More than lab reports: Integrating information literacy and writing-to-

learn in organic chemistry labs

Tiffany Turner, Glenn Blalock, Carol Schuetz

Baylor University, Waco, TX 76798Tiffany_Turner@baylor.edu

Outline

• Purpose for the changes• Background on Baylor and CHE 3238• Curriculum Changes

– Information Literacy– Portfolio Assignments

• Sustainability– What happens now?

Purpose

• A sequence of discipline-specific, writing-to-learn and information literacy activities was integrated into the organic chemistry lab (CHE 3238) at Baylor University for two semesters (Spring-Summer 2007)

• Engage students more fully in the process of learning how to think and to work in ways that will characterize their future professional identities. – intended to expand students' experiences with

researching chemistry scholarship, with reading chemistry articles, and with writing discipline-specific genres other than lab reports.

• Assessment of these curricular revisions included surveys, focus groups, and primary trait analyses of student writing.

Teaching Commons• A conceptual space in which communities of educators

committed to inquiry and innovation come together to exchange ideas about teaching and learning, and use them to meet the challenges of educating students for personal, professional, and civic life.

• Began in Fall 2006 at BU- Interest in WAC– Glenn- English Professor– Carol- University Libraries– Tiffany- Chemistry Grad Student

• Weekly meetings to discuss WAC and IL papers and the curriculum changes in Organic Chemistry– Goals, outcomes, assessment, grading rubrics

Baylor University• Location: Waco, TX• Enrollment: 11,800 undergraduate (2,200 graduate)• Big XII- smallest in conference • Mission statement- to educate men and women for

worldwide leadership and service by integrating academic excellence and Christian commitment within a caring community

Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry• Total Undergraduates: 268

– Biochemistry (BA/BS): 52/139– Chemistry (BA/BS): 13/64– Graduates for 2007: 29

• (28 Pre-Med, 3 ACS certified)

CHE 3238

• One semester organic chemistry lab (2 credit)– Taken with or after Organic II (CHE 3332)– Spring 2007 enrollment: 196 students

• 32 Chem/Biochem (16%) • 151 students are “Pre-” (77%)

– Summer enrollment: 22 students• 5 Chem/Biochem (23%) • 21 students are “Pre-” (95%)

– Anticipated Fall 2007: 200 students

ChallengesPrevious Curriculum

• Weekly discussion of separation and characterization techniques, and reactions common to organic chemistry and then are used or carried out in experiments.

• 2 professors• 12 TAs Fall/Spring (graduate/undergraduate), 6 TAs Summer• 17 experiments over 9 weeks

– Scantron quizzes at beginning of each experiment– Fill-in worksheets due at the end of the experiment or next class– Each experiment graded by 1 TA– Final given at end of semester (weekly lecture)

• Students’ perception– Easy A, little work and prep needed, take during a busy

semester, wait till graduation semester to complete requirement• TA’s perception

– Waste of time, no interest in organic chemistry, frustration with students and assignments, lack of communication

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday

Aug 20th No Lab the first 2 weeks of class. However, the once-a-week Lab Lecture does start the first week of classes

27th

Sept 3rd Safety & Check-in (Intro) Basic Skills Lab

10th Isolation of Cholesterol Isolation of Limonene

17th Isolation of Caffeine (Cancelled) Fractional Distillation

24th Elimination Reaction Acylation of Trimethylazulene

Oct 1st Free Radical Chlorination (Computer Lab) Nucleophilic Aromatic Substitution

8th No Lab

15th Soap from Lard A Diels Alder Reaction

22nd Esterification Reaction Hydrolysis of an Ester

29th Tetraphenylcyclopentadieneone Synthesis of Benzoin

Nov 5th Synthesis of Benzil Synthesis of Benzilic Acid

12thCheck Out

Fall 2005

ChangesNew Curriculum

• Beyond a basic exposure to techniques common to organic techniques, we chose to focus on:– Understanding chemical concepts through writing

