Active Learning Strategies in the Analytical Chemistry Classroom Michael R. Ross and Roben B. Fulton St. John's University, Collegeville, MN 56321
Over the years this Journal has published many articles that discuss "teaching methods" in chemistry or 'tricks of the trade" for doing chemical calculations, etc. Recently, the focus of some of these articles has begun to shift from teaching to learning (1-6).For example, in a recent article, Bodner (7)discussed the differences between teaching and learning and the corresponding implications for structuring courses. Cantor (8) suggested that learning is not a passive process that is performed by someone else; it is active, personal, and purposeful, something meaningful and important to us. That we can "teach" well does not necessarily mean that our students will learn. Over the last five years we have restructured our twocourse analytical chemistry sequence in order to help students become more effective learners. This restructuring incorporates many of the advantages available through active and cooperat& learning techniques. We used as our gude some of the works of Roger and David Johnson which have been summarized in their recent book (9).We are convinced that these techniques, although more difficult to structure and implement than the traditional lecture approach, offer opportunities for greater satisfaction for both the students and the instructor. However, these methods are not necessarily ideal for everybody, because as is always the case in teaching, the approach used must reflect the attitude and personality of the instructor, a s well as those of the students. This project and the results are snmmarized below. The Guiding Philosophy Because the research on the educational benefits of active and cooperative learning is so persuasive (101, we structured our courses around the use of cooperative groups. This places the responsibility for learning with the students in such a way that they assume roles as active learners in a non-competitive, cooperative environment. To this end, the courses are not graded on a competitive curve, but instead, on a fixed percentage basis. By eliminating the competitive nature of these courses, the better students don't feel penalized for helping the weaker students and all students are more willing to engage in the cooperative learning process. A side benefit, especially for the better students, is that they usually deepen their understanding of the concepts by frequently assuming the role of "teacher." It should be noted, however, that even though the benefits of peer teaching have been clearly established (9-111, they are not always obvious to the students and sometimes become a source of tension, especially with the better students. This has been one of the most challenging aspects of the approach described below. As with every new approach to teaching, the new course sequence continually evolved as refinements were made each year in response to difficulties encountered. The description that follows reflects five years of this restructuring. Restructuring the Analytical Sequence The first semester of the analytical sequence focuses primarily on "classical wet techniques" and the second semes-
ter on instrumental methods of analysis. Our student population in these courses tends to be a mix of students that includes pre-med, pre-vet, and other pre-allied health maiors. as well as chemistrv maiors in our traditional and ACS tracks. This sequence is tiught as two upper division courses durine the iunior year. Conseauentlv. in restructuring the se
