L. Shelbert Smith and Albert W. Schlueter Central State University Wilberforce. Ohio 45384
A Mini-Course Approach for Teaching Freshman Chemistry
Over the past several years, the Department of Chemistry a t Central State University has become concerned with the oerformance of an increasine number of underore~aredstuhents and the need of the students for more indi;idualized attention. Often after these students have attempted for one year to assimilate a vast number of scientific facts, which are not structured for them academicallv they . or ~svcholoaicallv, .. seek another discipline in which to pursue a professioha~c i reer. The Department studied thp pnhlem it faced in the recruitment and retention of students in chemistry and thr problem of providing the most thorough program to these students who presented a variety of background skills and training. For the underprepared student, the self-paced instruction was not satisfactory since it was dependent on readine"~comnrehension and self discioline of the student. characteristics frequently lacking in the underprepared stuAfter careful consideration. it was felt that several problems were more prevalent than others, namely: (1) the need for individual attention for manv students; (2) the need to provide a strong basic background in chemistry, yet not discourage students because of the rigorous and quantitative approach; (3) the need to maintain a rigorous, challenging course content for the normal progress of the more able student; (4) the ability to satisfy specific needs of students in nonscience disciplines; and (5) an opportunity for students to be exposed to more of the instructors of the department. Based on these problem objectives and a need to attract and to retain students in the chemistry program, the department developed a conceptualized approach or "mini-course" approach as an alternative to the traditional structure of the first year chemistry course. The structure of the program and the content of the courses have undereone several minor revisions fm impn)vement and its present;tructure is presented here for the interest ofthosede~artments who have facrd asimilar dilemma. The program shbuld he especially attractive to the ~
~
~~
.
392 / Journal of Chemical Education
smaller departments and for those departments which are concerned about the retention of the potential professional chemistry student. Although no specific prerequisites are given for these courses and they may he taken in any sequence, it is recognized that one of the moat important courses is Stoichiometry and the Mole Concept (Chemistry 101A). Therefore, it is recommended that a student must successfully complete or demonstrate adequate proficiency in this course before enrolling in any 102 level course. For those students without any previous training in chemistry or with a demonstrated weak background, Chemistry 100 should he taken, while those students with previous experience may omit this course and enroll in the 101 level courses. It should he noted that Chemistry 100 is not a remedial course, but it is a course which contains descriotive chemistrv with a non-mathematical aoproach and which provides the basis for the quantitative aporoach in the other courses. Each course is develo~edwithout dependence on the content of the other courses ofher than an understandina of stoichiometrv and the mole concept. However, an understanding of basic mathematics is reqkred for all courses, and problem solving is an integral part of each course. Students may enroll in any number of the courses in any given term depending on their abilities and needs. Course Titles: 100 Descriptive Chemistry l O l A Stoiehiometry and Mole Concept lOlB Structure and Bonding lOlC States of Matter 102A Colligative Properties 102R Equilibria 102C Thermodynamicsand Oxidation-Reduction 102D Nuclear Chemistry lw?R I n t r d u ~ t ~10~~mi f Chemistry r
(2 Cr. Hr.) (2 Cr. Hr.) (2 Cr. Hr.) (1Cr. Hr.) (I Cr. Hr.1 (2 Cr. Hr.) (2 Cr. Hr.) (2 Cr. Hr.) ( 2 Cr. Hr
,
With the development and revision of [he first year lecture courses, it was recognized that there was a need to reexamine
the lahoratory program. Because of the random distribution of students in the various modularized course, the lahoratory courses were desiened as seoarate credit hour courses. In undertaking to restructure the lahoratory program, the department considered the following elements as basic to the structure of the course: the necessary lahoratory skills and training needs of the students as they entered the higher level courses, the desire to make the lahoratory work both challenging and interesting, and the kind of lahoratory experiences needed by those students who terminate their chemistry training a t the end of the first year. It was felt that fulfillment of these course ohjectives would generate in the student an inquisitive interest in scientific problems and applications while developing sound lahoratory skills, and minimize the loss of these often intelligent though poorly prepared students. 