• Mechanisms, techniques, terminology

– Exposure to chemical literature and the process of discerning information

• Library use, database searching, deconstructing chemical articles, use of chemistry in the real world

– Critical thinking skills

– Side goal: increase student confidence in the lab and discussing chemistry

ChangesNew Curriculum

• 2 professors (1 for Spring 2007)– Created Head TA position

• Created grading rubrics and answer keys for all assignments

• 15-16 experiments over 10-12 weeks– 8 Portfolio assignments (20% of final grade)– 4 Information literacy assignments– 4 Instrument Use assignments– Lab Practical

• Students’ perception (initial)– Too much work, too hard, worthless class, writing is pointless in

chemistry• TA’s perception (initial)

– Too much work, not confident in comprehension of organic chemistry, I’m not an English major- I can’t grade students’ writings

Schedule Summer 2007 Tuesday (2-5PM)

Wednesday(2-5PM) Thursday (2-5PM)

Portfolio Due Dates

5/29 - 5/31Info Literacy

Nobel ChemistChem Review

Writing in ScienceLibrary-Scavenger Hunt

Instrument Use (IR)

Nobel worksheet and article due Thursday in class

6/5 - 6/7

Check-InBasic Skills

Writing Abstract Peer Review Carvone

Abstract due Wednesday in classRevised Abstract due Friday (BB)

6/12 - 6/14 Simple Distillation Instrument Use (GC) Fractional Distillation

Writing Procedure

6/19 - 6/21

RadicalChlorinationLibrary Comp Lab-

databaseDiels-Alder

Writing R&D Elimination of alcohols

Procedure due Tuesday in classRevised Procedure due

Wednesday (BB and class)

6/26 - 6/28 SpinachEster & Hydrolysis

Writing Introduction NEW LAB

R&D due Friday (BB)

7/3 - 7/5 NO CLASS HOLIDAY NO CLASSIntroduction due Friday (BB)

7/10 - 7/12TMA

Writing ImpactNAS

Writing Final PaperInstrument Use (GC/MS)

Library- Ref Works

Impact due Friday (BB)

7/17 - 7/19 Benzoin Benzil Benzilic Acid

7/24 - 7/26Instrument Use

(NMR) Chem Review MakeUp Labs (Ferrocene)

Final Paper due Friday (BB)

7/31 - 8/2MakeUp Labs (Cholesterol)

Check-OutPortfolio DUE NO CLASS

8/7 - 8/8 Lab Practical  

Assessment of Changes

• Initial Survey on information literacy and the students comfort level with searching for information and using library resources– 30% very comfortable using library resources– 60% somewhat comfortable– 20% often use the library to research and locate materials– 65% sometimes use the library– 98% were able to recognize the definition for information literacy

• Many did not know the ability to find and use information correctly was called information literacy

Assessment of Changes• Focus Groups

– Before you took this course, what experiences did you have with?• Writing, research, using library databases, reading scholarly articles in

chemistry

– Why do you think your teachers integrated research activities in the lab course?

– In which lab did the writing help you understand the concepts/purpose of the lab?

– When you started your research, where did you begin to look for information and where do you look now?

• Portfolio Discussion with a TA during the Lab Practical– Worst/Best writing and why– Probed understanding of reactions performed in class

• Elimination, Diels-Alder, Esterification/Hydrolysis, Addition, Oxidation

Information Literacy Assignments• Nobel Chemist/Discerning online information (Eileen Bentsen)

– Expose students to searching for chemical information and to think about credibility and validity of online information

• Scavenger Hunt (Carol Schuetz and library staff)– Increase students’ confidence in using chemistry resources available in

the library• Look at Ref QD 8.5 .A25. What is the name of the style guide for

chemists?

