Flipped Technology and Active Learning

Elaine Villanueva Bernal, CSU Long Beach

Abstract

The number of students entering STEM disciplines in the California State University System has increased 56% in the last ten years with 6.7% in the last year alone. Many of these students are required to take organic chemistry as a prerequisite to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) professional and graduate programs. However, organic chemistry is widely known for high failure rates. Collaborative and small group teaching practices in chemistry have been shown to increase student engagement and performance in general, organic, and biochemistry courses, and serve as a viable option for increasing success rates in organic chemistry.

CSULB is recognized as a Hispanic Serving Institution with 29.2% of the student body reporting as Latino or Hispanic. Many students are first generation college students and come from underrepresented and underserved minority groups. Most students taking organic chemistry have a full load of courses - along with organic chemistry, students normally take physics, calculus, biology, and a general education course during the semester. Many students also work between 20 to 30 hours a week on or off campus.

Lyon, D. , & Lagowski, J. (2008). Effectiveness of facilitating small-group learning in large lecture classes. Journal of Chemical Education, 85(11), 1571.

Peters, A. (2005). Teaching biochemistry at a minority-

serving institution: An evaluation of the role of collaborative learning as a tool for science mastery. Journal of Chemical Education, 82(4), 571-574.

Szu, E. , Nandagopal, K. , Shavelson, R. , Lopez, E. ,

Penn, J. , et al. (2011). Understanding academic performance in organic chemistry. Journal of Chemical Education, 88(9), 1238-1242.

“Your course really connected the dots for me and every other student in my lecture. I especially appreciated the open forums in class where we told you were we were struggling, which allowed us to not waste time on topics we knew.” (Sheila, Biology Major) “I really appreciated the helpful links you would email to the students as well as helping us go over our classwork. Doing group work, putting the answers up on the board, and discussing as a class proved to be very beneficial as well.” (Mark, Biology Major)

Why Students weren’t Passing

Outcomes and Response Redesigned Materials and Activities

Student Profile

References and Resources

Contact Info elaine.bernal@csulb.edu

Lessons Learned

CSULB Organic Chemistry faculty currently employ teaching strategies that include: lectures for 40-60 students, laboratory courses tied to the lecture, assigning problems from the textbook as well as additional problems created by the instructors, assigning students to learning groups where they have an opportunity to discuss and solve assigned problems, one office hour each week dedicated to additional discussion and problem solving, and supplemental instruction. Although instructors report that student performance and success improves with additional engagement, the results remain anecdotal at best and these practices have not been sustained, developed, or formally implemented.

Class Format As part of the course redesign project, the CSULB Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry launched CHEM 324 in Fall 2013 to create additional opportunities beyond lecture for small group discussions and problem solving, as well as implementing a flipped technology classroom format to engage students in an active learning environment. •  During class, students will be placed into

small groups and participate in a "jigsaw" activity:

•  Each small group is assigned a problem; •  The groups solve and discuss the problem

they are responsible for; •  Each member of the group is the "expert" on

their problem, and explain to members of the different groups on how to solve it.

Students in active group work. Screenshot of reaction mechanism

Academic Technologies Students are encouraged to watch selected videos before class, and then discuss and critique the video content as they solve problems during class. The selected online resources were used: •  Khan Academy •  UC Davis Chem Wiki •  Spectral Database for Organic Compounds

(SDBS) from the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Japan.

•  Chemhelper.com •  “Propane Elaine” Closed Group Facebook

Page

Sample board work by students. Screenshot of Spectral Database

•  Students in CHEM 324 found the course helpful

•  For the third exam during Spring 2014 semester, students performed 2-4% better than students not participating in CHEM 324.

Acknowledgements This project was supported by the CSU Enrollment Bottleneck Solution Course Redesign with Technology program.

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Organic Chemistry