'I'he development of a lahoratory course, which is indren dent of the lecture. orovides an o u ~ ~ r t u n i for t v a flex~hle program for the introdktion of various laboratory skills. I t has been our ex~eriencethat two primary handicaps--the lack of self assurance and a tendency koward memorizhon rather than creative thinking-interfere with the ongoing success within the sciences of the first year students with poor or varied educational backgrounds, Though these factors have been internalized deeply by most students, it was felt that these handicaps can he overcome in a lahoratory situation in which success~isrealized hy the student in the achievement of his goals. While the department enrolls many students with a good background, a large percentage are not prepared adequately to master the course content without remedial help or strong motivation. As with the lecture courses, the lahoratory courses were desiened for an academic calendar structured on the quarter system. The first lahoratory course is devoted to thidevelopment of basic lahoratory skills and techniques, and quantitative and stoichiometric relationships. In the second course, the student builds upon the basic skills and techniques mastered in the first course, hut withgreater attention to the application of these skills to practical or new problems, employing basic instrumental techniques where appropriate. In the third course, in which the lahoratory work is projectoriented. a wide ranee of laboratorv techniaues are introduced. The instructor series as a guide"for the project so that the student will utilize the skills and techniques previously developed rather than seek short cut methods. The ability to tackle a problem, gain facility with the scientific literature, and achieve a product in hand provides a psychological stimulus to the student, generates a sense of self-confidence, and stimulates creative thinking and enthusiasm for the scientific process. If time permits, the student may he assigned other projects which require a greater degree of sophistication of techniques. Thus, this course is designed to be an ongoing learning process and not an end in itself. More importantly, a knowledge of the students' abilities must he considered in assienine iroiects. For examole. " . . unknown to the student. he is assigned projects which will insure some measure of success rather than disillusion and frustrate him with chemistry. Hopefully, after completion of the lahoratory course, the student is stimulated for lahoratory work and prepared to handle the more rigorous work that is demanded in the upper level chemistry courses. It should he noted that the student hegins the labbratory sequence the term following the enrollment in the lecture courses, which is the characteristic sequence of all of the lahoratory courses in chemistry.
courses. This cooperation is necessary in order to insure that the concepts are introduced and learning ohjectives achieved without the necessity of repetition of a concept in another course. However, reinforcement of concepts are encouraged for the advantage it provides to the student. A measure ofthe success of the program has been the significant improvement in performance by students in their upper level courses as noted by those teachers who have taught upper level courses before and since the initiation of this oroeram. In Tahle 1. the accumulated data shows the combaXon between thetwo methods of presentation. The data show that in the orevious traditional method of oresentation the department achieved about a 50% average success rate in the first course. while under the mini-course oromam we have achieved about a 70% success rate. The suceessrate was calculated as the number of students who successfully passed the course compared to the number enrolled in the course one week after the beginning of the course. I t was felt that the success rate wouldbe a more meaningful measure of the course effectiveness since those students who dropped the course during the quarter were indicating the failure of the course to fill their needs or their inabilities to comprehend the material. From the data in Tahle 1, two conclusions are apparent reeardine on the " " the imoact of the mini-course anoroach .. performance of the students in the introductory chemistry sequence: (1) a significant reduction in the students withdrawing from the course is evident which indicates that the new approach is meeting more satisfactorilv the psvchological needsof the students; and, (2) more students are achieving higher grades which we attribute to an actual higher achievement level rather than grade inflation since, for the most part the teaching staff in the mini-courses has remained unchanged from the traditional courses. The higher level of performance is again a reflection of the increased motivation instilled in the students hv the new aooroach. .. Although a significant change is noted in the number of of students who students receivine A and B erades.. the percent . received n passing grade is lesssignifirant.'i'his factor may be the result o f the tendenrv. tu -eivr failing erodes to marginal students since the courses are only for on;or two creditsand they may he repeated the next quarter. In this sense the Table 1. Results ol Students Taklng the Traditional Introductory Chemistry Sequence and the Mini-course Introductory Sequence at Central State Unlversity from 1970-1977. % with% receiving % receiving drawing from passing A and B Year course grade grades traditional
1970 1971 1972
21 19 18
54 62 64
14 14 19
8 9
mini-course
1973 1974 1975 1976 1977
69 63 68 60 71
23 21 29 20 36
-. .
Discussion and Evaluation Since the initiation of this program, the department has been making assessments of the effectiveness of the program, and has revised parts of the program based upon the assessments. One of the critical factors that was evident in the success of the program was the required cooperation of the faculty members involved in the teaching of the various lecture
6 8 5
Table 2. ACT Scores (average) of All lncomlng Students at Central State University Year Composite Mathematics Natural Science 1970-1971 1971-1972 1972-1973 1973-1974 1974-1975 1975-1976 1976-1977
13.2 (20.0) 11.5 (20.0) 11.0(20.0) 11.3 (20.0) 10.1 (20.0) 10.7 (19.8) 10.3 (18.5)
13.2 (19.6) 11.9 (19.6) 1 1 0 (19.6) 11.7 (19.6) 10.2 (19.6) 9.8 (19.5) 9.8(17.8)
14.6 (20.8) 12.4 (20.9) 11.2 (20.8) 13.1 (20.8) 12.2 (20.8) 13.0 (21.5) 12.6 (20.9)
National average scores in parentheses.
Volume 56, Number 6,June 1979 / 393
mini-course annroach has orobablv increased the level of work demanded frym the students. ~ u r i the n ~ same period of measurement we noted that the ACT scores of the incoming students as shown in Table 2 had not changed significantly; thus, the high school preparation of those students enrolling in the chemistry courses had not changed significantly. We believe that the significant increase in the success rate is due in a large measure to this improved method of presentation. Other measures to substantiate further these findings will require more data and more time for collection and analysis. During the planning process and since the beginning of this program, we have observed certain advantages and disadvantages which should he mentioned. 1. The program provides for flexibility to fit a wide variety of circumstances. Because the courses are one or two credit hours, a variety of course schedule options may be used. This allows for the preparation of a schedule with fewer conflicts with other course offerings and permits the arrangement of schedules to offer the faculty member with more blocks of time for research. In addition, many of these mini-courses can be offered more frequently during the academic year and can he utilized as a part of a continuing education program. 2. One of the great advantages of this program is for the student. There is a psychological disadvantage to the student who performs poorly in the traditional course which carries a credit hour assignment of five or more hours. A poor performance in a traditional five-hour course might discourage the student from continuing in science, while the poor overall grade might be due to his lack of development of skill and understanding of a single concept. In this program, when a student who does poorly in a single "mini-course" his grade point average is not as adversely affected as with a five-hour course. The student can readily repeat a course without overloading his schedule and not interfere with other scheduled courses in any given term. Each mini-course has a much narrower scope and clearer objectives than offered in the traditional course and thus provides an opportunity for a more positive attitude from the student. 3. The program allows for the rapid advancement of students whoare-better prepared and nked only certain concepts to round out their backgrounds. Also, this program can offer a better sequence to those students in engineering, home economics, allied health fields, or other disciplines who need chemistry hut not necessarily all the concepts of the traditional freshman chemistry course. 4. We have found that this program adapts well to the various self-teaching methodssuch as computer-assisted in-
394 1 Journal of Chemical Education
struction and other audio-tutorial learning aids. In addition, the program is much better adapted to proficiency examinations. The usual proficiency examinations covers a wide range of topics and yetmay not give a true assessment of a student's ability in the use of a particular concept because of the limited time snent on testing a single concent. 5. staff memberscan be &zed in this program giving the student a wide exposure to a number of teachers in his first year. Since we do not all teach alike, the student may find one teacher who is inspirational and provides the confidence and attention that he needs in his first approach to a difficult subject matter. Thus, the involvement of many faculty members in this program maximizes the studentlteicher contact. 6. This "mini-course" congept can be used to develop other topics or courses such as electrochemistry, qualitative analysis, transition elements. or environmental chemistrv. The flexibility of the topics offered would relate to the local demand for such tonics. 7. The reader should be aware of some of the disadvantages of the course structure. As indicated above, there is a need for constant cooperation and communication among those teaching the course. Without close cooperation, duplication or omission of material can become a serious problem. There must be care in advising students outside of the department of the appropriate sequence of courses. Also, it is difficult to find a single textbook that many instructors can agree upon for use inall of the courses. We feel that the "mini-course" program has proved to be a success for students with varied background oreoaration. This program has a format which has maximized the opportunities for success of the able but under~renaredstudent and yet is well suited for the well prepared student. I t also provides for flexibility in meeting the diverse needs of students, for flexibility in scheduling, and for flexibility in conducting courses by self-teaching, audio-tutorial, or computer-assisted techniques. We have reported this course format that we have developed in order to present an alternative to the first course, which might be useful to others. We would be pleased to discuss this program further with anyone who is interested.
ore
Literature Cited 11) Lewis, D. K..and Wolff. W.A..J. CHEM. EDUC..50.51 (19731: 51. 665 (19711. 121 Meckstrulh. W . K.,J.CHEM. EDUC.,51,929 (1971). IS) Walter, R. 1.. IEdilur). "Chemical Education for theUnderprepared Student,"SCripes Publishing Company. Champaign. 11.. 1971. 141 K ~ t n i kL.., , J.CHEM. EDUC..51.165(19741. (51 Hedrick, J. L.,J.CHEM. EDUC., 52,65(19751.
