traditional lecture-based formats is better received by students, as evidenced by anecdotal reports from students possibly because it allows students time to realize the benefits and assist them in building teamwork-related skills.

Spins in chemistry

CERN Document Server

McWeeny, Roy

2004-01-01

Originally delivered as a series of lectures, this volume systematically traces the evolution of the ""spin"" concept from its role in quantum mechanics to its assimilation into the field of chemistry. Author Roy McWeeny presents an in-depth illustration of the deductive methods of quantum theory and their application to spins in chemistry, following the path from the earliest concepts to the sophisticated physical methods employed in the investigation of molecular structure and properties. Starting with the origin and development of the spin concept, the text advances to an examination of sp

Evaluation of Learning Processes in an Organic Chemistry Course.

Science.gov (United States)

Maroto, B.; Camusso, C.; Cividini, M.

1997-01-01

Reviews a subjective exercise completed by students at the end of each of six units in an introductory organic chemistry course. Argues that instruction should be shaped by Ausubel's concept of meaningful learning. (DDR)

Citizen Science: The Small World Initiative Improved Lecture Grades and California Critical Thinking Skills Test Scores of Nonscience Major Students at Florida Atlantic University.

Science.gov (United States)

Caruso, Joseph P; Israel, Natalie; Rowland, Kimberly; Lovelace, Matthew J; Saunders, Mary Jane

2016-03-01

Course-based undergraduate research is known to improve science, technology, engineering, and mathematics student achievement. We tested "The Small World Initiative, a Citizen-Science Project to Crowdsource Novel Antibiotic Discovery" to see if it also improved student performance and the critical thinking of non-science majors in Introductory Biology at Florida Atlantic University (a large, public, minority-dominant institution) in academic year 2014-15. California Critical Thinking Skills Test pre- and posttests were offered to both Small World Initiative (SWI) and control lab students for formative amounts of extra credit. SWI lab students earned significantly higher lecture grades than control lab students, had significantly fewer lecture grades of D+ or lower, and had significantly higher critical thinking posttest total scores than control students. Lastly, more SWI students were engaged while taking critical thinking tests. These results support the hypothesis that utilizing independent course-based undergraduate science research improves student achievement even in nonscience students.

A Phytase Enzyme-Based Biochemistry Practical Particularly Suited to Students Undertaking Courses in Biotechnology and Environmental Science

Science.gov (United States)

Boyce, Angela; Casey, Anne; Walsh, Gary

2004-01-01

Courses in introductory biochemistry invariably encompass basic principles of enzymology, with reinforcement of lecture-based material in appropriate laboratory practicals. Students undertaking practical classes are more enthusiastic, and generally display improved performance, when the specific experiments undertaken show direct relevance to…

Assessing expertise in introductory physics using categorization task

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrew Mason

2011-10-01

Full Text Available The ability to categorize problems based upon underlying principles, rather than surface features or contexts, is considered one of several proxy predictors of expertise in problem solving. With inspiration from the classic study by Chi, Feltovich, and Glaser, we assess the distribution of expertise among introductory physics students by asking three introductory physics classes, each with more than a hundred students, to categorize mechanics problems based upon similarity of solution. We compare their categorization with those of physics graduate students and faculty members. To evaluate the effect of problem context on students’ ability to categorize, two sets of problems were developed for categorization. Some problems in one set included those available from the prior study by Chi et al. We find a large overlap between calculus-based introductory students and graduate students with regard to their categorizations that were assessed as “good.” Our findings, which contrast with those of Chi et al., suggest that there is a wide distribution of expertise in mechanics among introductory and graduate students. Although the categorization task is conceptual, introductory students in the calculus-based course performed better than those in the algebra-based course. Qualitative trends in categorization of problems are similar between the non-Chi problems and problems available from the Chi study used in our study although the Chi problems used are more difficult on average.

Illustrating Concepts in Physical Organic Chemistry with 3D Printed Orbitals

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Robertson, Michael J.; Jorgensen, William L.

2015-01-01

Orbital theory provides a powerful tool for rationalizing and understanding many phenomena in chemistry. In most introductory chemistry courses, students are introduced to atomic and molecular orbitals in the form of two-dimensional drawings. In this work, we describe a general method for producing 3D printing files of orbital models that can be…

Synthesis of Ethyl Nalidixate: A Medicinal Chemistry Experiment

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Leslie, Ray; Leeb, Elaine; Smith, Robert B.

2012-01-01

A series of laboratory experiments that complement a medicinal chemistry lecture course in drug design and development have been developed. The synthesis of ethyl nalidixate covers three separate experimental procedures, all of which can be completed in three, standard three-hour lab classes and incorporate aspects of green chemistry such as…

[Approach to Evidence-based Medicine Exercises Using Flipped Teaching: Introductory Education for Clinical Practice for 4th-Year Pharmacy Students].

Science.gov (United States)

Onda, Mitsuko; Takagaki, Nobumasa

2018-01-01

　Osaka University of Pharmaceutical Sciences has included an evidence-based medicine (EBM) exercise in the introductory education for clinical practice for 4th-year pharmacy students since 2015. The purpose of this exercise is to learn the process of practice and basic concepts of EBM, especially to cultivate the practical ability to solve patients' problems and answer their questions. Additionally, in 2016, we have attempted flipped teaching. The students are instructed to review the basic knowledge necessary for active learning in this exercise by watching video teaching materials and to bring reports summarizing the contents on the flipped teaching days. The program includes short lectures [overview of EBM, document retrieval, randomized controlled trials (RCTs), and systematic review], exercises [patient, intervention, comparison, outcome (PICO) structuring, critical appraisal of papers in small groups with tutors], and presentations. The program includes: step 1, PICO structuring based on scenarios; step 2, critical appraisal of English-language papers on RCTs using evaluation worksheets; and step 3, reviewing the results of the PICO exercise with patients. The results of the review are shared among groups through general discussion. In this symposium, I discuss students' attitudes, the effectiveness of small group discussions using flipped teaching, and future challenges to be addressed in this program.

COMPARISON OF PROBLEM BASED LEARNING WITH TRADITIONAL LECTURES AMONG FIRST YEAR MEDICAL STUDENTS IN PHYSIOLOGY

OpenAIRE

Evelyn

2015-01-01

BACKGROUND: Problem based learning has emerged as an effective teaching learning method. Students taught by the problem based learning method have better problem solving skills and better long-term memory than those taught by traditional lectures. OBJECTIVE: To compare the effectiveness of problem based learning with that of traditional lecture method. METHODOLOGY: First MBBS students (n=127) were divided into two groups. One group was taught a topic from Applied Physiolog...

Comparison between Simulation-based Training and Lecture-based Education in Teaching Situation Awareness. A Randomized Controlled Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee Chang, Alfredo; Dym, Andrew A; Venegas-Borsellino, Carla; Bangar, Maneesha; Kazzi, Massoud; Lisenenkov, Dmitry; Qadir, Nida; Keene, Adam; Eisen, Lewis Ari

2017-04-01

Situation awareness has been defined as the perception of the elements in the environment within volumes of time and space, the comprehension of their meaning, and the projection of their status in the near future. Intensivists often make time-sensitive critical decisions, and loss of situation awareness can lead to errors. It has been shown that simulation-based training is superior to lecture-based training for some critical scenarios. Because the methods of training to improve situation awareness have not been well studied in the medical field, we compared the impact of simulation vs. lecture training using the Situation Awareness Global Assessment Technique (SAGAT) score. To identify an effective method for teaching situation awareness. We randomly assigned 17 critical care fellows to simulation vs. lecture training. Training consisted of eight cases on airway management, including topics such as elevated intracranial pressure, difficult airway, arrhythmia, and shock. During the testing scenario, at random times between 4 and 6 minutes into the simulation, the scenario was frozen, and the screens were blanked. Respondents then completed the 28 questions on the SAGAT scale. Sample items were categorized as Perception, Projection, and Comprehension of the situation. Results were analyzed using SPSS Version 21. Eight fellows from the simulation group and nine from the lecture group underwent simulation testing. Sixty-four SAGAT scores were recorded for the simulation group and 48 scores were recorded for the lecture group. The mean simulation vs. lecture group SAGAT score was 64.3 ± 10.1 (SD) vs. 59.7 ± 10.8 (SD) (P = 0.02). There was also a difference in the median Perception ability between the simulation vs. lecture groups (61.1 vs. 55.5, P = 0.01). There was no difference in the median Projection and Comprehension scores between the two groups (50.0 vs. 50.0, P = 0.92, and 83.3 vs. 83.3, P = 0.27). We found a significant, albeit

Development of Chemistry Triangle Oriented Module on Topic of Reaction Rate for Senior High School Level Grade XI Chemistry Learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Sari, D. R.; Hardeli; Bayharti

2018-04-01

This study aims to produce chemistry triangle oriented module on topic of reaction rate, and to reveal the validity and practicality level of the generated module. The type of research used is EducationalDesign Research (EDR) with development model is Plompmodel. This model consists of three phases, which are preliminary research, prototyping phase, and assessment phase. The instrument used in this research is questionnaire validity and practicality. The data of the research were analyzed by using Kappa Cohen formula. The chemistry triangle oriented module validation sheet was given to 5 validators consisting of 3 chemistry lecturers and 2 high school chemistry teachers, while the practicality sheet was given to 2 chemistry teachers, 6 students of SMAN 10 Padang grade XII MIA 5 on the small groupevaluation and 25 students of SMAN 10 Padang grade XII MIA 6 on the field test. Based on the questionnaire validity analysis, the validity level of the module is very high with the value of kappa moment 0.87. The level of practicality based on teacher questionnaire response is very high category with a kappa moment value 0.96. Based on the questionnaire of student responses on small group evaluation, the level of practicality is very high category with a kappa moment 0.81, and the practicality is very high category with kappa moment value 0.83 based on questionnaire of student response on field test.

Atoms-First Curriculum: A Comparison of Student Success in General Chemistry

Science.gov (United States)

Esterling, Kevin M.; Bartels, Ludwig

2013-01-01

We present an evaluation of the impact of an atoms-first curriculum on student success in introductory chemistry classes and find that initially a lower fraction of students obtain passing grades in the first and second quarters of the general chemistry series. This effect is more than reversed for first-quarter students after one year of…

Designing flexible instructional space for teaching introductory physics with emphasis on inquiry and collaborative active learning

Science.gov (United States)

Bykov, Tikhon

2010-03-01

In recent years McMurry University's introductory physics curriculum has gone through a series of significant changes to achieve better integration of traditional course components (lecture/lab/discussion) by means of instructional design and technology. A system of flexible curriculum modules with emphasis on inquiry-based teaching and collaborative active learning has been introduced. To unify module elements, a technology suite has been used that consists of Tablet PC's and software applications including Physlets, tablet-adapted personal response system, PASCO data acquisition systems, and MS One-note collaborative writing software. Adoption of the new teaching model resulted in reevaluation of existing instructional spaces. The new teaching space will be created during the renovation of the McMurry Science Building. This space will allow for easy transitions between lecture and laboratory modes. Movable partitions will be used to accommodate student groups of different sizes. The space will be supportive of small peer-group activities with easy-to-reconfigure furniture, multiple white and black board surfaces and multiple projection screens. The new space will be highly flexible to account for different teaching functions, different teaching modes and learning styles.

Is a Team-based Learning Approach to Anatomy Teaching Superior to Didactic Lecturing?

Science.gov (United States)

Ghorbani, Naghme; Karbalay-Doust, Saied; Noorafshan, Ali

2014-02-01

Team-based learning (TBL) is used in the medical field to implement interactive learning in small groups. The learning of anatomy and its subsequent application requires the students to recall a great deal of factual content. The aims of this study were to evaluate the students' satisfaction, engagement and knowledge gain in anatomy through the medium of TBL in comparison to the traditional lecture method. This study, carried out from February to June 2012, included 30 physical therapy students of the Shiraz University of Medical Science, School of Rehabilitation Sciences. Classic TBL techniques were modified to cover lower limb anatomy topics in the first year of the physical therapy curriculum. Anatomy lectures were replaced with TBL, which required the preparation of assigned content, specific discussion topics, an individual self-assessment test (IRAT) and the analysis of discussion topics. The teams then subsequently retook the assessment test as a group (GRAT). The first eight weeks of the curriculum were taught using traditional didactic lecturing, while during the second eight weeks the modified TBL method was used. The students evaluated these sessions through a questionnaire. The impact of TBL on student engagement and educational achievement was determined using numerical data, including the IRAT, GRAT and final examination scores. Students had a higher satisfaction rate with the TBL teaching according to the Likert scale. Additionally, higher scores were obtained in the TBL-based final examination in comparison to the lecture-based midterm exam. The students' responses showed that the TBL technique could be used alone or in conjunction with traditional didactic lecturing in order to teach anatomy more effectively.

Curriculum Outline for Introduction to Engineering Chemistry. Second Edition. Review Cycle-Annual.

Science.gov (United States)

Schlenker, Richard M.

Introduction to Engineering Chemistry is a four-credit hour (one semester) course designed to introduce marine engineering students to the rudiments of basic (introductory) inorganic chemistry. The course consists of 18 units (numbered 1.0 through 18.0) focusing on these subject areas: fundamental concepts; structure of the atom and the periodic…

The Effectiveness of the Problem-Based Learning Teaching Model for Use in Introductory Chinese Undergraduate Medical Courses: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yanqi; Zhou, Liang; Liu, Xiaoyu; Liu, Ling; Wu, Yazhou; Zhao, Zengwei; Yi, Dali; Yi, Dong

2015-01-01

Background Although the problem-based learning (PBL) emerged in 1969 and was soon widely applied internationally, the rapid development in China only occurred in the last 10 years. This study aims to compare the effect of PBL and lecture-based learning (LBL) on student course examination results for introductory Chinese undergraduate medical courses. Methods Randomized and nonrandomized controlled trial studies on PBL use in Chinese undergraduate medical education were retrieved through PubMed, the Excerpta Medica Database (EMBASE), Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and VIP China Science and Technology Journal Database (VIP-CSTJ) with publication dates from 1st January 1966 till 31 August 2014. The pass rate, excellence rate and examination scores of course examination were collected. Methodological quality was evaluated based on the modified Jadad scale. The I-square statistic and Chi-square test of heterogeneity were used to assess the statistical heterogeneity. Overall RRs or SMDs with their 95% CIs were calculated in meta-analysis. Meta-regression and subgroup meta-analyses were also performed based on comparators and other confounding factors. Funnel plots and Egger’s tests were performed to assess degrees of publication bias. Results The meta-analysis included 31studies and 4,699 subjects. Fourteen studies were of high quality with modified Jadad scores of 4 to 6, and 17 studies were of low quality with scores of 1 to 3. Relative to the LBL model, the PBL model yielded higher course examination pass rates [RR = 1.09, 95%CI (1.03, 1.17)], excellence rates [RR = 1.66, 95%CI (1.33, 2.06)] and examination scores [SMD = 0.82, 95%CI (0.63, 1.01)]. The meta-regression results show that course type was the significant confounding factor that caused heterogeneity in the examination-score meta-analysis (t = 0.410, Pteaching model application in introductory undergraduate medical courses can increase course examination excellence rates and scores in

Fascinating serendipity some adventures in fullerene chemistry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Braun, T.; Rauch, H.

2001-01-01

The lecture is divided to four chapters. Chapter one gives a short overview on the notion of serendipity and the serendipitous discovery of the fullerenes, the third allotropic form of carbon and will try to highlight why this discovery can be considered a revolution in chemistry. The second and third chapters present some results of the author's research group. Neutron irradiation of C 60 in a nuclear reactor has also made possible the serendipitous discovery of a new procedure for synthesis of endohedral C 60 compounds exemplified by the synthesis of many endohedral radio-fullerenes of * X at C 60 type. The fourth chapter of the lecture deals with 'Capture-captive chemistry' as a new typology for molecular containers including fullerenes. (author)

Investigating the Relationship between Instructors' Use of Active-Learning Strategies and Students' Conceptual Understanding and Affective Changes in Introductory Biology: A Comparison of Two Active-Learning Environments

Science.gov (United States)

Cleveland, Lacy M.; Olimpo, Jeffrey T.; DeChenne-Peters, Sue Ellen

2017-01-01

In response to calls for reform in undergraduate biology education, we conducted research examining how varying active-learning strategies impacted students' conceptual understanding, attitudes, and motivation in two sections of a large-lecture introductory cell and molecular biology course. Using a quasi-experimental design, we collected…

Lecture Notes and Exercises for Course 21240 (Basic Analytical Chemistry)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

1999-01-01

The publication contains notes dealing with difficult topics in analytical chemistry (cfr. Course Descriptions, DTU), relevant exercises as well as final examination problems from the last years.......The publication contains notes dealing with difficult topics in analytical chemistry (cfr. Course Descriptions, DTU), relevant exercises as well as final examination problems from the last years....

Lecture Notes and Exercises for Course 21240 (Basic Analytical Chemistry)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

1998-01-01

The publication contains notes dealing with difficult topics in analytical chemistry (cfr. Course Descriptions, DTU), relevant exercises as well as final examination problems from the last years.......The publication contains notes dealing with difficult topics in analytical chemistry (cfr. Course Descriptions, DTU), relevant exercises as well as final examination problems from the last years....

Lectures on general relativity

CERN Document Server

Papapetrou, Achille

1974-01-01

This book is an elaboration of lecture notes for the graduate course on General Rela­ tivity given by the author at Boston University in the spring semester of 1972. It is an introduction to the subject only, as the time available for the course was limited. The author of an introduction to General Relativity is faced from the beginning with the difficult task of choosing which material to include. A general criterion as­ sisting in this choice is provided by the didactic character of the book: Those chapters have to be included in priority, which will be most useful to the reader in enabling him to understand the methods used in General Relativity, the results obtained so far and possibly the problems still to be solved. This criterion is not sufficient to ensure a unique choice. General Relativity has developed to such a degree, that it is impossible to include in an introductory textbook of a reasonable length even a very condensed treatment of all important problems which have been discussed unt...

Student Attitudes toward Flipping the General Chemistry Classroom

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, J. Dominic

2013-01-01

The idea of ''flipping the classroom'' to make class time more engaging and student-centred has gained ground in recent years. The lecture portion of General Chemistry I and General Chemistry II courses were pushed outside the classroom using pre-recording technology and streaming delivery of content, in order to make in-class time more…

Introductory Overviews

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jakeman, A.J.; Hamilton, S.H.; Athanasiadis, I.N.; Pierce, S.A.

2015-01-01

Introductory Overview articles are designed to provide introductory level background to key themes and topics that caters to the eclectic readership of EMS. It is envisaged that these articles will help to break down barriers to shared understanding and dialogue within multidisciplinary teams, and

EFFECT OF PROBLEM BASED LEARNING IN COMPARISION WITH LECTURE BASED LEARNING IN FORENSIC MEDICINE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Padmakumar

2015-09-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Problem based learning (PBL is an approach to learning and instruction in which students tackle problems in small groups under the supervision of a teacher. This style of learning assumed to foster increased retention of knowledge, improve student’s gene ral problem solving skills, enhance integration of basic science concepts in to clinical problems, foster the development of self - directed learning skills and strengthen student’s intrinsic motivation. AIM: The study was conducted to compare the effect of Problem based learning in comparison with lecture based learning. SETTING: A cross - sectional study was conducted among 2nd year MBBS students of Jubilee Mission Medical College and Research Institute, Thrissur during the period of December 2014 to March 20 15. METHODOLOGY: The batch is divided into two groups (A & B, 45 in each group. By using PBL method, blunt force injuries were taught to Group - A and sharp weapon injuries to group - B. By using lecture based learning (LBL method blunt force injuries were t aught to Group - B and sharp weapon injuries to group - A. At the end of the session a test in the form of MCQ was conducted on the students to evaluate their learning outcome. OBSERVATION AND RESU LTS: In session I, the average test score of LBL group was 8.16 and PBL group was 12. The difference was statistically significant. In session - II also 45 students has participated each in LBL and PBL classes. The average of test score of LBL group was 7.267 and PBL was 11.289, which was highly significant statistical ly . CONCLUSION: Study has proven that problem based learning is an effective teaching learning method when compared to conventional lecture based learning.

Solvent-Free Synthesis of 2,20'-Dinitrobiphenyl: An Ullmann Coupling in the Introductory Organic Laboratory

Science.gov (United States)

Gregor, Richard W.; Goj, Laurel A.

2011-01-01

The formation of carbon-carbon bonds is an essential theme throughout organic chemistry. The use of transition-metal catalysts to form carbon-carbon bonds, once relegated to more advanced texts, is now commonly found in introductory organic textbooks. However, commensurate laboratory experiments for first-year organic students are more limited.…

Proceedings of the 11. ENQA: Brazilian meeting on analytical chemistry. Challenges for analytical chemistry in the 21st century. Book of Abstracts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2001-01-01

The 11th National Meeting on Analytical Chemistry was held from 18 to 21 September, 2001 at the Convention Center of UNICAMP, with the theme Challenges for Analytical Chemistry in the 21st Century. This meeting have discussed on the development of new methods and analytical tools needed to solve new challenges. The papers presented topics related to the different sub-areas of Analytical Chemistry such as Environmental Chemistry; Chemiometry techniques; X-ray Fluorescence Analysis; Spectroscopy; Separation Processes; Electroanalytic Chemistry and others. Were also included lectures on the Past and Future of Analytical Chemistry and on Ethics in Science

What We Don't Test: What an Analysis of Unreleased ACS Exam Items Reveals about Content Coverage in General Chemistry Assessments

Science.gov (United States)

Reed, Jessica J.; Villafan~e, Sachel M.; Raker, Jeffrey R.; Holme, Thomas A.; Murphy, Kristen L.

2017-01-01

General chemistry courses are often the foundation for the study of other science disciplines and upper-level chemistry concepts. Students who take introductory chemistry courses are more often from health and science-related fields than chemistry. As such, the content taught and assessed in general chemistry courses is envisioned as building…

The Design and Transformation of Biofundamentals: A Nonsurvey Introductory Evolutionary and Molecular Biology Course.

Science.gov (United States)

Klymkowsky, Michael W; Rentsch, Jeremy D; Begovic, Emina; Cooper, Melanie M

2016-01-01

Many introductory biology courses amount to superficial surveys of disconnected topics. Often, foundational observations and the concepts derived from them and students' ability to use these ideas appropriately are overlooked, leading to unrealistic expectations and unrecognized learning obstacles. The result can be a focus on memorization at the expense of the development of a meaningful framework within which to consider biological phenomena. About a decade ago, we began a reconsideration of what an introductory course should present to students and the skills they need to master. The original Web-based course's design presaged many of the recommendations of the Vision and Change report; in particular, a focus on social evolutionary mechanisms, stochastic (evolutionary and molecular) processes, and core ideas (cellular continuity, evolutionary homology, molecular interactions, coupled chemical reactions, and molecular machines). Inspired by insights from the Chemistry, Life, the Universe & Everything general chemistry project, we transformed the original Web version into a (freely available) book with a more unified narrative flow and a set of formative assessments delivered through the beSocratic system. We outline how student responses to course materials are guiding future course modifications, in particular a more concerted effort at helping students to construct logical, empirically based arguments, explanations, and models. © 2016 M. W. Klymkowsky et al. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2016 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

Introducing Chemical Biology Applications to Introductory Organic Chemistry Students Using Series of Weekly Assignments

Science.gov (United States)

Kanin, Maralee R.; Pontrello, Jason K.

2016-01-01

Calls to bring interdisciplinary content and examples into introductory science courses have increased, yet strategies that involve course restructuring often suffer from the need for a significant faculty commitment to motivate change. Minimizing the need for dramatic course reorganization, the structure, reactivity, and chemical biology…

A lecture on lecturing.

Science.gov (United States)

Calnan, J

1976-11-01

There are major differences between a lecture and a paper for publication. Often the printed word is spoken at meetings, a kind of compulsive public reading which has robbed the lecturer of the chance of oratory and the audience of a little enjoyment. The simple fact is that although doctors read aloud badly (actors do this far better) most can learn to speak spontaneolsly and with animation; but this requires time and effort, both of which are donated in a miserly way. The successful lecturer is generous and considerate of his audience--a rare being at medical meetings.

Experimental and theoretical advances in fluid dynamics

CERN Document Server

Klapp, Jaime; Fuentes, Oscar Velasco

2011-01-01

The book is comprised of lectures and selected contributions presented at the Enzo Levi and XVI Annual Meeting of the Fluid Dynamic Division of the Mexican Physical Society in 2010. It is aimed at fourth year undergraduate and graduate students, as well as scientists in the fields of physics, engineering and chemistry with an interest in fluid dynamics from the experimental and theoretical point of view. The lectures are introductory and avoid the use of complicated mathematics. The other selected contributions are also geared to fourth year undergraduate and graduate students. The fluid dynam

Flipped classroom or an active lecture?

Science.gov (United States)

Pickering, James D; Roberts, David J H

2018-01-01

Recent changes in anatomy education have seen the introduction of flipped classrooms as a replacement to the traditional didactic lecture. This approach utilizes the increasing availability of digital technology to create learning resources that can be accessed prior to attending class, with face-to-face sessions then becoming more student-centered via discussion, collaborative learning, and problem-solving activities. Although this approach may appear intuitive, this viewpoint commentary presents a counter opinion and highlights a simple alternative that utilizes evidence-based active learning approaches as part of the traditional lecture. The active lecture takes the traditional lecture, and (1) ensures the lecture content is relevant and has clear objectives, (2) contains lecture material that is designed according to the latest evidence-base, (3) complements it with additional supplementary material, (4) creates space to check prior understanding and knowledge levels, and (5) utilizes suitable technology to facilitate continual engagement and interaction. Clin. Anat. 31:118-121, 2018. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Student Task Analysis for the Development of E-Learning Lectural System in Basic Chemistry Courses in FKIP UMMY Solok

Science.gov (United States)

Afrahamiryano, A.; Ariani, D.

2018-04-01

The student task analysis is one part of the define stage in development research using the 4-D development model. Analysis of this task is useful to determine the level of understanding of students on lecture materials that have been given. The results of this task analysis serve as a measuring tool to determine the level of success of learning and as a basis in the development of lecture system. Analysis of this task is done by the method of observation and documentation study of the tasks undertaken by students. The results of this analysis are then described and after that triangulation are done to draw conclusions. The results of the analysis indicate that the students' level of understanding is high for theoretical and low material for counting material. Based on the results of this task analysis, it can be concluded that e-learning lecture system developed should be able to increase students' understanding on basic chemicals that are calculated.

Activity-Based Approach for Teaching Aqueous Solubility, Energy, and Entropy

Science.gov (United States)

Eisen, Laura; Marano, Nadia; Glazier, Samantha

2014-01-01

We describe an activity-based approach for teaching aqueous solubility to introductory chemistry students that provides a more balanced presentation of the roles of energy and entropy in dissolution than is found in most general chemistry textbooks. In the first few activities, students observe that polar substances dissolve in water, whereas…

Laboratory Development and Lecture Renovation for a Science of Food and Cooking Course

Science.gov (United States)

Miles, Deon T.; Borchardt, Adrienne C.

2014-01-01

Several years ago, a new nonscience majors course, The Science of Food and Cooking, was developed at our institution. The course covered basic scientific concepts that would normally be discussed in a typical introductory chemistry course, in the context of food and food preparation. Recently, the course has been revamped in three major ways: (1)…

Do not Lose Your Students in Large Lectures: A Five-Step Paper-Based Model to Foster Students’ Participation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mona Hassan Aburahma

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Like most of the pharmacy colleges in developing countries with high population growth, public pharmacy colleges in Egypt are experiencing a significant increase in students’ enrollment annually due to the large youth population, accompanied with the keenness of students to join pharmacy colleges as a step to a better future career. In this context, large lectures represent a popular approach for teaching the students as economic and logistic constraints prevent splitting them into smaller groups. Nevertheless, the impact of large lectures in relation to student learning has been widely questioned due to their educational limitations, which are related to the passive role the students maintain in lectures. Despite the reported feebleness underlying large lectures and lecturing in general, large lectures will likely continue to be taught in the same format in these countries. Accordingly, to soften the negative impacts of large lectures, this article describes a simple and feasible 5-step paper-based model to transform lectures from a passive information delivery space into an active learning environment. This model mainly suits educational establishments with financial constraints, nevertheless, it can be applied in lectures presented in any educational environment to improve active participation of students. The components and the expected advantages of employing the 5-step paper-based model in large lectures as well as its limitations and ways to overcome them are presented briefly. The impact of applying this model on students’ engagement and learning is currently being investigated.

Instructional Practices in Introductory Geoscience Courses: Results of a National Faculty Survey

Science.gov (United States)

MacDonald, R.; Manduca, C. A.; Mogk, D. W.; Tewksbury, B. J.

2004-12-01

The NAGT professional development program "On the Cutting Edge" recently surveyed 7000 geoscience faculty in the United States to develop a snapshot of current instructional practices in undergraduate geoscience courses, faculty strategies for learning new content and new teaching approaches, and faculty involvement in the geoscience education community. Over 2200 faculty responded to the survey which was conducted by the American Institute of Physics. Results for introductory courses (814 responses) indicate that lecture is the most common teaching strategy used in courses of all sizes. Many faculty incorporate some interactive activities in their courses. Most commonly, they use questioning, demonstrations, discussions, and in-class exercises. Less common, but not rare, are small group discussion or think-pair-share and classroom debates or role-playing. Activities involving problem solving, using quantitative skills, working with data and primarily literature, and structured collaboration are incorporated by many faculty in introductory courses, suggesting efforts to teach the process of science. Activities in which students address a problem of national or local interest, analyze their own data, or address problems of their own design are less common but not rare. Field experiences are common but not ubiquitous for students in introductory courses. A wide variety of assessment strategies are used in introductory courses of all sizes, including exams, quizzes, problem sets, papers, oral presentations, and portfolios. While papers are used for assessment more extensively in small classes, a significant number of faculty use papers in large classes (greater than 81 students). A majority of faculty use rubrics in grading. Faculty report that in the past two years, approximately one-third have made changes in the content of their introductory courses while just under half have changed the teaching methods they use. While faculty learn about both new content and

The Effect of Chemistry Laboratory Activities on Students' Chemistry Perception and Laboratory Anxiety Levels

Science.gov (United States)

Aydogdu, Cemil

2017-01-01

Chemistry lesson should be supported with experiments to understand the lecture effectively. For safety laboratory environment and to prevent laboratory accidents; chemical substances' properties, working principles for chemical substances' usage should be learnt. Aim of the present study was to analyze the effect of experiments which depend on…

Finance Students' Experiences of Lecture-Based Active Learning Tasks

Science.gov (United States)

McCullough, Kerry; Munro, Nicholas

2018-01-01

Consistent with current higher education concerns with student engagement and the student experience, this study explored third-year undergraduate Finance students' experiences of lecture-based active learning tasks. Finance students from the 2012 and 2014 cohorts from a South African university were invited to complete an anonymous questionnaire…

Web-based lecture technologies and learning and teaching: a study of change in four Australian universities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Gosper

2010-12-01

Full Text Available The uptake of web-based lecture technologies for recording and delivering live lectures has increased markedly in recent years. Students have responded positively, and for many their use has transformed learning – freeing them up from rigid timetables by providing choice in lecture attendance and supporting learning by extending the lecture experience and enabling them to revisit key concepts and ideas in their own time. Less transformational has been the impact on teaching. Although changing attendance patterns and disquiet about the quality of learning are of concern to many, lecturers have largely responded by simply modifying lectures. For most, the challenges of catering for the learning needs of a cohort with variable lecture attendance have not been addressed at a whole of the curriculum level. The technologies have been added on, rather than integrated into the curriculum. This paper will review the changes taking place in learning and teaching, explore the reluctance to embrace more wholesale change to the curriculum, and discuss the implications for institutions in the face of ongoing change.

4. Danish symposium in analytical chemistry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-01-01

At the 4th Danish Symposium of Analytical Chemistry 11 lectures and 32 posters were presented during two session days on the 20 and 21 August 1996. Various analytical techniques were discussed for foodstuff, pesticide, pharmaceutical, industrial and other analyses. (EG)

A Project-Based Cornerstone Course in Civil Engineering: Student Perceptions and Identity Development

Science.gov (United States)

Marshall, Jill; Bhasin, Amit; Boyles, Stephen; David, Bernard; James, Rachel; Patrick, Anita

2018-01-01

Our study used a natural experiment to compare a project-based cornerstone course with the traditionally-taught introductory course in civil engineering. During the study, two sections of the course were organized around an overarching project, the design of an event center, and the remaining sections used guest lectures, a textbook, and…

Introductory Raman spectroscopy

CERN Document Server

Ferraro, John R

2012-01-01

Praise for Introductory Raman Spectroscopy Highlights basic theory, which is treated in an introductory fashion Presents state-of-the-art instrumentation Discusses new applications of Raman spectroscopy in industry and research.

Video-based lectures: An emerging paradigm for teaching human anatomy and physiology to student nurses

OpenAIRE

Rabab El-Sayed Hassan El-Sayed; Samar El-Hoseiny Abd El-Raouf El-Sayed

2013-01-01

Video-based teaching material is a rich and powerful medium being used in computer assisted learning. This paper aimed to assess the learning outcomes and student nurses’ acceptance and satisfaction with the video-based lectures versus the traditional method of teaching human anatomy and physiology courses. Data were collected from 27 students in a Bachelor of Nursing program and experimental control was achieved using an alternating-treatments design. Overall, students experienced 10 lecture...

Report of scientific results 1976. Section nuclear chemistry and reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1976-01-01

The report of the section Nuclear Chemistry and Reactor presents the results of R and D in the fields of neutron scattering, radiation damage in solids, reactor chemistry, trace elements research in biomedicine, geochemistry, reactor operation, radioisotope production, and gives a survey of publications and lectures. (HK) [de

Students' conceptions of evidence during a university introductory forensic science course

Science.gov (United States)

Yeshion, Theodore Elliot

Students' Conceptions of Science, Scientific Evidence, and Forensic Evidence during a University Introductory Forensic Science Course This study was designed to examine and understand what conceptions undergraduate students taking an introductory forensic science course had about scientific evidence. Because the relationships between the nature of science, the nature of evidence, and the nature of forensic evidence are not well understood in the science education literature, this study sought to understand how these concepts interact and affect students' understanding of scientific evidence. Four participants were purposefully selected for this study from among 89 students enrolled in two sections of an introductory forensic science course taught during the fall 2005 semester. Of the 89 students, 84 were criminal justice majors with minimal science background and five were chemistry majors with academic backgrounds in the natural and physical sciences. All 89 students completed a biographical data sheet and a pre-instruction Likert scale survey consisting of twenty questions relating to the nature of scientific evidence. An evaluation of these two documents resulted in a purposeful selection of four varied student participants, each of whom was interviewed three times throughout the semester about the nature of science, the nature of evidence, and the nature of forensic evidence. The same survey was administered to the participants again at the end of the semester-long course. This study examined students' assumptions, prior knowledge, their understanding of scientific inference, scientific theory, and methodology. Examination of the data found few differences with regard to how the criminal justice majors and the chemistry majors responded to interview questions about forensic evidence. There were qualitative differences, however, when the same participants answered interview questions relating to traditional scientific evidence. Furthermore, suggestions are

Improving student performance in an introductory biology majors course: A social action project in the scholarship of teaching

Science.gov (United States)

Chambers, Sara Lang Ketchum

in student performance continued. The literature supports the conclusion that the use of an inquiry-based learning model is superior to the traditional lecture-laboratory format for teaching science courses at the introductory undergraduate level.

Improved Student Learning through a Faculty Learning Community: How Faculty Collaboration Transformed a Large-Enrollment Course from Lecture to Student Centered

Science.gov (United States)

Elliott, Emily R.; Reason, Robert D.; Coffman, Clark R.; Gangloff, Eric J.; Raker, Jeffrey R.; Powell-Coffman, Jo Anne; Ogilvie, Craig A.

2016-01-01

Undergraduate introductory biology courses are changing based on our growing understanding of how students learn and rapid scientific advancement in the biological sciences. At Iowa State University, faculty instructors are transforming a second-semester large-enrollment introductory biology course to include active learning within the lecture setting. To support this change, we set up a faculty learning community (FLC) in which instructors develop new pedagogies, adapt active-learning strategies to large courses, discuss challenges and progress, critique and revise classroom interventions, and share materials. We present data on how the collaborative work of the FLC led to increased implementation of active-learning strategies and a concurrent improvement in student learning. Interestingly, student learning gains correlate with the percentage of classroom time spent in active-learning modes. Furthermore, student attitudes toward learning biology are weakly positively correlated with these learning gains. At our institution, the FLC framework serves as an agent of iterative emergent change, resulting in the creation of a more student-centered course that better supports learning. PMID:27252298

Synthesis and Characterization of Calixarene Tetraethers: An Exercise in Supramolecular Chemistry for the Undergraduate Organic Laboratory

Science.gov (United States)

Debbert, Stefan L.; Hoh, Bradley D.; Dulak, David J.

2016-01-01

In this experiment for an introductory undergraduate organic chemistry lab, students tetraalkylate tertbutylcalix[4]arene, a bowl-shaped macrocyclic oligophenol, and examine the supramolecular chemistry of the tetraether product by proton nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Complexation with a sodium ion reduces the conformational…

Exploring Tablet PC Lectures: Lecturer Experiences and Student Perceptions in Biomedicine

Science.gov (United States)

Choate, Julia; Kotsanas, George; Dawson, Phillip

2014-01-01

Lecturers using tablet PCs with specialised pens can utilise real-time changes in lecture delivery via digital inking. We investigated student perceptions and lecturer experiences of tablet PC lectures in large-enrolment biomedicine subjects. Lecturers used PowerPoint or Classroom Presenter software for lecture preparation and in-lecture pen-based…

Promoting Metacognition in Introductory Calculus-based Physics Labs

Science.gov (United States)

Grennell, Drew; Boudreaux, Andrew

2010-10-01

In the Western Washington University physics department, a project is underway to develop research-based laboratory curriculum for the introductory calculus-based course. Instructional goals not only include supporting students' conceptual understanding and reasoning ability, but also providing students with opportunities to engage in metacognition. For the latter, our approach has been to scaffold reflective thinking with guided questions. Specific instructional strategies include analysis of alternate reasoning presented in fictitious dialogues and comparison of students' initial ideas with their lab group's final, consensus understanding. Assessment of student metacognition includes pre- and post- course data from selected questions on the CLASS survey, analysis of written lab worksheets, and student opinion surveys. CLASS results are similar to a traditional physics course and analysis of lab sheets show that students struggle to engage in a metacognitive process. Future directions include video studies, as well as use of additional written assessments adapted from educational psychology.

Past and present trends of nuclear chemistry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matel, L.; Kuruc, J.

2007-01-01

This book represents not only the papers and lectures presented on the Seminar at the occasion of forty years of foundation of the Department of Nuclear Chemistry which took place on October 3 - 5, 2006 in Kezmarske Zlaby (High Tatras). It also contains the papers and presentations of post-graduate students and workers of the Department of Nuclear Chemistry as well as colleagues working in different field of nuclear chemistry and radioecology on various workplaces in the Slovak Republic, too. The book contains 17 papers, 15 presentations, photographs and 3 short video recording

The Living Textbook of Nuclear Chemistry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Loveland, W.; Gallant, A.; Joiner, C.

2005-01-01

The Living Textbook of Nuclear Chemistry (http://livingtextbook.orst.edu) is a website, which is a collection of supplemental materials for the teaching of nuclear and radiochemistry. It contains audio-video presentations of the history of nuclear chemistry, tutorial lectures by recognized experts on advanced topics in nuclear and radiochemistry, links to data compilations, articles, and monographs, an audio course on radiochemistry, on-line editions of textbooks, training videos, etc. All content has been refereed. (author)

Lectures in medical educaton: what students think?

Science.gov (United States)

Mustafa, Tajammal; Farooq, Zerwa; Asad, Zunaira; Amjad, Rabbia; Badar, Iffat; Chaudhry, Abdul Majeed; Khan, Mohammad Amer Zaman; Rafique, Farida

2014-01-01

The volume of medical knowledge has increased exponentially and so has the need to improve the efficiency of current teaching practices.With increasing emphasis on interactive and problem based learning, the place of lectures in modern medical education has become a questionable issue. Objectives were to assess the perspective of undergraduate medical students regarding the role and effectiveness of lectures as a mode of instruction as well as the ways and means that can be employed to enhance the effectiveness of lectures. A cross sectional study was carried out among 2nd to final year medical students from five medical colleges including both private and public sector institutions. A total of 347 students participated by completing a structured questionnaire. Data was analyzed using SPSS-17. Sixty seven percent students considered lectures as a useful mode of instruction (47% males and 77% females), whereas 83% of the students reported that clinical sessions were superior to lectures because of small number of students in clinical sessions, active student participation, enhanced clinical orientation, and interaction with patients. About 64% responded that lectures should be replaced by clinical sessions. Majority of the students (92%) reported not being able to concentrate during a lecture beyond 30 minutes, whereas 70% skipped lectures as they were boring. A significantly greater proportion of male respondents, students from clinical years, and those who skipped lectures, considered lectures to be boring, a poor utilization of time and resources, and could not concentrate for the full duration of a lecture compared to females, students from preclinical years, and those who do not skip lectures, respectively. Lecturing techniques need to be improvised. The traditional passive mode of instruction has to be replaced with active learning and inquiry based approach to adequately utilize the time and resources spent on lectures.

A web-based course in nuclear and radiochemistry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Landsberger, S.; Plionis, A.

2009-01-01

Over the last six years through a Department of Energy Radiochemistry Education Award Program (REAP) we have developed a completely webbased course in nuclear and radiochemistry given at the University of Texas at Austin. This course has had nuclear and radiation engineering and chemistry graduate students. While the course also has an extensive laboratory component only the lectures are web based. The lectures begin with a historical introduction of radiochemistry followed by two movies on Madame Curie. This is followed by the usual lectures on radioactivity, fundamental properties, radioactive decay, decay modes, and nuclear reactions. As section on radioactive waste management and nuclear fuel cycle is also presented. Lectures in neutron activation analysis, geo- and cosmochemistry, and plutonium chemistry have also been developed. All lectures are in power point with many animations and a significant number of solved problems. All students are required to make a short oral presentation on some aspect of nuclear and radiochemistry in their research or a chosen topic. (author)

Lecture notes for introduction to nuclear engineering 101

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fullwood, R.; Cadwell, J.

1992-03-01

The lecture notes for introductory nuclear engineering are provided for Department of Energy personnel that are recent graduates, transfers from non-nuclear industries, and people with minimum engineering training. The material assumes a knowledge of algebra and elementary calculus. These notes support and supplement a three-hour lecture. The reader is led into the subject from the familiar macroscopic world to the microscopic world of atoms and the parts of atoms called elementary particles. Only a passing reference is made to the very extensive world of quarks and tansitory particles to concentrate on those associated with radioactivity and fission. The Einsteinian truth of mass-energy equivalence provides an understanding of the forces binding a nucleus with a resulting mass defect that results in fusion at one end of the mass spectrum and fission at the other. Exercises are provided in calculating the energy released in isotopic transformation, reading and understanding the chart of the nuclides. The periodic table is reviewed to appreciate that the noble elements are produced by quantum mechanical shell closings. Radioactive decay is calculated as well as nuclear penetration and shielding. The geometric attenuation of radiation is studied for personal protection; the use of shielding materials for radiation protection is presented along with the buildup factor that renders the shielding less effective than might be supposed. The process of fission is presented along with the fission products and energies produced by fission. The requirements for producing a sustained chain reactor are discussed. The lecture ends with discussions of how radiation and dose is measured and how dose is converted to measures of the damage of radiation to our bodies

Performance in College Chemistry: a Statistical Comparison Using Gender and Jungian Personality Type

Science.gov (United States)

Greene, Susan V.; Wheeler, Henry R.; Riley, Wayne D.

This study sorted college introductory chemistry students by gender and Jungian personality type. It recognized differences from the general population distribution and statistically compared the students' grades with their Jungian personality types. Data from 577 female students indicated that ESFP (extroverted, sensory, feeling, perceiving) and ENFP (extroverted, intuitive, feeling, perceiving) profiles performed poorly at statistically significant levels when compared with the distribution of females enrolled in introductory chemistry. The comparable analysis using data from 422 male students indicated that the poorly performing male profiles were ISTP (introverted, sensory, thinking, perceiving) and ESTP (extroverted, sensory, thinking, perceiving). ESTJ (extroverted, sensory, thinking, judging) female students withdrew from the course at a statistically significant level. For both genders, INTJ (introverted, intuitive, thinking, judging) students were the best performers. By examining the documented characteristics of Jungian profiles that correspond with poorly performing students in chemistry, one may more effectively assist the learning process and the retention of these individuals in the fields of natural science, engineering, and technology.

Six Impossible Mechanisms before Breakfast: Arrow Pushing as an Instructional Device in Inorganic Chemistry

Science.gov (United States)

Berg, Steffen; Ghosh, Abhik

2013-01-01

In a recent article by the authors, the suggestion was made that arrow pushing, a widely used tool in organic chemistry, could also be profitably employed in the teaching of introductory inorganic chemistry. A number of relatively simple reactions were used to illustrate this thesis, raising the question whether the same approach might rationalize…

Coordinated Implementation and Evaluation of Flipped Classes and Peer-Led Team Learning in General Chemistry

Science.gov (United States)

Robert, Jenay; Lewis, Scott E.; Oueini, Razanne; Mapugay, Andrea

2016-01-01

The research-based pedagogical strategy of flipped classes has been shown to be effective for increasing student achievement and retention in postsecondary chemistry classes. The purpose of flipped classes is to move content delivery (e.g., lecture) outside of the classroom, freeing more face-to-face time for active learning strategies. The…

Instructional strategies for online introductory college physics based on learning styles

Science.gov (United States)

Ekwue, Eleazer U.

The practical nature of physics and its reliance on mathematical presentations and problem solving pose a challenge toward presentation of the course in an online environment for effective learning experience. Most first-time introductory college physics students fail to grasp the basic concepts of the course and the problem solving skills if the instructional strategy used to deliver the course is not compatible with the learners' preferred learning styles. This study investigates the effect of four instructional strategies based on four learning styles (listening, reading, iconic, and direct-experience) to improve learning for introductory college physics in an online environment. Learning styles of 146 participants were determined with Canfield Learning Style inventory. Of the 85 learners who completed the study, research results showed a statistically significant increase in learning performance following the online instruction in all four learning style groups. No statistically significant differences in learning were found among the four groups. However, greater significant academic improvement was found among learners with iconic and direct-experience modes of learning. Learners in all four groups expressed that the design of the unit presentation to match their individual learning styles contributed most to their learning experience. They were satisfied with learning a new physics concept online that, in their opinion, is either comparable or better than an instructor-led classroom experience. Findings from this study suggest that learners' performance and satisfaction in an online introductory physics course could be improved by using instructional designs that are tailored to learners' preferred ways of learning. It could contribute toward the challenge of providing viable online physics instruction in colleges and universities.

An Empirical Evaluation of Puzzle-Based Learning as an Interest Approach for Teaching Introductory Computer Science

Science.gov (United States)

Merrick, K. E.

2010-01-01

This correspondence describes an adaptation of puzzle-based learning to teaching an introductory computer programming course. Students from two offerings of the course--with and without the puzzle-based learning--were surveyed over a two-year period. Empirical results show that the synthesis of puzzle-based learning concepts with existing course…

Green Chemistry Teaching in Higher Education: A Review of Effective Practices

Science.gov (United States)

Andraos, John; Dicks, Andrew P.

2012-01-01

This account reviews published green chemistry teaching resources in print and online literature and our experiences in teaching the subject to undergraduate students. Effective practices in lecture and laboratory are highlighted and ongoing challenges are addressed, including areas in cutting edge green chemistry research that impact its teaching…

What Are They Thinking? Automated Analysis of Student Writing about Acid-Base Chemistry in Introductory Biology

Science.gov (United States)

Haudek, Kevin C.; Prevost, Luanna B.; Moscarella, Rosa A.; Merrill, John; Urban-Lurain, Mark

2012-01-01

Students' writing can provide better insight into their thinking than can multiple-choice questions. However, resource constraints often prevent faculty from using writing assessments in large undergraduate science courses. We investigated the use of computer software to analyze student writing and to uncover student ideas about chemistry in an…

Investigating the use of mastery-style online homework exercises in introductory algebra-based mechanics in a controlled clinical study

Science.gov (United States)

Evans, William R.; Selen, Mats A.

2017-12-01

Homework in introductory physics represents an important part of a student's learning experience; therefore, choosing the manner in which homework is presented merits investigation. We performed three rounds of clinical trials comparing the effects of mastery-style homework vs traditional-style homework with students in both algebra-based and calculus-based introductory mechanics. Results indicate a benefit from mastery-style over traditional-style homework, principally for weaker students who are less familiar with the material being covered and on questions that are nearer transfer to the study materials.

Computational Inquiry in Introductory Statistics

Science.gov (United States)

Toews, Carl

2017-01-01

Inquiry-based pedagogies have a strong presence in proof-based undergraduate mathematics courses, but can be difficult to implement in courses that are large, procedural, or highly computational. An introductory course in statistics would thus seem an unlikely candidate for an inquiry-based approach, as these courses typically steer well clear of…

Enhancing student motivation using LectureTools: A cloud-based teaching and learning platform

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. H. Patrio Chiu

2015-06-01

Full Text Available A cloud-based teaching and learning platform, LectureTools, was piloted at City University of Hong Kong in the 2012-13 academic year. LectureTools is an online platform that provides a suite of cloud-based teaching and learning applications. It combines the functions of interactive presentation, real-time student response system, student inquiry and online note-taking synchronised with the presentation slides, into one cloud-based platform. A comprehensive study investigated the effectiveness of the platform for enhancing student motivation among graduate (n=158 and undergraduate (n=96 students. Both groups of students reported enhanced motivation when using LectureTools. The scores on all six learning motivation scales of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire, a psychometric instrument based on the cognitive view of motivation, increased when students engaged with the tool in class. Those who used the tool scored significantly higher on intrinsic goal orientation than those who did not use the tool. The students’ quantitative feedback showed that they found the tool useful and that it improved their motivation. Qualitative feedback from the instructors indicated that the tool was useful for engaging passive students. They reported that the most useful function was the interactive online questions with real-time results, while the in-class student inquiry function was difficult to use in practice.

An Appreciation of Free Radical Chemistry

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

... Lecture Workshops · Refresher Courses · Symposia · Live Streaming. Home; Journals; Resonance – Journal of Science Education; Volume 10; Issue 9. An Appreciation of Free Radical Chemistry - 6. Experiments Involving Free Radicals. G Nagendrappa. Classroom Volume 10 Issue 9 September 2005 pp 79-84 ...

Building Bridges between Science Courses Using Honors Organic Chemistry Projects

Science.gov (United States)

Hickey, Timothy; Pontrello, Jason

2016-01-01

Introductory undergraduate science courses are traditionally offered as distinct units without formalized student interaction between classes. To bridge science courses, the authors used three Honors Organic Chemistry projects paired with other science courses. The honors students delivered presentations to mainstream organic course students and…

Use of Microthemes to Increase Writing Content for Introductory Science Laboratory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michelle L. Lewis

2012-02-01

Full Text Available Writing is a learning activity, as well as a communication skill. Many instructors recognize the value of writing as a learning tool but struggle to develop effective writing assignments. Instructors are generally pressed for time during lecture due to the necessity to deliver content and, therefore, cannot dedicate time necessary to teach science writing skills effectively. Traditional term papers assigned to a class with varying writing skills may not accomplish the desired goal of teaching both technical writing skills and critical thinking skills. Students that are already struggling with content may be at a disadvantage in terms of conveying complex ideas. An answer to this problem is the microtheme paper which we employ in an Introductory Botany laboratory setting.

Quantum mechanics in chemistry

CERN Document Server

Schatz, George C

2002-01-01

Intended for graduate and advanced undergraduate students, this text explores quantum mechanical techniques from the viewpoint of chemistry and materials science. Dynamics, symmetry, and formalism are emphasized. An initial review of basic concepts from introductory quantum mechanics is followed by chapters examining symmetry, rotations, and angular momentum addition. Chapter 4 introduces the basic formalism of time-dependent quantum mechanics, emphasizing time-dependent perturbation theory and Fermi's golden rule. Chapter 5 sees this formalism applied to the interaction of radiation and matt

Interlocking Toy Building Blocks as Hands-On Learning Modules for Blind and Visually Impaired Chemistry Students

Science.gov (United States)

Melaku, Samuel; Schreck, James O.; Griffin, Kameron; Dabke, Rajeev B.

2016-01-01

Interlocking toy building blocks (e.g., Lego) as chemistry learning modules for blind and visually impaired (BVI) students in high school and undergraduate introductory or general chemistry courses are presented. Building blocks were assembled on a baseplate to depict the relative changes in the periodic properties of elements. Modules depicting…

A Bright Spark: Open Teaching of Science Using Faraday's Lectures on Candles

Science.gov (United States)

Walker, Mark; Groger, Martin; Schutler, Kirsten; Mosler, Bernd

2008-01-01

As well as being a founding father of modern chemistry and physics Michael Faraday was also a skilled lecturer, able to explain scientific principles and ideas simply and concisely to nonscientific audiences. However science didactics today emphasizes the use of open and student-centered methods of teaching in which students find and develop…

Promoting Active Learning in Calculus and General Physics through Interactive and Media-Enhanced Lectures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guoqing Tang

2004-02-01

Full Text Available In this paper we present an approach of incorporating interactive and media-enhanced lectures to promote active learning in Calculus and General Physics courses. The pedagogical practice of using interactive techniques in lectures to require "heads-on" and "hands-on" learning, and involve students more as active participants than passive receivers is a part of academic curricular reform efforts undertaken currently by the mathematics, physics and chemistry departments at North Carolina A&T State University under the NSF funded project "Talent-21: Gateway for Advancing Science and Mathematics Talents."

Publicising chemistry in a multicultural society through chemistry outreach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joyce D. Sewry

2011-11-01

Full Text Available Given the emphasis in Higher Education on community engagement in South Africa and the importance of international collaboration, we discuss a joint approach to chemistry outreach in two countries on two continents with widely differing target school audiences. We describe the history of the partnership between the chemistry departments at Rhodes University and the University of Bristol and provide an outline of the chemistry content of their outreach initiatives, the modes of delivery, the advantages to both departments and their students for involvement in various levels of outreach, the challenges they still face and additional opportunities that such work facilitated. The lecture demonstration ‘A Pollutant’s Tale’ was presented to thousands of learners all over the world, including learners at resource-deprived schools in South Africa. Challenges to extend outreach activities in South Africa include long travelling distances, as well as a lack of facilities (such as school halls and electricity at schools. Outreach activities not only impacted on the target audience of young learners, they also impacted upon the postgraduate and other chemistry students taking part in these initiatives. This collaboration strengthened both institutions and their outreach work and may also lead to chemistry research collaborations between the academics involved.

Green Chemistry and Sustainability: An Undergraduate Course for Science and Nonscience Majors

Science.gov (United States)

Gross, Erin M.

2013-01-01

An undergraduate lecture course in Green Chemistry and Sustainability has been developed and taught to a "multidisciplinary" group of science and nonscience majors. The course introduced students to the topics of green chemistry and sustainability and also immersed them in usage of the scientific literature. Through literature…

Web-based lecture technologies: blurring the boundaries between face-to-face and distance learning

OpenAIRE

Woo, Karen; Gosper, Maree; McNeill, Margot; Preston, Greg; Green, David; Phillips, Rob

2008-01-01

Web-based lecture technologies (WBLT) have gained popularity amongst universities in Australia as a tool for delivering lecture recordings to students in close to real time. This paper reports on a selection of results from a larger research project investigating the impact of WBLT on teaching and learning. Results show that while staff see the advantages for external students, they question the extent to which these advantages apply to internal students. In contrast both cohorts of students ...

The Learner Characteristics, Features of Desktop 3D Virtual Reality Environments, and College Chemistry Instruction: A Structural Equation Modeling Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Merchant, Zahira; Goetz, Ernest T.; Keeney-Kennicutt, Wendy; Kwok, Oi-man; Cifuentes, Lauren; Davis, Trina J.

2012-01-01

We examined a model of the impact of a 3D desktop virtual reality environment on the learner characteristics (i.e. perceptual and psychological variables) that can enhance chemistry-related learning achievements in an introductory college chemistry class. The relationships between the 3D virtual reality features and the chemistry learning test as…

Using a multicultural approach to teach chemistry and the nature of science to undergraduate non-majors

Science.gov (United States)

Goff, Peter; Boesdorfer, Sarah B.; Hunter, William

2012-09-01

This research documents the creation, implementation, and evaluation of a novel chemistry curriculum. The curriculum allowed students to create theories situated in a variety of cultures while they investigated chemical phenomena central to all civilizations; it was a way of synthesizing chemistry, the history and nature of science, inquiry, and multicultural education. Achieving both chemistry content and nature of science objectives were the main goals of the curriculum. A small sample of undergraduate students participated in the curriculum instead of attending a large lecture course. The novel curriculum covered the same chemistry topics as the large lecture course. Program efficacy was evaluated using a combination of grades, survey data, and interviews with the participating undergraduates. The results suggest that this curriculum was a successful start at engaging students and teaching them chemistry as well as nature of science concepts.

Resource-based learning strategies: implications for students and institutions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Malcolm Ryan

1996-12-01

Full Text Available In its strategic plan, the University of Greenwich envisages a significant shift to resource-based learning (RBL. Enterprise in Higher Education (EHE has funded five pilot RBL projects during the past year, including one in introductory economics. The project was managed by three lecturers in the School of Social Sciences, supported by an Academic Development Officer. Learning outcomes were completely revised, and a range of assessment strategies, including computer-based tests, was identified. A resources guide was produced which identified the materials and activities that would enable students to achieve the learning outcomes. A number of innovations were adopted, including: • computer-based curriculum delivery, assessment, and student evaluation of the course; • an open approach to assessment; • abolishing lectures in favour of a diverse range of teaching and learning activities.

Active learning and student-centered pedagogy improve student attitudes and performance in introductory biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Armbruster, Peter; Patel, Maya; Johnson, Erika; Weiss, Martha

2009-01-01

We describe the development and implementation of an instructional design that focused on bringing multiple forms of active learning and student-centered pedagogies to a one-semester, undergraduate introductory biology course for both majors and nonmajors. Our course redesign consisted of three major elements: 1) reordering the presentation of the course content in an attempt to teach specific content within the context of broad conceptual themes, 2) incorporating active and problem-based learning into every lecture, and 3) adopting strategies to create a more student-centered learning environment. Assessment of our instructional design consisted of a student survey and comparison of final exam performance across 3 years-1 year before our course redesign was implemented (2006) and during two successive years of implementation (2007 and 2008). The course restructuring led to significant improvement of self-reported student engagement and satisfaction and increased academic performance. We discuss the successes and ongoing challenges of our course restructuring and consider issues relevant to institutional change.

Summer Schools In Nuclear Chemistry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clark, Sue; Herbert, Mieva; Mantica, Paul

2006-01-01

This the report for the 5 year activities for the ACS Summer Schools in Nuclear and Radiochemistry. The American Chemical Society's Summer Schools in Nuclear and Radiochemistry were held at Brookhaven National Laboratory (Upton, NY) and San Jose State University (San Jose, CA) during the award period February 1, 2002 to January 31, 2007. The Summer Schools are intensive, six-week program involving both a lecture component covering fundamental principles of nuclear chemistry and radiochemistry and a laboratory component allowing hands-on experience for the students to test many of the basic principles they learn about in lecture. Each site hosted 12 undergraduate students annually, and students received coursework credits towards their undergraduate degrees. Up to 7 student credit hours were earned at San Jose State University, and Brookhaven students received up to 6 college credits through BNL's management partner, SUNY Stony Brook. Funding from the award period covered travel, housing, educational expenses, and student stipends, for the 24 undergraduate participants. Furthermore, funding was also used to cover expenses for lecturers and staff to run the programs at the two facilities. The students were provided with nuclear and radiochemistry training equivalent to a three-hour upper-level undergraduate course along with a two-hour hands-on laboratory experience within the six-week summer period. Lectures were held 5 days per week. Students completed an extensive laboratory sequence, as well as radiation safety training at the start of the Summer Schools. The summer school curriculum was enhanced with a Guest Lecture series, as well as through several one-day symposia and organized field trips to nuclear-related research and applied science laboratories. This enrichment afforded an opportunity for students to see the broader impacts of nuclear science in today's world, and to experience some of the future challenges through formal and informal discussions with

ChemSession'06 - 3rd Seminary of Warsaw PhD Students in Chemistry. Abstracts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zachara, J.; Lulinski, S.; Dobrowolski, J.C.; Raczynska, E.D.; Fuks, L.; Cyranski, M.K.; Stepien, B.T.; Sawicki, M.G.

2006-01-01

3 rd Annual Seminary of Warsaw PhD Students in Chemistry presented the latest achievements in chemistry, obtained in all Warsaw universities and scientific institutes. In 2006 participants presented 4 plenary lectures, and 109 posters. Among others, posters covered four disciplines related to the nuclear sciences: (a) radiobiology and radiotherapy, (b) radiation chemistry and photochemistry, (c) isotopic effects in chemistry, and (d) chemical technology

ChemSession'07 - 4th Seminary of Warsaw PhD Students in Chemistry. Abstracts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dobrowolski, J.C.; Ostrowski, S.; Madura, I.; Sporzynski, A.; Szatylowicz, H.; Zubrowska, A.

2007-01-01

4 th Annual Seminary of Warsaw PhD Students in Chemistry presented the latest achievements in chemistry, obtained in all Warsaw universities and scientific institutes. In 2007 participants presented 4 plenary lectures, and 101 posters. Among others, posters covered four disciplines related to the nuclear sciences: (a) radiobiology and radiotherapy, (b) radiation chemistry and photochemistry, (c) isotopic effects in chemistry, and (d) chemical technology

The Beginning Lecture and the Improvement of “Experiments in Innovative Chemistry” as an Entry Subjects at the Department of Biochemistry and Applied Chemistry in National College of Technology

Science.gov (United States)

Tsuda, Yusuke; Nakashima, Hiroyuki; Tsuji, Yutaka; Watanabe, Katsuhiro; Ooka, Hisako

The beginning lecture and the improvement of “Experiments in Innovative Chemistry” as an entry subjects in the Department of Biochemistry and Applied Chemistry at Kurume National College of Technology has been performed for recent three years. Every experiment was selected to sustain the young student's interest. The questionnaires were performed after first two year's programs were finished, and some of projects were improved. This subject has a good reputation for students and teachers, and seems to be very effective for the first year students of national college of technology.

Dualism-Based Design of the Introductory Chinese MOOC "Kit de contact en langue chinoise"

Science.gov (United States)

Wang-Szilas, Jue; Bellassen, Joël

2017-01-01

This article reviews the existing Chinese language Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and points out three problems in their design: the monism-based teaching method, the non-integration of cultural elements, and the lack of learner-learner interactions. It then presents the design principles of the Introductory Chinese MOOC in an attempt to…

Assessment of vocal intensity in lecturers depending on acoustic properties of lecture rooms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Witold Mikulski

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Background: Lombard’s effect increases the level of vocal intensity in the environment, in which noise occurs. This article presents the results of the author’s own study of vocal intensity level and A-weighted sound pressure level of background noise during normal lectures. The aim of the study was to define whether above-mentioned parameters depend on acoustic properties of rooms (classrooms or lecture rooms and to define how many lectors speak with raised voice. Material and Methods: The study was performed in a group of 50 teachers and lecturers in 10 classrooms with cubature of 160–430 m3 and reverberation time of 0.37–1.3 s (group A consisted of 3 rooms which fulfilled, group B consisted of 3 rooms which almost fulfilled and group C consisted of 4 rooms which did not fulfill criteria based on reverberation time (maximum permissible value is 0.6–0.8 s according to PN-B-02151-4:2015. Criteria of raising voice were based on vocal intensity level (maximum value: 65 dB according to EN ISO 9921:2003. The values of above-mentioned parameters were determined from modes of A-weighted sound pressure level distributions during lectures. Results: Great differentiation of vocal intensity level between lectors was found. In classrooms of group A lectors were not using raised voice, in group B – 21%, and in group C – 60% of lectors were using raised voice. Conclusions: It was observed that acoustic properties of classrooms (defined by reverberation time exert their effect on lecturer’s vocal intensity level (i.e., raising voice, which may contribute to the increased risk of vocal tract illnesses. The occurrence of Lombard’s effect in groups of teachers and lecturers, conducting lectures in rooms, was evidenced. Med Pr 2015;66(4:487–496

"Molecules-in-Medicine": Peer-Evaluated Presentations in a Fast-Paced Organic Chemistry Course for Medical Students

Science.gov (United States)

Kadnikova, Ekaterina N.

2013-01-01

To accentuate the importance of organic chemistry in development of contemporary pharmaceuticals, a three-week unit entitled "Molecules-in-Medicine" was included in the curriculum of a comprehensive one-semester four-credit organic chemistry course. After a lecture on medicinal chemistry concepts and pharmaceutical practices, students…

''Combustion Always Produces Carbon Dioxide and Water'': A Discussion of University Chemistry Students' Use of Rules in Place of Principles

Science.gov (United States)

Robertson, Amy D.; Shaffer, Peter S.

2014-01-01

On the basis of responses to written questions administered to more than one thousand introductory chemistry students, we claim that students often rotely apply memorized combustion rules instead of reasoning based on explanatory models for what happens at the molecular level during chemical reactions. In particular, many students argue that…

Web-Based versus lecture-based instruction in teaching development theories in teacher education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sami Acar

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Web-based learning (WBL has been widely implemented in various educational settings as a learning medium but there is a doubt about its superiority over text or lecture-based, teacher centered traditional education because of inconclusive findings in the related research. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of WBL on the teacher candidates’ content acquisition in a pedagogical course and on their attitudes toward this we-based course. Post-test only experimental study was conducted in a vocational teacher education program in Turkey. In the experimental group, WBL was conducted for three weeks for three topics: cognitive, moral and personality development and in the control group, lecture-based traditional teaching methods were applied. An achievement test was administered to both groups at the end of the study. According to the results, the groups did not show difference. In addition, the results of the attitude scale revealed that the students in the experimental group, on the average, had positive perceptions toward the web environment, web-based course, course instructor, course assessment, and success in the course. This result pointed out that though the impact of WBL on the acquisition of course topics did not differ between the groups, its positive impact on the students’ impression about teaching-learning process of the course, instructor and course assessment should not be ignored. Within the scope of this study, the results implied that WBL in teacher education might be applied in order to provide better learning environment rather than better knowledge gain.

Lecture background notes on transient sodium boiling and voiding in fast reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Okrent, D.; Fauske, H.K.

1972-01-01

This set of lecture background notes includes the following: (1) Introductory remarks on fast reactor safety, which are intended to provide some perspective on the role played by sodium boiling. (2) A discussion of superheat which reviews the experimental data and nucleation models with emphasis on the pressure-temperature history effect on radius of active cavity sites, including the role played by inert gas. (3) A discussion of the growth and collapse of spherical bubbles. (4) A historical description of the development of computer codes to describe voiding and a detailed description of the analytical formulation of typical models for calculating voiding due to boiling, fission gas release, and molten fuel-coolant interaction. (U.S.)

Using isomorphic problems to learn introductory physics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shih-Yin Lin

2011-08-01

Full Text Available In this study, we examine introductory physics students’ ability to perform analogical reasoning between two isomorphic problems which employ the same underlying physics principles but have different surface features. Three hundred sixty-two students from a calculus-based and an algebra-based introductory physics course were given a quiz in the recitation in which they had to first learn from a solved problem provided and take advantage of what they learned from it to solve another problem (which we call the quiz problem which was isomorphic. Previous research suggests that the multiple-concept quiz problem is challenging for introductory students. Students in different recitation classes received different interventions in order to help them discern and exploit the underlying similarities of the isomorphic solved and quiz problems. We also conducted think-aloud interviews with four introductory students in order to understand in depth the difficulties they had and explore strategies to provide better scaffolding. We found that most students were able to learn from the solved problem to some extent with the scaffolding provided and invoke the relevant principles in the quiz problem. However, they were not necessarily able to apply the principles correctly. Research suggests that more scaffolding is needed to help students in applying these principles appropriately. We outline a few possible strategies for future investigation.

Using isomorphic problems to learn introductory physics

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Shih-Yin; Singh, Chandralekha

2011-12-01

In this study, we examine introductory physics students’ ability to perform analogical reasoning between two isomorphic problems which employ the same underlying physics principles but have different surface features. Three hundred sixty-two students from a calculus-based and an algebra-based introductory physics course were given a quiz in the recitation in which they had to first learn from a solved problem provided and take advantage of what they learned from it to solve another problem (which we call the quiz problem) which was isomorphic. Previous research suggests that the multiple-concept quiz problem is challenging for introductory students. Students in different recitation classes received different interventions in order to help them discern and exploit the underlying similarities of the isomorphic solved and quiz problems. We also conducted think-aloud interviews with four introductory students in order to understand in depth the difficulties they had and explore strategies to provide better scaffolding. We found that most students were able to learn from the solved problem to some extent with the scaffolding provided and invoke the relevant principles in the quiz problem. However, they were not necessarily able to apply the principles correctly. Research suggests that more scaffolding is needed to help students in applying these principles appropriately. We outline a few possible strategies for future investigation.

Teaching Electrostatics and Entropy in Introductory Physics

Science.gov (United States)

Reeves, Mark

Entropy changes underlie the physics that dominates biological interactions. Indeed, introductory biology courses often begin with an exploration of the qualities of water that are important to living systems. However, one idea that is not explicitly addressed in most introductory physics or biology courses is important contribution of the entropy in driving fundamental biological processes towards equilibrium. I will present material developed to teach electrostatic screening in solutions and the function of nerve cells where entropic effects act to counterbalance electrostatic attraction. These ideas are taught in an introductory, calculus-based physics course to biomedical engineers using SCALEUP pedagogy. Results of student mastering of complex problems that cross disciplinary boundaries between biology and physics, as well as the challenges that they face in learning this material will be presented.

Live lecture versus video-recorded lecture: are students voting with their feet?

Science.gov (United States)

Cardall, Scott; Krupat, Edward; Ulrich, Michael

2008-12-01

In light of educators' concerns that lecture attendance in medical school has declined, the authors sought to assess students' perceptions, evaluations, and motivations concerning live lectures compared with accelerated, video-recorded lectures viewed online. The authors performed a cross-sectional survey study of all first- and second-year students at Harvard Medical School. Respondents answered questions regarding their lecture attendance; use of class and personal time; use of accelerated, video-recorded lectures; and reasons for viewing video-recorded and live lectures. Other questions asked students to compare how well live and video-recorded lectures satisfied learning goals. Of the 353 students who received questionnaires, 204 (58%) returned responses. Collectively, students indicated watching 57.2% of lectures live, 29.4% recorded, and 3.8% using both methods. All students have watched recorded lectures, and most (88.5%) have used video-accelerating technologies. When using accelerated, video-recorded lecture as opposed to attending lecture, students felt they were more likely to increase their speed of knowledge acquisition (79.3% of students), look up additional information (67.7%), stay focused (64.8%), and learn more (63.7%). Live attendance remains the predominant method for viewing lectures. However, students find accelerated, video-recorded lectures equally or more valuable. Although educators may be uncomfortable with the fundamental change in the learning process represented by video-recorded lecture use, students' responses indicate that their decisions to attend lectures or view recorded lectures are motivated primarily by a desire to satisfy their professional goals. A challenge remains for educators to incorporate technologies students find useful while creating an interactive learning culture.

The effectiveness of process oriented guided inquiry learning to reduce alternate conceptions in secondary chemistry

Science.gov (United States)

Barthlow, Michelle J.

2011-12-01

A nonequivalent, control group, pretest-posttest design was used to investigate student achievement in secondary chemistry. This study investigated the effect of process oriented guided inquiry learning (POGIL) in high school chemistry to reduce alternate conceptions related to the particulate nature of matter versus traditional lecture pedagogy. Data were collected from chemistry students in four large high schools and analyzed using ANCOVA. The results show that POGIL pedagogy, as opposed to traditional lecture pedagogy, resulted in fewer alternate conceptions related to the particulate nature of matter. Male and female students in the POGIL group posted better posttest scores than their traditional group peers. African-American and Hispanic students in the POGIL group exhibited achievement gains consistent with Caucasian and Asian students. Further studies are needed to determine the value of POGIL to address achievement gap concerns in chemistry.

Medical students preference of problem-based learning or traditional lectures in King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Science.gov (United States)

Ibrahim, Nahla Khamis; Banjar, Shorooq; Al-Ghamdi, Amal; Al-Darmasi, Moroj; Khoja, Abeer; Turkistani, Jamela; Arif, Rwan; Al-Sebyani, Awatif; Musawa, Al-Anoud; Basfar, Wijdan

2014-01-01

Problem-based learning (PBL) is the most important educational innovations in the past 4 decades. The objective of the study was to compare between the preference of medical students for PBL and the preference for traditional lectures regarding learning outcomes (e.g., knowledge, attitude, and skills) gained from both methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted among medical students who studied the hybrid curriculum (PBL and traditional lectures) in King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, in 2011. Data was collected through a pre-constructed, validated, confidentially anonymous, and self-administered questionnaire. Students' perceptions toward PBL and traditional lectures were assessed through their response to 20 statements inquired about both methods of learning using a five-point Likert scale. Descriptive and analytic statistics were performed using SPSS, version 21 (SPSS Inc, Chicago, Ill., USA). Learners preferred PBL more to traditional lectures for better linking the knowledge of basic and clinical sciences (t test=10.15, P .05) was observed regarding the amount of basic knowledge recalled from both methods. Students preferred PBL more to lectures for better learning attitudes, skills, future outcomes, and learning satisfaction (P learn better than lecturing (P traditional lectures for improving most of learning outcome domains, especially, learning attitudes and skills. Introducing hybrid-PBL curriculum in all Saudi universities is highly recommended.

A Laboratory Experiment, Based on the Maillard Reaction, Conducted as a Project in Introductory Statistics

Science.gov (United States)

Kravchuk, Olena; Elliott, Antony; Bhandari, Bhesh

2005-01-01

A simple laboratory experiment, based on the Maillard reaction, served as a project in Introductory Statistics for undergraduates in Food Science and Technology. By using the principles of randomization and replication and reflecting on the sources of variation in the experimental data, students reinforced the statistical concepts and techniques…

ChemSession'06 - 3{sup rd} Seminary of Warsaw PhD Students in Chemistry. Abstracts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zachara, J; Lulinski, S [Warsaw University of Technology, Warsaw (Poland); Dobrowolski, J C [Industrial Chemistry Research Institute, Warsaw (Poland); National Institute of Drugs, Warsaw (Poland); Raczynska, E D [Warsaw University of Life Sciences (SGGW), Warsaw (Poland); Fuks, L [Institute of Nuclear Chemistry and Technology, Warsaw (Poland); Cyranski, M K; Stepien, B T [University of Warsaw, Warsaw (Poland); Sawicki, M G [Cecylia Plater-Zylberkowna High School, Warsaw (Poland)

2006-07-01

3{sup rd} Annual Seminary of Warsaw PhD Students in Chemistry presented the latest achievements in chemistry, obtained in all Warsaw universities and scientific institutes. In 2006 participants presented 4 plenary lectures, and 109 posters. Among others, posters covered four disciplines related to the nuclear sciences: (a) radiobiology and radiotherapy, (b) radiation chemistry and photochemistry, (c) isotopic effects in chemistry, and (d) chemical technology.

ChemSession'07 - 4{sup th} Seminary of Warsaw PhD Students in Chemistry. Abstracts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dobrowolski, J C [Industrial Chemistry Research Institute, Warsaw (Poland); National Institute of Drugs, Warsaw (Poland); Ostrowski, S [Industrial Chemistry Research Institute, Warsaw (Poland); Madura, I; Sporzynski, A; Szatylowicz, H; Zubrowska, A [Warsaw University of Technology, Warsaw (Poland)

2007-07-01

4{sup th} Annual Seminary of Warsaw PhD Students in Chemistry presented the latest achievements in chemistry, obtained in all Warsaw universities and scientific institutes. In 2007 participants presented 4 plenary lectures, and 101 posters. Among others, posters covered four disciplines related to the nuclear sciences: (a) radiobiology and radiotherapy, (b) radiation chemistry and photochemistry, (c) isotopic effects in chemistry, and (d) chemical technology.

Incorporation of Blended Learning in Introductory Courses: A Research-Based Approach to Evaluation

Science.gov (United States)

Strey, S. T.; Charlevoix, D. J.; Guarente, B. A.; Snodgrass, E. R.

2008-12-01

We evaluate the learning outcomes of students in large enrollment classes comparing a blended learning course format and a traditional lecture section. Blended learning, here, describes instruction that is a combination of face-to-face meeting with asynchronous online learning, resulting in reduced class time. The course, Severe and Hazardous Weather, relies heavily on graphics and animations of weather events available online, both current and archived, and thereby lends itself well to a blended format. Severe and Hazardous Weather is a popular general education requirement course at the University of Illinois with consistently high enrollments (greater than 200 students per section) and classes at capacity. Unlike many past studies, this blended learning format is applied to a large-enrollment course of approximately 100 students. Curriculum was redesigned during fall 2007 from typical lecture to the blended format. The redesign process followed best practices grounded in peer-reviewed literature on blended and online learning. We will provide a brief overview of the course structure, but focus on the evaluation of both the curriculum design and student outcomes as compared to the traditional lecture-based course. Evaluation is based on course objectives stated in the course syllabus and is conducted following best practices; the research project received University Institutional Review Board approval prior to the start of the study.

Social network analysis of a project-based introductory physics course

Science.gov (United States)

Oakley, Christopher

2016-03-01

Research suggests that students benefit from peer interaction and active engagement in the classroom. The quality, nature, effect of these interactions is currently being explored by Physics Education Researchers. Spelman College offers an introductory physics sequence that addresses content and research skills by engaging students in open-ended research projects, a form of Project-Based Learning. Students have been surveyed at regular intervals during the second semester of trigonometry-based course to determine the frequency of interactions in and out of class. These interactions can be with current or past students, tutors, and instructors. This line of inquiry focuses on metrics of Social Network analysis, such as centrality of participants as well as segmentation of groups. Further research will refine and highlight deeper questions regarding student performance in this pedagogy and course sequence.

Comparison of effectiveness of class lecture versus workshop-based teaching of basic life support on acquiring practice skills among the health care providers.

Science.gov (United States)

Karim, Habib Md Reazaul; Yunus, Md; Bhattacharyya, Prithwis; Ahmed, Ghazal

2016-01-01

Basic life support (BLS) is an integral part of emergency medical care. Studies have shown poor knowledge of it among health care providers who are usually taught BLS by lecture-based teachings in classes. This study is designed to assess the effectiveness of class lecture versus workshop-based teaching of BLS on acquiring the practice skills on mannequin. After ethical approval and informed consent from the participants, the present study was conducted among the health care providers. Participants were grouped in lecture-based class teaching and workshop-based teaching. They were then asked to practice BLS on mannequin (Resusci Anne with QCPR) and evaluated as per performance parameters based on American Heart Association BLS. Statistical analyses are done by Fisher's exact t-test using GraphPad INSTAT software and P 0.05). Though more than 83% of lecture-based teaching group has started chest compression as compared 96% of workshop group; only 49% of the participants of lecture-based group performed quality chest compression as compared to 82% of other group (P = 0.0005). The workshop group also performed better bag mask ventilation and defibrillation (P < 0.0001). Workshop-based BLS teaching is more effective and lecture-based class teaching better is replaced in medical education curriculum.

Comparison of effectiveness of class lecture versus workshop-based teaching of basic life support on acquiring practice skills among the health care providers

Science.gov (United States)

Karim, Habib Md. Reazaul; Yunus, Md.; Bhattacharyya, Prithwis; Ahmed, Ghazal

2016-01-01

Background: Basic life support (BLS) is an integral part of emergency medical care. Studies have shown poor knowledge of it among health care providers who are usually taught BLS by lecture-based teachings in classes. Objectives: This study is designed to assess the effectiveness of class lecture versus workshop-based teaching of BLS on acquiring the practice skills on mannequin. Methods: After ethical approval and informed consent from the participants, the present study was conducted among the health care providers. Participants were grouped in lecture-based class teaching and workshop-based teaching. They were then asked to practice BLS on mannequin (Resusci Anne with QCPR) and evaluated as per performance parameters based on American Heart Association BLS. Statistical analyses are done by Fisher's exact t-test using GraphPad INSTAT software and P 0.05). Though more than 83% of lecture-based teaching group has started chest compression as compared 96% of workshop group; only 49% of the participants of lecture-based group performed quality chest compression as compared to 82% of other group (P = 0.0005). The workshop group also performed better bag mask ventilation and defibrillation (P < 0.0001). Conclusion: Workshop-based BLS teaching is more effective and lecture-based class teaching better is replaced in medical education curriculum. PMID:27308252

Towards Automated Lecture Capture, Navigation and Delivery System for Web-Lecture on Demand

OpenAIRE

Kannan, Rajkumar; Andres, Frederic

2010-01-01

Institutions all over the world are continuously exploring ways to use ICT in improving teaching and learning effectiveness. The use of course web pages, discussion groups, bulletin boards, and e-mails have shown considerable impact on teaching and learning in significant ways, across all disciplines. ELearning has emerged as an alternative to traditional classroom-based education and training and web lectures can be a powerful addition to traditional lectures. They can even serve as a main c...

Analysis of Copper-Bearing Rocks and Minerals for Their Metal Content Using Visible Spectroscopy: A First Year Chemistry Laboratory Exploration

Science.gov (United States)

Bopegedera, A. M. R. P.

2016-01-01

General chemistry and introductory chemistry students were presented with a laboratory exploration for the determination of the mass percent of copper in rock and mineral samples. They worked independently in the laboratory, which involved multiple lab (pipetting, preparing standard solutions by quantitative dilution, recording visible spectra…

Five Lectures on Photosynthesis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Broda, E.

1979-01-01

These five lectures were held by E. Broda during the International Symposium on Alternative Energies, in September 1979. Lecture 1 – The Great Physicists and Photosynthesis; Lecture 2 – The Influence of Photosynthesis on the Biosphere. Past, Present and Future; Lecture 3 – The Origin of Photosynthesis; Lecture 4 – The Evolution from Photosynthetic Bacteria to Plants; Lecture 5 – Respiration and Photorespiration. (nowak)

Explicit constructivism: a missing link in ineffective lectures?

Science.gov (United States)

Prakash, E S

2010-06-01

This study tested the possibility that interactive lectures explicitly based on activating learners' prior knowledge and driven by a series of logical questions might enhance the effectiveness of lectures. A class of 54 students doing the respiratory system course in the second year of the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery program in my university was randomized to two groups to receive one of two types of lectures, "typical" lectures (n = 28, 18 women and 10 men) or "constructivist" lectures (n = 26, 19 women and 7 men), on the same topic: the regulation of respiration. Student pretest scores in the two groups were comparable (P > 0.1). Students that received the constructivist lectures did much better in the posttest conducted immediately after the lectures (6.8 +/- 3.4 for constructivist lectures vs. 4.2 +/- 2.3 for typical lectures, means +/- SD, P = 0.004). Although both types of lectures were well received, students that received the constructivist lectures appeared to have been more satisfied with their learning experience. However, on a posttest conducted 4 mo later, scores obtained by students in the two groups were not any different (6.9 +/- 3 for constructivist lectures vs. 6.9 +/- 3.7 for typical lectures, P = 0.94). This study adds to the increasing body of evidence that there is a case for the use of interactive lectures that make the construction of knowledge and understanding explicit, easy, and enjoyable to learners.

Energy Connections and Misconnections across Chemistry and Biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Kohn, Kathryn P; Underwood, Sonia M; Cooper, Melanie M

2018-01-01

Despite the number of university students who take courses in multiple science disciplines, little is known about how they connect concepts between disciplines. Energy is a concept that underlies all scientific phenomena and, as such, provides an appropriate context in which to investigate student connections and misconnections across disciplines. In this study, university students concurrently enrolled in introductory chemistry and biology were interviewed to explore their perceptions of the integration of energy both within and across the disciplines, and how they attempted to accommodate and reconcile different disciplinary approaches to energy, to inform future, interdisciplinary course reform. Findings suggest that, while students believed energy to be important to the scientific world and to the disciplines of biology and chemistry, the extent to which it was seen as central to success in their courses varied. Differences were also apparent in students' descriptions of the molecular-level mechanisms by which energy transfer occurs. These findings reveal a disconnect between how energy is understood and used in introductory science course work and uncovers opportunities to make stronger connections across the disciplines. We recommend that instructors engage in interdisciplinary conversations and consider the perspectives and goals of other disciplines when teaching introductory science courses. © 2018 K. P. Kohn et al. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2018 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

Teaching and learning distillation in chemistry laboratory courses

Science.gov (United States)

van Keulen, Hanno; Mulder, Theo H. M.; Goedhart, Martin J.; Verdonk, Adri H.

This study investigates the problems chemistry majors have with learning distillation in traditional chemistry laboratory courses. Using an interpretive cyclic research design, we collected and interpreted data, mainly in the form of observation notes and transcriptions of the discourse that takes place during laboratory courses. It was found that students experience numerous problems; these are described and interpreted. We summarize students' problems in four categories: (a) students use an independent component conception; (b) they have insufficient understanding of the properties of vapor; (c) they regard distillation from a physical point of view; and (d) they do not have a practical understanding of thermodynamics. The main origin of these problems was found to lie with the traditional curriculum structure. Lecture courses and textbooks treat distillation in a generalized and decontextualized way, whereas decisions in actual distillations are always based on contextual features. It was found that textbooks and teachers often do not discriminate carefully and explicitly among five different contexts for distillation: organic synthesis, chemical analysis, analytical chemistry, physical chemistry, and preparation of products. Students take the generalized concepts at face value and apply them to all distillations regardless of context. They cannot interpret their observations or make reasoned decisions based on the theoretical framework of a specific context.Received: 2 May 1994; Revised: 14 December 1994;

Use of Case-Based or Hands-On Laboratory Exercises with Physiology Lectures Improves Knowledge Retention, but Veterinary Medicine Students Prefer Case-Based Activities

Science.gov (United States)

McFee, Renee M.; Cupp, Andrea S.; Wood, Jennifer R.

2018-01-01

Didactic lectures are prevalent in physiology courses within veterinary medicine programs, but more active learning methods have also been utilized. Our goal was to identify the most appropriate learning method to augment the lecture component of our physiology course. We hypothesized that case-based learning would be well received by students and…

Interactive lectures: Clickers or personal devices?

Science.gov (United States)

Morrell, Lesley J; Joyce, Domino A

2015-01-01

Audience response systems ('clickers') are frequently used to promote participation in large lecture classes, and evidence suggests that they convey a number of benefits to students, including improved academic performance and student satisfaction. The limitations of these systems (such as limited access and cost) can be overcome using students' personal electronic devices, such as mobile phones, tablets and laptops together with text message, web- or app-based polling systems. Using questionnaires, we compare student perceptions of clicker and smartphone based polling systems. We find that students prefer interactive lectures generally, but those that used their own device preferred those lectures over lectures using clickers. However, device users were more likely to report using their devices for other purposes (checking email, social media etc.) when they were available to answer polling questions. These students did not feel that this distracted them from the lecture, instead, concerns over the use of smartphones centred around increased battery usage and inclusivity for students without access to suitable technology. Our results suggest that students generally preferred to use their own devices over clickers, and that this may be a sensible way to overcome some of the limitations associated with clickers, although issues surrounding levels of distraction and the implications for retention and recall of information need further investigation.

CANDU lectures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rouben, B.

1984-06-01

This document is a compilation of notes prepared for two lectures given by the author in the winter of 1983 at the Institut de Genie Nucleaire, Ecole Polytechnique, Montreal. The first lecture gives a physical description of the CANDU reactor core: the nuclear lattice, the reactivity mechanisms, their functions and properties. This lecture also covers various aspects of reactor core physics and describes different calculational methods available. The second lecture studies the numerous facets of fuel management in CANDU reactors. The important variables in fuel management, and the rules guiding the refuelling strategy, are presented and illustrated by means of results obtained for the CANDU 600

Implementation of picoSpin Benchtop NMR Instruments into Organic Chemistry Teaching Laboratories through Spectral Analysis of Fischer Esterification Products

Science.gov (United States)

Yearty, Kasey L.; Sharp, Joseph T.; Meehan, Emma K.; Wallace, Doyle R.; Jackson, Douglas M.; Morrison, Richard W.

2017-01-01

[Superscript 1]H NMR analysis is an important analytical technique presented in introductory organic chemistry courses. NMR instrument access is limited for undergraduate organic chemistry students due to the size of the instrument, price of NMR solvents, and the maintenance level required for instrument upkeep. The University of Georgia Chemistry…

Optimizing the continuum of cycle chemistry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mathews, James A. [Electric Power Research Institute, Charlotte, NC (United States). Generation Sector, Steam and Cycle Chemistry

2012-07-15

In 2011 EPRI issued the fourth (4th) major revision to the cycle chemistry guidelines for fossil plants, re-combining the previously segregated ''treatment'' guidelines into a comprehensive document. As with each of the series of previous revisions, the 2011 updated guidelines focus on the optimization of chemistry practices for maintaining the availability, reliability, and economic performance of fossil power plants. A key element in the development and revision of the guidelines is extensive research conducted over the past fifty (50) plus years. Providing an understanding the elements of the power plant cycle and the interrelationships of the best chemistry practices are a basic tenet of the introductory chapters of the guidelines. The target values for each treatment practice and location in the cycle are discussed with specific emphasis on optimization and customization to achieve excellent corrosion protection and elimination of deposition and component damage and failure. The rationale for proper chemistry is presented; for example properly maintaining oxidizing potentials, impact of temperature on pH control, assuring alkaline (sodium) neutralization for controlling boiler corrosion, and other considerations. (orig.)

Constructivist-Based Asynchronous Tutorial to Improve Transfer between Math and Chemistry Domains: Design, Implementation, and Analysis of the Impact of ReMATCH on General Chemistry Course Performance and Confidence

Science.gov (United States)

Barker, M. Danielle

2011-07-01

The two-year implementation of ReMATCH, a web-based math and problem-solving tutorial, in a traditionally arranged general chemistry classroom at the University of Kansas examined the impact of a designed intervention to assist students with the transfer of their mathematical knowledge to a chemistry context where it could be readily used for quantitative problem solving. The ReMATCH intervention, designed on constructivist-based pedagogies, focused on illuminating the expert-processes of problem solving and transferring knowledge across domains to the novice chemistry. The two implementations of ReMATCH -- once as lab assignments and once lecture assignments -- resulted in very different student responses to the intervention. However, within both, the beneficial effects of sustained ReMATCH-use were visible. In 2006, students who attempted all of the ReMATCH homework assignments were predicted to earn ˜5% higher on their total exam points. The 2007 implementation of ReMATCH demonstrated that students who attempted all of the homework problems and visited at least half of the ReMATCH tutorial pages were predicted to earn ˜8.5% higher on their total exam points. Additionally, use of ReMATCH in 2006 also resulted in increased confidence (as measured by comfort-level) with some of the math-related chemistry topics covered in ReMATCH. In 2007, when only students who attempted all of the ReMATCH problems were considered, it became clear that individuals who were initially less confident in their math-related chemistry skills were more likely to view more of the ReMATCH tutorial pages. When students with lower initial comfort-levels on these topics viewed at least half of the ReMATCH tutorial pages, they were able to compensate for their initially lower levels of confidence and were equally comfortable with most of the math-related chemistry topics by the final survey. Student interactions with and perceptions of ReMATCH showed that student attitudes towards Re

Video-based problems in introductory mechanics physics courses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gröber, Sebastian; Klein, Pascal; Kuhn, Jochen

2014-01-01

Introductory mechanics physics courses at the transition from school to university are a challenge for students. They are faced with an abrupt and necessary increase of theoretical content and requirements on their conceptual understanding of phyiscs. In order to support this transition we replaced part of the mandatory weekly theory-based paper-and-pencil problems with video analysis problems of equal content and level of difficulty. Video-based problems (VBP) are a new problem format for teaching physics from a linked sequence of theoretical and video-based experimental tasks. Experimental tasks are related to the well-known concept of video motion analysis. This introduction of an experimental part in recitations allows the establishment of theory–experiment interplay as well as connections between physical content and context fields such as nature, technique, everyday life and applied physics by conducting model-and context-related experiments. Furthermore, laws and formulas as predominantly representative forms are extended by the use of diagrams and vectors. In this paper we give general reasons for this approach, describe the structure and added values of VBP, and show that they cover a relevant part of mechanics courses at university. Emphasis is put on theory–experiment interplay as a structural added value of VBP to promote students' construction of knowledge and conceptual understanding. (paper)

Implementing Inclusive Design for Learning in an introductory geology laboratory

Science.gov (United States)

Robert, G.; Merriman, J. D.; Ceylan, G. M.

2013-12-01

As an expansion of universal design for learning, IDL provides a framework for opening up and adapting classroom interaction systems, minimizing barriers through promoting perception, engagement, expression, and accommodation for diverse learners. We implemented an introductory-level laboratory for communicating the concept of magma viscosity using the guidelines and principles of IDL. We developed the lab as a mini-implementation project for an IDL course offered by the University of Missouri (MU) Graduate School. The laboratory was subsequently taught during the summer session of Principles of Geology in our Department of Geological Sciences. Traditional geology laboratories rely heavily on visual aids, either physical (rocks and minerals) or representative (idealized cartoons of processes, videos), with very few alternative representations and descriptions made available to the students. Our main focus for this new lab was to diversify the means of representation available to the students (and instructor) to make the lab as equitable and flexible as possible. We considered potential barriers to learning arising from the physical lab environment, from the means of representation, engagement and expression, and tried to minimize them upfront. We centred the laboratory on the link between volcano shape and viscosity as an applied way to convey that viscosity is the resistance to flow. The learning goal was to have the students observe that more viscous eruptives resulted in steeper-sided volcanoes through experimentation. Students built their own volcanoes by erupting lava (foods of various viscosities) onto the Earth's surface (a piece of sturdy cardboard with a hole for the 'vent') through a conduit (pastry bag). Such a hands on lab exercise allows students to gain a tactile and visual, i.e., physical representation of an abstract concept. This specific exercise was supported by other, more traditional, means of representation (e.g., lecture, videos, cartoons, 3D

The Effect of the Instructional Media Based on Lecture Video and Slide Synchronization System on Statistics Learning Achievement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Partha Sindu I Gede

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of the use of the instructional media based on lecture video and slide synchronization system on Statistics learning achievement of the students of PTI department . The benefit of this research is to help lecturers in the instructional process i to improve student's learning achievements that lead to better students’ learning outcomes. Students can use instructional media which is created from the lecture video and slide synchronization system to support more interactive self-learning activities. Students can conduct learning activities more efficiently and conductively because synchronized lecture video and slide can assist students in the learning process. The population of this research was all students of semester VI (six majoring in Informatics Engineering Education. The sample of the research was the students of class VI B and VI D of the academic year 2016/2017. The type of research used in this study was quasi-experiment. The research design used was post test only with non equivalent control group design. The result of this research concluded that there was a significant influence in the application of learning media based on lectures video and slide synchronization system on statistics learning result on PTI department.

Taxonomy of Lecture Note-Taking Skills and Subskills

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Musalli, Alaa M.

2015-01-01

Note taking (NT) in lectures is as active a skill as listening, which stimulates it, and as challenging as writing, which is the end product. Literature on lecture NT misses an integration of the processes involved in listening with those in NT. In this article, a taxonomy is proposed of lecture NT skills and subskills based on a similar list…

A smartphone-based introductory astronomy experiment: Seasons investigation

Science.gov (United States)

Durelle, Jeremy; Jones, Jennifer; Merriman, Steven; Balan, Aurelian

2017-02-01

Light sensor probes are useful in experiments that investigate seasonal variations and the nature of light. However, having a dedicated light probe is not always possible or even convenient for many instructors. Modern smartphone technology gives instructors the ability to use built-in light sensors as an inexpensive alternative. This introductory experiment will have students use a smartphone loaded with a light detection app to quantitatively determine how changing latitude on Earth changes flux received. The purpose is to have students discover how the different seasons arise from the Earth-Sun system. While performing the experiment and analyzing the data, students will also discover the following important and relevant physical relationships: distance from light source and light brightness (flux), latitude and flux, and Earth's orientation and location (latitude) of maximum flux. By piecing all of these relationships together, students are able to explain the origins of the different seasons based on the data they collected.

Inference and the Introductory Statistics Course

Science.gov (United States)

Pfannkuch, Maxine; Regan, Matt; Wild, Chris; Budgett, Stephanie; Forbes, Sharleen; Harraway, John; Parsonage, Ross

2011-01-01

This article sets out some of the rationale and arguments for making major changes to the teaching and learning of statistical inference in introductory courses at our universities by changing from a norm-based, mathematical approach to more conceptually accessible computer-based approaches. The core problem of the inferential argument with its…

The Effectiveness of Process-Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning to Reduce Alternative Conceptions in Secondary Chemistry

Science.gov (United States)

Barthlow, Michelle J.; Watson, Scott B.

2014-01-01

A nonequivalent, control group design was used to investigate student achievement in secondary chemistry. This study investigated the effect of process-oriented guided inquiry learning (POGIL) in high school chemistry to reduce alternate conceptions related to the particulate nature of matter versus traditional lecture pedagogy. Data were…

The Robotic Decathlon: Project-Based Learning Labs and Curriculum Design for an Introductory Robotics Course

Science.gov (United States)

Cappelleri, D. J.; Vitoroulis, N.

2013-01-01

This paper presents a series of novel project-based learning labs for an introductory robotics course that are developed into a semester-long Robotic Decathlon. The last three events of the Robotic Decathlon are used as three final one-week-long project tasks; these replace a previous course project that was a semester-long robotics competition.…

Knowledge and Attitude of Medical Students and Lecturers Toward Evidence-Based Medicine: Evidence from Shiraz

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahmad Ghanizadeh

2009-02-01

Full Text Available Background and purpose: The application of diagnostic, therapeutic, and prognostic evidence in day-to-day management of patients has been in constant focus during the last two decades. This study is an attempt to investigate attitude and knowledge of post-graduated medical students and lecturers towards evidence-based medicine (EBM and assess their preferences to clinical practice guidelines.Methods: The designed questionnaire was posted to the randomly selected post-graduated medical students and lecturers of medical department at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences.Results: There were one hundred sixty subjects (60% who answered the questionnaire. Sixty nine percent were male, 46.3% were lecturers, and 53.2% were post-graduated medical students.About 66% of the respondents have heard of the term of EBM. Only 7.8% of the respondents have already attended to a course to learn the skills of EBM and one hundred twenty five (78.1% like to attend a course to learn the skills of EBM. The most common perceived reason for use of EBM was lack of enough motivation.Conclusion: They have not yet integrated the use of EBM into their practices widely. Their knowledge is at a high risk of becoming out of data. Education of EBM should be a hot topic among educationalplanning programmers until it becomes a part of university educational curriculum in Iran.Keywords: POST-GRADUATED MEDICAL STUDENT, LECTURER, KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE, EVIDENCE-BASED MEDICINE, IRAN.

Investigating a model for lecturer training that enables lecturers to plan and carry out meaningful e-learning activities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kjær, Christopher; Hansen, Pernille Stenkil; Christensen, Inger-Marie F.

2014-01-01

This paper reports on the effect of a lecturer training model in the shape of an e-learning project based on research on adult and work-based learning. A survey was conducted to explore participants’ learning experiences. Findings show high overall satisfaction, motivation and engagement. Suggest......This paper reports on the effect of a lecturer training model in the shape of an e-learning project based on research on adult and work-based learning. A survey was conducted to explore participants’ learning experiences. Findings show high overall satisfaction, motivation and engagement...

Student anxiety in introductory biology classrooms: Perceptions about active learning and persistence in the major

Science.gov (United States)

2017-01-01

Many researchers have called for implementation of active learning practices in undergraduate science classrooms as one method to increase retention and persistence in STEM, yet there has been little research on the potential increases in student anxiety that may accompany these practices. This is of concern because excessive anxiety can decrease student performance. Levels and sources of student anxiety in three introductory biology lecture classes were investigated via an online survey and student interviews. The survey (n = 327) data revealed that 16% of students had moderately high classroom anxiety, which differed among the three classes. All five active learning classroom practices that were investigated caused student anxiety, with students voluntarily answering a question or being called on to answer a question causing higher anxiety than working in groups, completing worksheets, or answering clicker questions. Interviews revealed that student anxiety seemed to align with communication apprehension, social anxiety, and test anxiety. Additionally, students with higher general anxiety were more likely to self-report lower course grade and the intention to leave the major. These data suggest that a subset of students in introductory biology experience anxiety in response to active learning, and its potential impacts should be investigated. PMID:28771564

Impact of Case-Based Lectures on Students' Performance in Vascular Physiology Module

Science.gov (United States)

Latif, Rabia

2014-01-01

Lecture-Based Teaching (LBT) remains the predominant form of teaching in healthcare profession education. It is excellent in providing an overview of a particular topic to a large number of students. However, the concern, which has been highlighted time and again, is the monotony and passive nature of this form of information transmission, which…

Plasma medicine: an introductory review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kong, M G; Kroesen, G; Van Dijk, J; Morfill, G; Nosenko, T; Shimizu, T; Zimmermann, J L

2009-01-01

This introductory review on plasma health care is intended to provide the interested reader with a summary of the current status of this emerging field, its scope, and its broad interdisciplinary approach, ranging from plasma physics, chemistry and technology, to microbiology, biochemistry, biophysics, medicine and hygiene. Apart from the basic plasma processes and the restrictions and requirements set by international health standards, the review focuses on plasma interaction with prokaryotic cells (bacteria), eukaryotic cells (mammalian cells), cell membranes, DNA etc. In so doing, some of the unfamiliar terminology-an unavoidable by-product of interdisciplinary research-is covered and explained. Plasma health care may provide a fast and efficient new path for effective hospital (and other public buildings) hygiene-helping to prevent and contain diseases that are continuously gaining ground as resistance of pathogens to antibiotics grows. The delivery of medically active 'substances' at the molecular or ionic level is another exciting topic of research through effects on cell walls (permeabilization), cell excitation (paracrine action) and the introduction of reactive species into cell cytoplasm. Electric fields, charging of surfaces, current flows etc can also affect tissue in a controlled way. The field is young and hopes are high. It is fitting to cover the beginnings in New Journal of Physics, since it is the physics (and non-equilibrium chemistry) of room temperature atmospheric pressure plasmas that have made this development of plasma health care possible.

Vocal intensity in lecturers: Results of measurements conducted during lecture sessions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Witold Mikulski

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Background: Occupational voice users (inter alia: lecturers speak with different levels of vocal intensity. Speakers adjust this intensity knowingly (e.g. to underline the importance of fragments of the speech or unknowingly. The unknown adjustment of voice intensity occurs e.g. in the presence of high acoustic background noise (so-called Lombard effect, but it also results from many other factors: hearing loss, construction of the vocal tract, habits and others. The aim of the article is to confirm the thesis that in similar conditions of acoustic properties of the room different lecturers speak with different levels of vocal intensity. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted in a group of 10 lecturers in the same conference room. A-weighted sound pressure level determined at 1 m from the lecturer's mouth was adopted as a parameter defining the intensity of the lecturer's voice. The levels of all lecturers' voice intensity were compared and evaluated according to the criteria defined in EN ISO 9921. Results: Nine in ten lecturers were speaking with normal voice intensity (60-65 dB and only one full-time university lecturer was speaking with raised voice (66-71 dB. Conclusions: It was found that in the room of the same acoustic conditions the lecturers spoke with different intensities of voice. Some lecturers occasionally, and one all the time spoke with the voice intensity specified by PN-EN ISO 9921 as a raised voice. The results of the preliminary study warrant further studies in a larger group of teachers. Med Pr 2013;64(6:797–804

satlc applications as examples for systemic chemistry education

African Journals Online (AJOL)

IICBA01

Systemic Approach to Teaching and Learning [SATL] has evolved in the field of .... sciences, engineering sciences, agriculture, and pharmaceutical sciences. .... A study of the efficacy of systemic methods applied to the first semester of the second year organic chemistry course (16 lectures, 32 hours) at Zagazeg University ...

NATO Advanced Study Institute on Pollutants from Combustion Formation and Impact on Atmospheric Chemistry

CERN Document Server

2000-01-01

This volume is based on the lectures presented at the NATO Advanced Study Institute: (ASI) «Pollutants Formation from Combustion. Formation Mechanisms and Impact on th th Atmospheric Chemistry» held in Maratea, Italy, from 13 to 26 september 1998. Preservation of the environment is of increasing concern in individual countries but also at continental or world scales. The structure of a NATO ASI which involve lecturers and participants of different nationalities was thought as especially well suited to address environmental issues. As combustion is known to substantially contribute to the damaging of the atmosphere, it was natural to concentrate the ASI program on reviewing the currently available knowledge of the formation mechanisms of the main pollutants liberated by combustion systems. In most situations, pollutants are present as trace components and their formation and removal is strongly conditioned by the chemical reactions initiated by fuel consumption. Therefore specific lectures were aimed at defi...

Comparison of student confidence and perceptions of biochemistry concepts using a team-based learning versus traditional lecture-based format.

Science.gov (United States)

Gryka, Rebecca; Kiersma, Mary E; Frame, Tracy R; Cailor, Stephanie M; Chen, Aleda M H

To evaluate differences in student confidence and perceptions of biochemistry concepts using a team-based learning (TBL) format versus a traditional lecture-based format at two universities. Two pedagogies (TBL vs lecture-based) were utilized to deliver biochemistry concepts at two universities in a first-professional year, semester-long biochemistry course. A 21-item instrument was created and administered pre-post semester to assess changes in confidence in learning biochemistry concepts using Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory (eight items, 5-point, Likert-type) and changes in student perceptions of biochemistry utilizing the theory of planned behavior (TPB) domains (13 items, 7- point, Likert-type). Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were used to evaluate pre-post changes, and Mann Whitney U tests for differences between universities. All students (N=111) had more confidence in biochemistry concepts post-semester, but TBL students (N=53) were significantly more confident. TBL students also had greater agreement that they are expected to actively engage in science courses post-semester, according to the perceptions of biochemistry subscale. No other differences between lecture and TBL were observed post-semester. Students in a TBL course had greater gains in confidence. Since students often engage in tasks where they feel confident, TBL can be a useful pedagogy to promote student learning. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Lectures Abandoned: Active Learning by Active Seminars

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Henrik Bærbak; Corry, Aino Vonge

2012-01-01

Traditional lecture-based courses are widely criticised for be- ing less eective in teaching. The question is of course what should replace the lectures and various active learning tech- niques have been suggested and studied. In this paper, we report on our experiences of redesigning a software ......- tive seminars as a replacement of traditional lectures, an activity template for the contents of active seminars, an ac- count on how storytelling supported the seminars, as well as reports on our and the students' experiences....

Deep learning for computational chemistry.

Science.gov (United States)

Goh, Garrett B; Hodas, Nathan O; Vishnu, Abhinav

2017-06-15

The rise and fall of artificial neural networks is well documented in the scientific literature of both computer science and computational chemistry. Yet almost two decades later, we are now seeing a resurgence of interest in deep learning, a machine learning algorithm based on multilayer neural networks. Within the last few years, we have seen the transformative impact of deep learning in many domains, particularly in speech recognition and computer vision, to the extent that the majority of expert practitioners in those field are now regularly eschewing prior established models in favor of deep learning models. In this review, we provide an introductory overview into the theory of deep neural networks and their unique properties that distinguish them from traditional machine learning algorithms used in cheminformatics. By providing an overview of the variety of emerging applications of deep neural networks, we highlight its ubiquity and broad applicability to a wide range of challenges in the field, including quantitative structure activity relationship, virtual screening, protein structure prediction, quantum chemistry, materials design, and property prediction. In reviewing the performance of deep neural networks, we observed a consistent outperformance against non-neural networks state-of-the-art models across disparate research topics, and deep neural network-based models often exceeded the "glass ceiling" expectations of their respective tasks. Coupled with the maturity of GPU-accelerated computing for training deep neural networks and the exponential growth of chemical data on which to train these networks on, we anticipate that deep learning algorithms will be a valuable tool for computational chemistry. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Brief introductory guide to agent-based modeling and an illustration from urban health research

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amy H. Auchincloss

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract There is growing interest among urban health researchers in addressing complex problems using conceptual and computation models from the field of complex systems. Agent-based modeling (ABM is one computational modeling tool that has received a lot of interest. However, many researchers remain unfamiliar with developing and carrying out an ABM, hindering the understanding and application of it. This paper first presents a brief introductory guide to carrying out a simple agent-based model. Then, the method is illustrated by discussing a previously developed agent-based model, which explored inequalities in diet in the context of urban residential segregation.

Brief introductory guide to agent-based modeling and an illustration from urban health research.

Science.gov (United States)

Auchincloss, Amy H; Garcia, Leandro Martin Totaro

2015-11-01

There is growing interest among urban health researchers in addressing complex problems using conceptual and computation models from the field of complex systems. Agent-based modeling (ABM) is one computational modeling tool that has received a lot of interest. However, many researchers remain unfamiliar with developing and carrying out an ABM, hindering the understanding and application of it. This paper first presents a brief introductory guide to carrying out a simple agent-based model. Then, the method is illustrated by discussing a previously developed agent-based model, which explored inequalities in diet in the context of urban residential segregation.

Active Learning Outside the Classroom: Implementation and Outcomes of Peer-Led Team-Learning Workshops in Introductory Biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Kudish, Philip; Shores, Robin; McClung, Alex; Smulyan, Lisa; Vallen, Elizabeth A; Siwicki, Kathleen K

2016-01-01

Study group meetings (SGMs) are voluntary-attendance peer-led team-learning workshops that supplement introductory biology lectures at a selective liberal arts college. While supporting all students' engagement with lecture material, specific aims are to improve the success of underrepresented minority (URM) students and those with weaker backgrounds in biology. Peer leaders with experience in biology courses and training in science pedagogy facilitate work on faculty-generated challenge problems. During the eight semesters assessed in this study, URM students and those with less preparation attended SGMs with equal or greater frequency than their counterparts. Most agreed that SGMs enhanced their comprehension of biology and ability to articulate solutions. The historical grade gap between URM and non-URM students narrowed slightly in Biology 2, but not in other biology and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics courses. Nonetheless, URM students taking introductory biology after program implementation have graduated with biology majors or minors at the same rates as non-URM students, and have enrolled in postcollege degree programs at equal or greater rates. These results suggest that improved performance as measured by science grade point average may not be necessary to improve the persistence of students from underrepresented groups as life sciences majors. © 2016 P. Kudish et al. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2016 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

An Introduction to the Fundamentals of Chemistry for the Marine Engineer.

Science.gov (United States)

Schlenker, Richard M.

This document describes an introduction course in the fundamentals of chemistry for marine engineers. The course is modularized, audio tutorial allowing the student to progress at his own rate while integrating laboratory and lecture materials. (SL)

Active Learning in PhysicsTechnology and Research-based Techniques Emphasizing Interactive Lecture Demonstrations

Science.gov (United States)

Thornton, Ronald

2010-10-01

Physics education research has shown that learning environments that engage students and allow them to take an active part in their learning can lead to large conceptual gains compared to traditional instruction. Examples of successful curricula and methods include Peer Instruction, Just in Time Teaching, RealTime Physics, Workshop Physics, Scale-Up, and Interactive Lecture Demonstrations (ILDs). An active learning environment is often difficult to achieve in lecture sessions. This presentation will demonstrate the use of sequences of Interactive Lecture Demonstrations (ILDs) that use real experiments often involving real-time data collection and display combined with student interaction to create an active learning environment in large or small lecture classes. Interactive lecture demonstrations will be done in the area of mechanics using real-time motion probes and the Visualizer. A video tape of students involved in interactive lecture demonstrations will be shown. The results of a number of research studies at various institutions (including international) to measure the effectiveness of ILDs and guided inquiry conceptual laboratories will be presented.

Computer-Based Self-Instructional Modules. Final Technical Report.

Science.gov (United States)

Weinstock, Harold

Reported is a project involving seven chemists, six mathematicians, and six physicists in the production of computer-based, self-study modules for use in introductory college courses in chemistry, physics, and mathematics. These modules were designed to be used by students and instructors with little or no computer backgrounds, in institutions…

ACADEMIC TRAINING LECTURE

CERN Multimedia

Academic Training; Tel 73127

2001-01-01

28, 29, 30, 31 May and 1 June REGULAR LECTURE PROGRAMME From 11:00 hrs - Main Auditorium bldg. 500 Quantum computing and Quantum cryptography T. Hey / University of Southampton, GB, and D. Ross / CERN-TH This course will give both an overview and a detailed introduction to quantum computing and quantum cryptography. The first lecture will survey the field, starting from its origins in Feyman's lecture in 1981. The next three lectures will explain in detail the relevance of Bell states and the workings of Grover's Quantum Search and Shor's quantum factorization algorithms. In addition, an explanation of quantum teleportation will be given. The last lecture will survey the recent progress towards realizing working quantum computers and quantum cryptographic systems.

Creation and Assessment of an Active E-Learning Introductory Geoscience Course

Science.gov (United States)

Sit, S. M.; Brudzinski, M. R.

2014-12-01

The recent emphasis in higher education on both student engagement and online learning has encouraged us to work on the development of an active e-learning environment for our ~90 student undergraduate introductory geohazards course. To begin designing our course, we established a set of student learning outcomes (SLOs) focused on key scientific investigation skills, like analyzing data, evaluating hypotheses, and conveying information to peers. We designed these outcomes to provide students with powerful reasoning and critical thinking skills. Along with this new framework and increased student expectations, we found it beneficial to additionally establish student development outcomes (SDOs). Specifically, SDOs were constructed to address self-evaluation, student responsibility for learning, and valuing group work. Based on these new SLOs and SDOs, we developed a set of course components that engaged students in content, authentic scientific investigations, and group discussions, all within an online environment. The course includes common online learning features like video lectures and comprehension quizzes, but also uses 50% of class periods for student investigation assignments that are conducted using Google Earth and Microsoft Excel. For those assignments, students commonly utilize a short video tutorial demonstrating a new software skill and then apply that knowledge towards investigating topics such as predicting population growth in India or identifying types of volcanoes observed in Hawaii. Results from multiple semesters of teaching both a hybrid and completely online course show significant gains in the geoscience concept inventory over traditional and redesigned face-to-face courses. Additionally, student survey and evaluation data show that our online course improves on SLOs and SDOs when compared to a traditional lecture based course and achieve similar results to a redesigned face-to-face course focused on engagement. In particular, at the end of

Arrow Pushing: A Rational, Participatory Approach to Teaching Descriptive Inorganic Chemistry

Science.gov (United States)

Berg, Steffen; Ghosh, Abhik

2011-01-01

Inorganic chemistry at core consists of a vast array of molecules and chemical reactions. To master the subject, students must learn to think intelligently about this vast body of facts, a feat seldom accomplished in an introductory course. All too often, young undergraduate students perceive the field as an amorphous and illogical body of…

A Theory Based Introductory Programming Course

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Michael Reichhardt; Kristensen, Jens Thyge; Rischel, Hans

1999-01-01

This paper presents an introductory programming course designed to teach programming as an intellectual activity. The course emphasizes understandable concepts which can be useful in designing programs, while the oddities of today's technology are considered of secondary importance. An important...... goal is to fight the trial-and-error approach to programming which is a result of the students battles with horribly designed and documented systems and languages prior to their studies at university. Instead, the authors strive for giving the students a good experience of programming as a systematic......, intellectual activity where the solution of a programming problem can be described in an understandable way. The approach is illustrated by an example which is a commented solution of a problem posed to the students in the course....

Aqueous chemistry of transactinides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schaedel, M.

2001-01-01

The aqueous chemistry of the first three transactinide elements is briefly reviewed with special emphasis given to recent experimental results. Short introductory remarks are discussing the atom-at-a-time situation of transactinide chemistry as a result of low production cross-sections and short half-lives. In general, on-line experimental techniques and, more specifically, the automated rapid chemistry apparatus, ARCA, are presented. Present and future developments of experimental techniques and resulting perspectives are outlined at the end. The central part is mainly focussing on hydrolysis and complex formation aspects of the superheavy group 4, 5, and 6 transition metals with F - and Cl - anions. Experimental results are compared with the behaviour of lighter homologous elements and with relativistic calculations. It will be shown that the chemical behaviour of the first superheavy elements is already strongly influenced by relativistic effects. While it is justified to place rutherfordium, dubnium and seaborgium in the Periodic Table of the Elements into group 4, 5 and 6, respectively, it is no more possible to deduce from this position in detail the chemical properties of these transactinide or superheavy elements. (orig.)

5. National Conference on Radiochemistry and Nuclear Chemistry. Abstracts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fuks, L.

2009-01-01

Held in Krakow-Przegorzaly (24-27 May 2009) 5. National Conference on Radiochemistry and Nuclear Chemistry focused on the following research topics: (a) radioanalytical methods; (b) environmental studies; (c) radiopharmacy; (d) isotopic effects; (e) nuclear safety. Participants presented 6 plenary lectures, 24 communications and 38 posters

Mathematization in introductory physics

Science.gov (United States)

Brahmia, Suzanne M.

Mathematization is central to STEM disciplines as a cornerstone of the quantitative reasoning that characterizes these fields. Introductory physics is required for most STEM majors in part so that students develop expert-like mathematization. This dissertation describes coordinated research and curriculum development for strengthening mathematization in introductory physics; it blends scholarship in physics and mathematics education in the form of three papers. The first paper explores mathematization in the context of physics, and makes an original contribution to the measurement of physics students' struggle to mathematize. Instructors naturally assume students have a conceptual mastery of algebra before embarking on a college physics course because these students are enrolled in math courses beyond algebra. This paper provides evidence that refutes the validity of this assumption and categorizes some of the barriers students commonly encounter with quantification and representing ideas symbolically. The second paper develops a model of instruction that can help students progress from their starting points to their instructor's desired endpoints. Instructors recognize that the introductory physics course introduces new ideas at an astonishing rate. More than most physicists realize, however, the way that mathematics is used in the course is foreign to a large portion of class. This paper puts forth an instructional model that can move all students toward better quantitative and physical reasoning, despite the substantial variability of those students' initial states. The third paper describes the design and testing of curricular materials that foster mathematical creativity to prepare students to better understand physics reasoning. Few students enter introductory physics with experience generating equations in response to specific challenges involving unfamiliar quantities and units, yet this generative use of mathematics is typical of the thinking involved in

Comparison of two methods: TBL-based and lecture-based learning in nursing care of patients with diabetes in nursing students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Masoud Khodaveisi

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Learning plays an important role in developing nursing skills and right care-taking. The Present study aims to evaluate two learning methods based on team –based learning and lecture-based learning in learning care-taking of patients with diabetes in nursing students. In this quasi-experimental study, 64 students in term 4 in nursing college of Bukan and Miandoab were included in the study based on knowledge and performance questionnaire including 15 questions based on knowledge and 5 questions based on performance on care-taking in patients with diabetes were used as data collection tool whose reliability was confirmed by cronbach alpha (r=0.83 by the researcher. To compare the mean score of knowledge and performance in each group in pre-test step and post-test step, pair –t test and to compare mean of scores in two groups of control and intervention, the independent t- test was used. There was not significant statistical difference between two groups in pre terms of knowledge and performance score (p=0.784. There was significant difference between the mean of knowledge scores and diabetes performance in the post-test in the team-based learning group and lecture-based learning group (p=0.001. There was significant difference between the mean score of knowledge of diabetes care in pre-test and post-test in base learning groups (p=0.001. In both methods team-based and lecture-based learning approaches resulted in improvement in learning in students, but the rate of learning in the team-based learning approach is greater compared to that of lecturebased learning and it is recommended that this method be used as a higher education method in the education of students.

Principles of Chemistry (by Michael Munowitz)

Science.gov (United States)

Kovac, Reviewed By Jeffrey

2000-05-01

principles. This is a very conceptual book. Each chapter has two parts, which are distinguished by having different-colored pages: white and gray. The first part of every chapter is a lovely conceptual development of the "big picture". In these white pages, there are no sample problems, no tables of data, just elegant prose liberally illustrated with graphs and diagrams. Mathematical and chemical equations and chemical structures are presented as needed, but the goal is to provide the reader with a conceptual understanding. I found these introductory "lectures", as Munowitz terms them, to be enchanting. The second part of each chapter is a review and guide to problems, what Munowitz calls the "recitation" section. These pages are gray. This second section gives a brief summary of the material, which is followed by a series of worked examples that apply the concepts to practical problems. This structure reflects the author's pedagogical philosophy--begin with the general and move to the specific--and his view of chemistry as a combination of "lofty principles and gritty practicality". Following the worked examples, of course, are exercises for the student, ranging from simple drill problems to more sophisticated applications of the principles. I was a little disappointed, however, that there were so few conceptual exercises. Although Munowitz describes the second part of each chapter as a review and applications, he does put new material into the sample problems. For example, in Chapter 3 the concept of oxidation numbers is introduced and sample problems on the assignment of oxidation numbers are presented. Then, in example 3-3, the concept of formal charge is presented as a contrast to the oxidation number even though this idea had not been previously introduced. The dual structure of white and gray pages makes this book unique but also very long. The combined length of the white sections is about 800 pages, but an approximately 25-page conceptual section is always followed

The Use of Modular Computer-Based Lessons in a Modification of the Classical Introductory Course in Organic Chemistry.

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Stotter, Philip L.; Culp, George H.

An experimental course in organic chemistry utilized computer-assisted instructional (CAI) techniques. The CAI lessons provided tutorial drill and practice and simulated experiments and reactions. The Conversational Language for Instruction and Computing was used, along with a CDC 6400-6600 system; students scheduled and completed the lessons at…

Lectures on quasiconformal mappings

CERN Document Server

Ahlfors, Lars V

2006-01-01

Lars Ahlfors's Lectures on Quasiconformal Mappings, based on a course he gave at Harvard University in the spring term of 1964, was first published in 1966 and was soon recognized as the classic it was shortly destined to become. These lectures develop the theory of quasiconformal mappings from scratch, give a self-contained treatment of the Beltrami equation, and cover the basic properties of Teichm�ller spaces, including the Bers embedding and the Teichm�ller curve. It is remarkable how Ahlfors goes straight to the heart of the matter, presenting major results with a minimum set of prerequisites. Many graduate students and other mathematicians have learned the foundations of the theories of quasiconformal mappings and Teichm�ller spaces from these lecture notes. This edition includes three new chapters. The first, written by Earle and Kra, describes further developments in the theory of Teichm�ller spaces and provides many references to the vast literature on Teichm�ller spaces and quasiconformal ...

Structure-based classification and ontology in chemistry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hastings Janna

2012-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Recent years have seen an explosion in the availability of data in the chemistry domain. With this information explosion, however, retrieving relevant results from the available information, and organising those results, become even harder problems. Computational processing is essential to filter and organise the available resources so as to better facilitate the work of scientists. Ontologies encode expert domain knowledge in a hierarchically organised machine-processable format. One such ontology for the chemical domain is ChEBI. ChEBI provides a classification of chemicals based on their structural features and a role or activity-based classification. An example of a structure-based class is 'pentacyclic compound' (compounds containing five-ring structures, while an example of a role-based class is 'analgesic', since many different chemicals can act as analgesics without sharing structural features. Structure-based classification in chemistry exploits elegant regularities and symmetries in the underlying chemical domain. As yet, there has been neither a systematic analysis of the types of structural classification in use in chemistry nor a comparison to the capabilities of available technologies. Results We analyze the different categories of structural classes in chemistry, presenting a list of patterns for features found in class definitions. We compare these patterns of class definition to tools which allow for automation of hierarchy construction within cheminformatics and within logic-based ontology technology, going into detail in the latter case with respect to the expressive capabilities of the Web Ontology Language and recent extensions for modelling structured objects. Finally we discuss the relationships and interactions between cheminformatics approaches and logic-based approaches. Conclusion Systems that perform intelligent reasoning tasks on chemistry data require a diverse set of underlying computational

A Demonstration of Evidence-Based Action Research Using Information Dashboard in Introductory Programming Education

OpenAIRE

Matsuzawa , Yoshiaki; Tanaka , Yoshiki; Kitani , Tomoya; Sakai , Sanshiro

2017-01-01

Part 3: Computer Science Education and Its Future Focus and Development; International audience; In this paper, we demonstrated an evidence-based action research in an introductory programming class with the use of an information dashboard which provides coding metrics to visualize students’ engagement of their assignments. The information dashboard was designed for teachers to improve their classroom teaching using the same coding metrics which was verified in our previous research [9]. The ...

Looking forward: a glance into the future of organic chemistry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Compain, Ph.; Desvergnes, V.; Suzenet, F.; Ollivier, C.; Robert, F.; Mihail, Barboiu; Belmont, Ph.; Bleriot, Y.; Bolze, F.; Bouquillon, S.; Bourguet, E.; Braida, B.; Constantieux, Th.; Desaubry, L.; Dupont, D.; Gastaldi, St.; Jerome, F.; Legoupy, St.; Marat, X.; Migaud, M.; Moitessier, N.; Papot, S.; Peri, F.; Petit, M.; Py, S.; Schulz, E.; Tranoy-Opalinski, I.; Vauzeilles, B.; Vayron, Ph.; Vergnes, L.; Vidal, S.; Wilmouth, S.

2006-01-01

What will organic chemistry do in the next forty years? This Perspective lists six tasks that have emerged during the first edition of ESYOP, a symposium devoted to the future of organic chemistry. The collective answer presented has been elaborated following a 4-step process: stimulating plenary lectures given by outstanding chemists and philosophers, short presentations given by each participant (average age: 34 years old), think-tank sessions and writing of the final report after the symposium. (authors)

Examining issues of underrepresented minority students in introductory physics

Science.gov (United States)

Watkins, Jessica Ellen

In this dissertation we examine several issues related to the retention of under-represented minority students in physics and science. In the first section, we show that in calculus-based introductory physics courses, the gender gap on the FCI is diminished through the use of interactive techniques, but in lower-level introductory courses, the gap persists, similar to reports published at other institutions. We find that under-represented racial minorities perform similar to their peers with comparable academic preparation on conceptual surveys, but their average exam grades and course grades are lower. We also examine student persistence in science majors; finding a significant relationship between pedagogy in an introductory physics course and persistence in science. In the second section, we look at student end-of-semester evaluations and find that female students rate interactive teaching methods a full point lower than their male peers. Looking more deeply at student interview data, we find that female students report more social issues related to the discussions in class and both male and female students cite feeling pressure to obtain the correct answer to clicker questions. Finally, we take a look an often-cited claim for gender differences in STEM participation: cognitive differences explain achievement differences in physics. We examine specifically the role of mental rotations in physics achievement and problem-solving, viewing mental rotations as a tool that students can use on physics problems. We first look at student survey results for lower-level introductory students, finding a low, but significant correlation between performance on a mental rotations test and performance in introductory physics courses. In contrast, we did not find a significant relationship for students in the upper-level introductory course. We also examine student problem-solving interviews to investigate the role of mental rotations on introductory problems.

ChemSession'09 - 6. Warsaw Seminar of the PhD Students in Chemistry - Abstracts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2009-01-01

Book of Abstracts contains short descriptions of presentations 3 lectures and 105 posters presented during ChemSession'09 - 6 th Warsaw Seminar of the PhD Students in Chemistry. Several posters were devoted to the radiochemistry, radiochemical analysis, radiation chemistry and radiobiology. Some posters on the material science dealing with materials important to nuclear sciences can be also found

Exploring physics students' engagement with online instructional videos in an introductory mechanics course

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Shih-Yin; Aiken, John M.; Seaton, Daniel T.; Douglas, Scott S.; Greco, Edwin F.; Thoms, Brian D.; Schatz, Michael F.

2017-12-01

The advent of new educational technologies has stimulated interest in using online videos to deliver content in university courses. We examined student engagement with 78 online videos that we created and were incorporated into a one-semester flipped introductory mechanics course at the Georgia Institute of Technology. We found that students were more engaged with videos that supported laboratory activities than with videos that presented lecture content. In particular, the percentage of students accessing laboratory videos was consistently greater than 80% throughout the semester. On the other hand, the percentage of students accessing lecture videos dropped to less than 40% by the end of the term. Moreover, the fraction of students accessing the entirety of a video decreases when videos become longer in length, and this trend is more prominent for the lecture videos than the laboratory videos. The results suggest that students may access videos based on perceived value: students appear to consider the laboratory videos as essential for successfully completing the laboratories while they appear to consider the lecture videos as something more akin to supplemental material. In this study, we also found that there was little correlation between student engagement with the videos and their incoming background. There was also little correlation found between student engagement with the videos and their performance in the course. An examination of the in-video content suggests that students engaged more with concrete information that is explicitly required for assignment completion (e.g., actions required to complete laboratory work, or formulas or mathematical expressions needed to solve particular problems) and less with content that is considered more conceptual in nature. It was also found that students' in-video accesses usually increased toward the embedded interaction points. However, students did not necessarily access the follow-up discussion of these

Introductory Graduate Research Courses: An Examination of the Knowledge Base.

Science.gov (United States)

Mundfrom, Daniel J.; Shaw, Dale G.; Thomas, Ann; Young, Suzanne; Moore, Alan D.

This study addresses the question, "What should graduate students know about research and statistics after completing an initial course?" Individuals who teach such courses at various Carnegie classifications of institutions were surveyed about the specific characteristics of an introductory graduate research course at their own institutions to…

Effects on Student Achievement in General Chemistry Following Participation in an Online Preparatory Course. ChemPrep, a Voluntary, Self-Paced, Online Introduction to Chemistry

Science.gov (United States)

Botch, Beatrice; Day, Roberta; Vining, William; Stewart, Barbara; Rath, Kenneth; Peterfreund, Alan; Hart, David

2007-03-01

ChemPrep was developed to be a stand-alone preparatory short-course to help students succeed in general chemistry. It is Web-based and delivered using the OWL system. Students reported that the ChemPrep materials (short information pages, parameterized questions with detailed feedback, tutorials, and answers to questions through the OWL message system) permitted them to work independently without the need for textbook or lecture. On average, students who completed ChemPrep had higher grades in the subsequent GenChem, Nursing, and Honors chemistry courses, with a greater percentage achieving a grade of C- or higher. Participation in ChemPrep was voluntary, and more women than men responded. Students in the Honors course enrolled in ChemPrep in higher percentages than students in GenChem and Nursing. SAT and departmental math placement exam scores were used as proxy measures of prior achievement and ability. Based on these, Honors chemistry ChemPrep users were on par with their peers but performed better in the course than non-users. In GenChem and Nursing chemistry courses, ChemPrep helped students of high prior achievement and ability perform better than their achievement scores would predict. Weaker or less motivated students did not respond to the voluntary offerings of ChemPrep in the same numbers as stronger or more motivated students, and we are seeking alternate ways to reach this population.

Chemistry in protoplanetary disks

Science.gov (United States)

Semenov, D. A.

2012-01-01

In this lecture I discuss recent progress in the understanding of the chemical evolution of protoplanetary disks that resemble our Solar system during the first ten million years. At the verge of planet formation, strong variations of temperature, density, and radiation intensities in these disks lead to a layered chemical structure. In hot, dilute and heavily irradiated atmosphere only simple radicals, atoms, and atomic ions can survive, formed and destroyed by gas-phase processes. Beneath the atmosphere a partly UV-shielded, warm molecular layer is located, where high-energy radiation drives rich chemistry, both in the gas phase and on dust surfaces. In a cold, dense, dark disk midplane many molecules are frozen out, forming thick icy mantles where surface chemistry is active and where complex (organic) species are synthesized.

Transforming an Introductory Programming Course: From Lectures to Active Learning via Wireless Laptops

Science.gov (United States)

Barak, Miri; Harward, Judson; Kocur, George; Lerman, Steven

2007-08-01

Within the framework of MIT's course 1.00: Introduction to Computers and Engineering Problem Solving, this paper describes an innovative project entitled: Studio 1.00 that integrates lectures with in-class demonstrations, active learning sessions, and on-task feedback, through the use of wireless laptop computers. This paper also describes a related evaluation study that investigated the effectiveness of different instructional strategies, comparing traditional teaching with two models of the studio format. Students' learning outcomes, specifically, their final grades and conceptual understanding of computational methods and programming, were examined. Findings indicated that Studio-1.00, in both its extensive- and partial-active learning modes, enhanced students' learning outcomes in Java programming. Comparing to the traditional courses, more students in the studio courses received "A" as their final grade and less failed. Moreover, students who regularly attended the active learning sessions were able to conceptualize programming principles better than their peers. We have also found two weaknesses in the teaching format of Studio-1.00 that can guide future versions of the course.

Water Chemistry Section: progress report (1981-82)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dharwadkar, S.R.; Ramshesh, V.

1983-01-01

The activities of the Water Chemistry Section of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Bombay, during the years 1981 and 1982 are reported in the form of individual summaries. The research activities of the Section cover the following areas: (1) chemistry and thermodynamics of nuclear materials, (2) crystal structure of organo-metallic complexes using X-ray diffraction, (3) thermophysical and phase transition studies, (4) solid state chemistry and thermochemical studies, (5) water and steam chemistry of heavy water plants and phwr type reactors, and (6) uranium isotope exchange studies. A survey is also given of: (i) the Section's participation in advisory and consultancy services in nuclear and thermal power stations, (ii) training activities, and (iii) assistance in chemical analysis by various techniques to other units of BARC and outside agencies. A list of publications and lectures by the staff during the report period is included. (M.G.B.)

A Thematic Review of Studies into the Effectiveness of Context-Based Chemistry Curricula

Science.gov (United States)

Ültay, Neslihan; Çalık, Muammer

2012-12-01

Context-based chemistry education aims at making connections between real life and the scientific content of chemistry courses. The purpose of this study was to evaluate context-based chemistry studies. In looking for the context-based chemistry studies, the authors entered the keywords `context-based', `contextual learning' and `chemistry education' in well-known databases (i.e. Academic Search Complete, Education Research Complete, ERIC, Springer LINK Contemporary). Further, in case the computer search by key words may have missed a rather substantial part of the important literature in the area, the authors also conducted a hand search of the related journals. To present a detailed thematic review of context-based chemistry studies, a matrix was used to summarize the findings by focusing on insights derived from the related studies. The matrix incorporates the following themes: needs, aims, methodologies, general knowledge claims, and implications for teaching and learning, implications for curriculum development and suggestions for future research. The general knowledge claims investigated in this paper were: (a) positive effects of the context-based chemistry studies; (b) caveats, both are examined in terms of students' attitudes and students' understanding/cognition. Implications were investigated for practice in context- based chemistry studies, for future research in context- based chemistry studies, and for curriculum developers in context- based chemistry studies. Teachers of context-based courses claimed that the application of the context-based learning approach in chemistry education improved students' motivation and interest in the subject. This seems to have generated an increase in the number of the students who wish to continue chemistry education at higher levels. However, despite the fact that the majority of the studies have reported advantages of context-based chemistry studies, some of them have also referred to pitfalls, i.e. dominant

Creation and Assessment of an Active e-Learning Introductory Geology Course

Science.gov (United States)

Sit, Stefany M.; Brudzinski, Michael R.

2017-12-01

The recent emphasis in higher education on both student engagement and online learning encouraged the authors to develop an active e-learning environment for an introductory geohazards course, which enrolls 70+ undergraduate students per semester. Instructors focused on replicating the achievements and addressing the challenges within an already established face-to-face student-centered class (Brudzinski and Sikorski 2010; Sit 2013). Through the use of a learning management system (LMS) and other available technologies, a wide range of course components were developed including online homework assignments with automatic grading and tailored feedback, video tutorials of software programs like Google Earth and Microsoft Excel, and more realistic scientific investigations using authentic and freely available data downloaded from the internet. The different course components designed to engage students and improve overall student learning and development were evaluated using student surveys and instructor reflection. Each component can be used independently and intertwined into a face-to-face course. Results suggest that significant opportunities are available in an online environment including the potential for improved student performance and new datasets for educational research. Specifically, results from pre and post-semester Geoscience Concept Inventory (GCI) testing in an active e-learning course show enhanced student learning gains compared to face-to-face lecture-based and student-centered courses.

Efficacy of Multimedia Learning Modules as Preparation for Lecture-Based Tutorials in Electromagnetism

Science.gov (United States)

Moore, James Christopher

2018-01-01

We have investigated the efficacy of on-line, multimedia learning modules (MLMs) as preparation for in-class, lecture-based tutorials in electromagnetism in a physics course for natural science majors (biology and marine science). Specifically, we report the results of a multiple-group pre/post-test research design comparing two groups receiving…

Comparing problem-based learning and lecture as methods to teach whole-systems design to engineering students

Science.gov (United States)

Dukes, Michael Dickey

The objective of this research is to compare problem-based learning and lecture as methods to teach whole-systems design to engineering students. A case study, Appendix A, exemplifying successful whole-systems design was developed and written by the author in partnership with the Rocky Mountain Institute. Concepts to be tested were then determined, and a questionnaire was developed to test students' preconceptions. A control group of students was taught using traditional lecture methods, and a sample group of students was taught using problem-based learning methods. After several weeks, the students were given the same questionnaire as prior to the instruction, and the data was analyzed to determine if the teaching methods were effective in correcting misconceptions. A statistically significant change in the students' preconceptions was observed in both groups on the topic of cost related to the design process. There was no statistically significant change in the students' preconceptions concerning the design process, technical ability within five years, and the possibility of drastic efficiency gains with current technologies. However, the results were inconclusive in determining that problem-based learning is more effective than lecture as a method for teaching the concept of whole-systems design, or vice versa.

Nobel Prize Recipient Eric Betzig Presents Lecture on Efforts to Improve High-Resolution Microscopy | Poster

Science.gov (United States)

Eric Betzig, Ph.D., a 2014 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry and a scientist at Janelia Research Campus (JRC), Howard Hughes Medical Institute, in Ashburn, Va., visited NCI at Frederick on Sept. 10 to present a Distinguished Scientist lecture and discuss the latest high-resolution microscopy techniques. Betzig co-invented photoactivation localization microscopy (PALM)

Initial Development and Pilot Study Design of Interactive Lecture Demonstrations for ASTRO 101

Science.gov (United States)

Schwortz, Andria C.; French, D. A; Gutierrez, Joseph V; Sanchez, Richard L; Slater, Timothy F.; Tatge, Coty

2014-06-01

Interactive lecture demonstrations (ILDs) have repeatedly shown to be effective tools for improving student achievement in the context of learning physics. As a first step toward systematic development of interactive lecture demonstrations in ASTRO 101, the introductory astronomy survey course, a systematic review of education research, describing educational computer simulations (ECSs) reveals that initial development requires a targeted study of how ASTRO 101 students respond to ECSs in the non-science majoring undergraduate lecture setting. In this project we have adopted the process by which ILDs were designed, pilot-tested, and successfully implemented in the context of physics teaching (Sokoloff & Thornton, 1997; Sokoloff & Thornton, 2004). We have designed the initial pilot-test set of ASTRO 101 ILD instructional materials relying heavily on ECSs. Both an instructor’s manual and a preliminary classroom-ready student workbook have been developed, and we are implementing a pilot study to explore their effectiveness in communicating scientific content, and the extent to which they might enhance students’ knowledge of and perception about astronomy and science in general. The study design uses a pre-/post-test quasi-experimental study design measuring students’ normalized gain scores, calculated as per Hake (1998) and Prather (2009), using a slightly modified version of S. Slater’s (2011) Test Of Astronomy STandards TOAST combined with other instruments. The results of this initial study will guide the iterative development of ASTRO 101 ILDs that are intended to both be effective at enhancing student achievement and easy for instructors to successfully implement.

Writing to Learn and Learning to Write across the Disciplines: Peer-to-Peer Writing in Introductory-Level MOOCs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Denise K. Comer

2014-11-01

Full Text Available This study aimed to evaluate how peer-to-peer interactions through writing impact student learning in introductory-level massive open online courses (MOOCs across disciplines. This article presents the results of a qualitative coding analysis of peer-to-peer interactions in two introductory level MOOCs: English Composition I: Achieving Expertise and Introduction to Chemistry. Results indicate that peer-to-peer interactions in writing through the forums and through peer assessment enhance learner understanding, link to course learning objectives, and generally contribute positively to the learning environment. Moreover, because forum interactions and peer review occur in written form, our research contributes to open distance learning (ODL scholarship by highlighting the importance of writing to learn as a significant pedagogical practice that should be encouraged more in MOOCs across disciplines.

Fundamentals of physics II electromagnetism, optics, and quantum mechanics

CERN Document Server

Shankar, R

2016-01-01

R. Shankar, a well-known physicist and contagiously enthusiastic educator, was among the first to offer a course through the innovative Open Yale Course program. His popular online video lectures on introductory physics have been viewed over a million times. In this second book based on his online Yale course, Shankar explains essential concepts, including electromagnetism, optics, and quantum mechanics. The book begins at the simplest level, develops the basics, and reinforces fundamentals, ensuring a solid foundation in the principles and methods of physics. It provides an ideal introduction for college-level students of physics, chemistry, and engineering; for motivated AP Physics students; and for general readers interested in advances in the sciences.

Developing Web-oriented Homework System to Assess Students’ Introductory Physics Course Performance and Compare to Paper-based Peer Homework

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Neset DEMIRCI

2006-07-01

Full Text Available The World Wide Web influences education and our lives in many ways. Nowadays, Web-based homework has been becoming widespread practice in physics courses and some other courses as well. Although are some disputes whether this is an encouraging or risky development for student learning, there is limited research assessing the pedagogical effect of changing the medium from written, hand-graded homework to online oriented, computer-graded homework. In this study, web-oriented homework system is developed to assess students’ introductory physics course performance. Later on, these results are compared with paper-based (peer homework performance for mid enrollment physics courses. One of two identical sections of introductory physics course students received paper-based, hand graded group homework while the other received the individual web-based homework. Then two groups’ on conceptual and problem-solving performance measures are compared. No significant differences were found in students’ Force Concept Inventory (FCI test scores; however, average homework performance scores were significant that could be attributed to the homework method used in favor of paper-based peer homework group.

Charting an Alternate Pathway to Reaction Orders and Rate Laws in Introductory Chemistry Courses

Science.gov (United States)

Rushton, Gregory T.; Criswell, Brett A.; McAllister, Nicole D.; Polizzi, Samuel J.; Moore, Lamesha A.; Pierre, Michelle S.

2014-01-01

Reaction kinetics is an axiomatic topic in chemistry that is often addressed as early as the high school course and serves as the foundation for more sophisticated conversations in college-level organic, physical, and biological chemistry courses. Despite the fundamental nature of reaction kinetics, students can struggle with transforming their…

Utility of Combining a Simulation-Based Method With a Lecture-Based Method for Fundoscopy Training in Neurology Residency.

Science.gov (United States)

Gupta, Deepak K; Khandker, Namir; Stacy, Kristin; Tatsuoka, Curtis M; Preston, David C