• Database Searching (Carol Schuetz)– Reintroduce students to BearCat (online catalog) and expose students

to common chemistry databases (EBSCO, ScienceDirect, ACS)

• RefWorks (Billie Peterson-Lugo)– Introduce students to the online bibliographic management program as

a way to manage collected information

Portfolio Assignments• Abstract (Diels-Alder)

– Pick out and summarize important information from a scientific paper

– Student comments: how can one tiny paragraph be so frustrating and horrible

• Not sure what to do• Not comfortable with reading scientific articles- difficult terminology• Became routine when working on the final paper

– Future: summary worksheet followed by writing an abstract at a later date

• Peer Review – Emphasize team work and writing for understanding

– Student comments: Very helpful but wanted more reviews from TAs (experts)

– Future: weave peer reviews (student and TA) into all assignments (in-class or as take-home)

Portfolio Assignments

• Procedure (Diels-Alder)– Familiarize students with procedures in a scientific article and increase confidence

in writing a procedure• Student understanding and confidence with stoichiometry

– Student comments: busy work, afraid they couldn’t follow their own procedure, liberating and enjoyed the independence

• Preferred reading/writing in paragraph form rather than a list

• Less procedural questions and more free thinking about techniques and observations/interpretations

– Future: choose a different experiment or have them rewrite an earlier procedure

O

O

O

ProductTheoretical Yield = 0.15g

Portfolio Assignments

• Results & Discussion (Elimination of an alcohol)– Understand their own experimental results and relate to the textbook reaction

(substrates, conditions, yields, rules for formation)– Student comments: really enjoyed the assignment

• E1 finally clicks and why it’s different than substitution

• Understand why profs always harp on carbocation formation

• Teamwork: key to understanding the experiment

– Assessment: During the Lab Practical, students were able to answer questions about the experiment and convey their understanding through “what if” scenarios

• Used references in the assignment and looked for additional information

OHH3PO4/H2SO4heat

Product(s)

Portfolio Assignments• Introduction (Esterification of an alcohol/Hydrolysis of an ester)

– Understand the reactions in the experiment and the purpose of TLC (polarity and intermolecular forces)

– Student comments: mixed views by students (loved it, hated it)• Students are still confused about polarity (Lab Practical and discussion of

concepts)• Difficult for students who write from beginning to end, easier for students

who write in sections

• Impact (compare websites on an organic chemistry topic and relate to understanding and learning)– Use information literacy skills to communicate knowledge about a topic

– Student comments: creative busy work

– Future: rethink assignment and goal

Portfolio Assignments• Final Paper (Benzaldehyde to Benzilic acid in 3 steps)

– Understand the reactions and techniques in the experiments and show understanding of writing scientifically

– Student comments: on average it was enjoyable and they felt proud of their work

• Nice to see an entire paper in their own words• Became easier to write after the initial assignments

• Reflective Overview– Self reflection on learning about chemistry through writing

– Student comments: more worried about the grade received for writing assignments

• Realized the “Big Picture” of learning through writing• Not afraid of scientific literature anymore (less cut & paste for other classes)

What I’ve learned• Two months is not enough time to revamp a course• Organization is key

– Consistency of grading (rubrics and answer keys)– Consistency of communication (TAs, professors, students)

• Teamwork and collaboration– Teaching commons group was an invaluable resource– Professors willing to try something new and support it

• Open to critical statements– Student rebellion

• Students will rise up to high standards– Summer-Fall 2006: 60% passing rate

– Spring-Summer 2007: 85% passing rate

Sustainability of changesWhat the future holds

• Professor dedicated to the changes

• Head TA dedicated to students learning and understanding of organic chemistry (Eric Bauch)

• Consistent Grading (TAs for each section only grade their section)– Rubrics for writing assignments– Answer Keys for worksheets

• Weekly TA meetings to discuss each experiment and assignment

• Constant feedback from students and TAs

Acknowledgements

• Glenn Blalock and Carol Schuetz• Drs. Paul Primrose and Jesse

Jones– Organic TAs and students

• Dept. of Chemistry & Biochemistry• Dr. Charles Garner

– Garner Group– Eric Bauch

• More Information: