Communication pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc
ConfChem Conference on Flipped Classroom: Improving Student Engagement in Organic Chemistry Using the Inverted Classroom Model Robert D. Rossi* STEM Division, Rowan College at Gloucester County, Sewell, New Jersey 08080, United States S Supporting Information *
ABSTRACT: Improving student engagement in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) courses generally, and organic chemistry specifically, has long been a goal for educators. Recently educators at all academic levels have been exploring the “inverted classroom” or “flipped classroom” pedagogical model for improving student engagement in subjects spanning the fields from liberal arts to business studies to science and technology. This learner-centered pedagogy, in which course content is delivered outside the classroom, allows class time to be more productively used for higher-level engaging activities, such as collaborative and problembased learning through instructor-led applications of the material delivered outside of class. The techniques used and the technology employed to deliver an inverted two-semester organic chemistry classroom at Rowan College at Gloucester County along with preliminary student performance data versus the traditional lecture classroom format are presented. This communication summarizes one of the invited papers to the ConfChem online conference Flipped Classroom, held from May 9 to June 12, 2014, and hosted by the ACS DivCHED Committee on Computers in Chemical Education (CCCE). KEYWORDS: Second-Year Undergraduate, Organic Chemistry, Computer-Based Learning, Internet/Web-Based Learning, Student-Centered Learning
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of preclass screencasts and worksheets,2 some of which have been recently reported in this Journal,3 the method reported here involves the use of lecture video capture delivered to the students through the Internet.4 The video lecture format chosen for content delivery follows that developed by the Khan Academy, where the viewer sees a blackboard background upon which colored writing appears, and hears only the voice of the instructor.5 It was felt that this format presented the least distraction, helping to better focus the student on the content and not the instructor. In addition these Khan Academy style videos can be easily and cost-effectively self-produced from any personal computer equipped with an inexpensive USB tablet with stylus.6 For this communication Snagit, a relatively inexpensive alternative to Camtasia, was used to capture the screen content.7 In order to write and have that writing appear on the computer screen, the digital free-hand drawing software SmoothDraw, downloadable free from the supplier’s Web site, was employed.8 This software produces a canvaslike screen, allowing the user to change the background/writing surface color and the style of pen, and to produce writing layers on the background surface, which can also be of different colors. Housing and streaming the videos to the students was accomplished using the host server service CollegeAnywhere.9
owan College at Gloucester County (RCGC), formerly called Gloucester County College (GCC), is an openaccess, two-year college located approximately 20 miles south of Philadelphia in Sewell Township, New Jersey. At RCGC, a two-semester sequence of organic chemistry, from its inception in the late 1960s, had been taught using the traditional lecture format. Although the traditional pedagogical style worked for some students, the majority of the population was not fully engaged, as evidenced by a steady decline in first-semester examination score averages.1 This communication summarizes the techniques used and the technology employed to deliver an inverted two-semester organic chemistry classroom at RCGC. (See the Supporting Information for the full paper and discussion comments.) Student engagement, measured primarily by student performance on exams and total points earned during the semester versus the traditional lecture classroom format and anecdotally by observing class participation, along with student comments about the inverted classroom approach is also presented.
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USING VIDEO LECTURES TO INVERT AN ORGANIC CHEMISTRY CLASSROOM Although a variety of methods have been used to invert the classroom including use of lecture/clicker tutorials, assigning reading and homework, Just-in-Time Teaching (JiTT), and use © XXXX American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.
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DOI: 10.1021/ed500899e J. Chem. Educ. XXXX, XXX, XXX−XXX
Journal of Chemical Education
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For the two-semester course in organic chemistry more than 350 video lectures were produced, totaling approximately 43 h of video viewing time for semester one and 45 h for semester two. Video lecture topics were prepared in mostly 10−20 min segments, with the number of topics exceeding 20 min kept to a minimum.10 Optimizing classroom face-to-face time with deeper learning, problem-solving activities became a priority now that content was delivered outside of class. Class time worked best using a collaborative, peer-learning format, breaking the class into teams of three to four students standing and working at white boards (24 in. by 48 in.), a recent innovation employed since the conference, and either assigning the same problem to each team or using different problems that illustrated the same concept.11 The incorporation of having students stand and work problems at the individual white boards rather than, as in previous semesters, circling their desks but remaining seated to work problems on paper was found, anecdotally, to foster greater student engagement. In an effort to measure individual student understanding of the topics covered by the in-class problems solved in teams, a set of clicker response questions was implemented.12 Any question generating less than a 70% correct rate would then be repolled after the students had a chance to discuss and debate their initial responses within their work groups.13
Communication
ASSOCIATED CONTENT
S Supporting Information *
Full paper from the ConfChem conference with discussion. This material is available via the Internet at http://pubs.acs.org.
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AUTHOR INFORMATION
Corresponding Author
*E-mail:
[email protected]. Notes
The authors declare no competing financial interest.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The author would like to thank the STEM Department at Rowan College at Gloucester County and particularly the organic chemistry students over these past several years for their support and encouragement in this pedagogical endeavor.
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REFERENCES
(1) (a) Derting, T. L.; Cox, J. R. Using a Tablet PC To Enhance Student Engagement and Learning in an Introductory Organic Chemistry Course. J. Chem. Educ. 2008, 85 (12), 1638−1643. (b) Kuh, G. D.; Cruce, T. M.; Shoup, R.; Kinzie, J.; Gonyea, R. Unmasking the effects of student engagement on first-year college grades and persistence. J. Higher Educ. 2008, 79 (5), 540−563. (2) For examples of flipping the classroom, see: (a) Herreid, C. F.; Schiller, N. A. Case Studies and the Flipped Classroom. J. Coll. Sci. Teach. 2013, 42 (5), 62−66. (b) Arnaud, C. H. Flipping Chemistry Classrooms. Chem. Eng. News 2013, 91 (12), 41−43. (c) Bishop, J. L.; Verleger, M. A. The Flipped Classroom: A Survey of the Research. In 120th ASEE National Conference Proceedings, 2013, Atlanta, GA. (d) Lage, M. J.; Platt, G. J.; Treglia, M. Inverting the Classroom: A Gateway to Creating an Inclusive Learning Environment. J. Econ. Ed. 2000, 31 (1), 30−43. (e) Hartman, J. R.; Dahm, D. J.; Nelson, E. A. Time Saving Resources-Aligned with Cognitive Science to Help Instructors. 2014 Spring ConfChem: Flipped Classroom. http:// confchem.ccce.divched.org/2014SpringConfChem (accessed Apr 2015). (f) Slezak, S. Flipping a Class: The Learn by Doing Method. 2014 Spring ConfChem: Flipped Classroom. http://confchem.ccce. divched.org/2014SpringConfChem (accessed Apr 2015). (g) Muzyka, J. Just-in-Time Teaching in Organic Chemistry. 2014 Spring ConfChem: Flipped Classroom. http://confchem.ccce.divched.org/ 2014SpringConfChem (accessed Apr 2015). (h) Seery, M. Student Engagement with Flipped Chemistry Lectures. 2014 Spring ConfChem: Flipped Classroom. http://confchem.ccce.divched.org/ 2014SpringConfChem (accessed Apr 2015). (i) Trogden, B. G. Reclaiming Face Time: How an Organic Chemistry Flipped Classroom Provided Access to Increased Guided Engagement. 2014 Spring ConfChem: Flipped Classroom. http://confchem.ccce.divched. org/2014SpringConfChem (accessed Apr 2015). (j) Haile, J. Using a Blog to Flip a Classroom. 2014 Spring ConfChem: Flipped Classroom. http://confchem.ccce.divched.org/2014SpringConfChem (accessed Apr 2015). (3) For examples, see: (a) Schultz, D.; Duffield, S.; Rasmussen, S. C.; Wageman, J. Effects of the Flipped Classroom Model on Student Performance for Advanced Placement High School Chemistry Students. J. Chem. Educ. 2014, 91 (9), 1334−1339. (b) Christiansen, M. Inverted Teaching: Applying a New Pedagogy to a University Organic Chemistry Class. J. Chem. Educ. 2014, 91 (11), 1845−1850. (4) For two related studies published subsequent to the ConfChem Conference, see: (a) Fautch, J. M. The Flipped Classroom for Teaching Organic Chemistry in Small Classes: Is it Effective? Chem. Educ. Res. Pract. 2015, 16 (1), 179−186. (b) Flynn, A. B. Structure and Evaluation of Flipped Chemistry Courses: Organic & Spectroscopy, Large and Small, First to Third Year, English and French. Chem. Educ. Res. Pract. 2015, 16 (2), 198−211.
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STUDENT OUTCOMES AND RESPONSES TO THIS STRATEGY Student outcomes were measured by the averages of the four exams taken in organic chemistry I for the three semesters in which the inverted classroom pedagogy was utilized. Notable is the improvement in exam 2, 3, and 4 score averages (an increase of 15, 17, and 19% respectively) relative to the three previous semesters taught using the traditional passive lecture format. Also, there was a marked improvement in student total semester point averages for the classes that were inverted (9%) relative to the three previous semesters traditionally taught. This basic trend in total student semester points can also be seen for the limited number of semesters for organic II; however, improvement in exam score averages, at least at this point, is less obvious. More semesters of the flipped format will be needed before any firm conclusions can be reached. Student surveys showed that 80% were either satisfied or very satisfied with the inverted classroom format for organic I. Moreover, 54% of the students perceived that their level of understanding of organic chemistry was greater or much greater than had this course been presented in the traditional format. Overall 94% of the students reported that the inverted classroom format either somewhat or significantly helped them with the study of organic chemistry. Similar to organic I, the majority of organic II students (72%) were either satisfied or very satisfied with the inverted format. Forty-eight percent of the students perceived their understanding of the subject to be either greater or much greater than if the class were traditionally taught, while 30% claimed it to be about the same. Eighty-four percent of the students reported that this inverted format helped either significantly or somewhat with their study of the subject. This paper was discussed from May 30 to June 5 during the spring 2014 ConfChem online conference, Flipped Classroom. This conference was hosted by the ACS DivCHED Committee on Computers in Chemical Education (CCCE).14 B
DOI: 10.1021/ed500899e J. Chem. Educ. XXXX, XXX, XXX−XXX
Journal of Chemical Education
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(5) Khan Academy Home Page. https://www.khanacademy.org/ science/organic-chemistry (accessed Apr 2015). (6) The USB tablet employed for this work was the Bamboo model CTH-470 manufactured by Wacom. Wacom Home Page. http:// bamboo.wacom.com/ (accessed Apr 2015). (7) TechSmith Home Page. http://www.techsmith.com/ (accessed Apr 2015). (8) SmoothDraw Home Page. http://www.smoothdraw.com/ product/ (accessed Apr 2015). (9) CollegeAnywhere Home Page. http://www.collegeanywhere.org/ (accessed Apr 2015). (10) (a) Bunce, D. M.; Flens, E. A.; Neiles, K. Y. How Long Can Students Pay Attention in Class? A Study of Student Attention Decline Using Clickers. J. Chem. Educ. 2010, 87 (12), 1438−1443. (b) Binder, C.; Haughton, E.; Van Eyk, D. Increasing Endurance by Building Fluency: Precision Teaching Attention Span. Teach. Exceptional Children 1990, 22, 24−27. (11) Prince, M. Does Active Learning Work? A Review of the Research. J. Eng. Educ. 2004, 93 (3), 223−231. (12) I>Clicker Home Page. https://www1.iclicker.com/ (accessed Apr 2015). (13) Miller, K.; Schell, J.; Ho, A.; Lufoff, B.; Mazur, E. Response Switching and Self-Efficacy in Peer Instruction Classrooms. Phys. Rev. Spec. Top.Phys. Educ. Res. 2015, 11, 010104−1−010104−8. (14) 2014 Spring ConfChem: Flipped Classroom. http://confchem. ccce.divched.org/2014SpringConfChem (accessed Apr 2015).
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DOI: 10.1021/ed500899e J. Chem. Educ. XXXX, XXX, XXX−XXX
