Report Cite This: J. Chem. Educ. XXXX, XXX, XXX−XXX
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ConfChem Conference on Mathematics in Undergraduate Chemistry Instruction: Building Student Confidence with Chemistry Computation Peter R. Craig* Chemistry Department, McDaniel College, Westminster Maryland 21157, United States
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S Supporting Information *
ABSTRACT: I work in a liberal arts college as a chemistry professor. Not educated in the United States, I have been welcomed into my adopted culture by being given the opportunity to teach that has allowed me to learn about a system I knew little about beforehand. At the college level, chemistry can be portrayed as applied algebra. In my experience, a mastery of algebra rather than just a competence is needed for students to thrive in their learning of chemistry; anything less creates a barrier. The extent of this barrier appears to be exacerbated by the following factors: the lack of continuity of the offering of high school algebra and chemistry prior to entering college, the increased emphasis of attaining confidence at the cost of learning content at high school, and the numbers of students attaining access to college who do not know how to study. This paper looks at attempts to redevelop the robustness of students’ chemistry read-only memory (ROM): their ability to identify and apply appropriate computational methods to solve problems without much thinking or hesitation. With the confidence of a reliable ROM, students are better able to learn chemistry at college. This communication summarizes one of the invited papers to the ConfChem online conference on Mathematics in Undergraduate Chemistry Instruction, held from October 23 to November 27, 2017, and hosted by the ACS DivCHED Committee on Computers in Chemical Education (CCCE). KEYWORDS: First-Year Undergraduate/General, Problem Solving/Decision Making, Mathematics/Symbolic Mathematics, Student-Centered Learning
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IMPETUS FOR MATH EMPHASIS IN CHEMISTRY TEACHING
FINDINGS AT MCDANIEL COLLEGE Students who experienced FYCCC with math emphases (as described above) exhibited improved test scores. This applied to students scoring in the 50% range as well as those scoring in the 75% or 90% range: it helped both the challenged and smart students. Partitioning students on the basis of college math placement test results was proposed as a way to tailor and thus improve the learning experience. It was presumed easier to maintain inclass student engagement if students had similar abilities to start with. For my teaching this meant only students not having good math placement test results would have FYCCC with math emphases. Unfortunately, in my experience partitioning students into FYCCC with or without math emphases did not improve net test scores. I did find that students scoring well in college math placement tests can still benefit when math is emphasized in their FYCCC.
Many students in my first-year college chemistry classes (FYCCC) struggle because they possess what I have termed “rusty ROMs”. Borrowing from the language of computer science, the main consequence of students having rusty readonly memories (ROMs) is that they struggle with doing computations that are necessary to solve chemistry problems. Rather than letting this situation slide further, I have been working since 2011 to improve student confidence in being ready and able to tackle chemistry problem solving through the following approach. Students work through a math workbook in parallel with relevant parts of a standard first-year college chemistry text for my classes. Selected parts of the workbook are assigned as outof-class work each week, yet help is available should students need it. At the end of each week the students’ work is reviewed and assessed with a quiz on a subset of the questions assigned. This out-of-class work is designed to reinforce (practice makes perfect) and complement what is covered in class, because class time can now be used to incorporate more presentations, demonstrations, and related class activities. So, are the ROMs of the students less rusty as a result? I used student performance in the American Chemical Society (ACS) 2003 General Chemistry Examination to assess the situation. © XXXX American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.
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DISCUSSION OVERVIEW During ConfChem there was significant discussion about quizzes. Some participants did not see the value in using quizzes as a formative assessment with some participants thinking it took too much time away from other teaching activities. Others provided excellent references to bolster the Received: February 8, 2018 Revised: May 22, 2018
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DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.8b00091 J. Chem. Educ. XXXX, XXX, XXX−XXX
Journal of Chemical Education
Report
Notes
value of frequent quizzing, stating that it interrupts the forgetting process and leads to better retention.1,2 Another major theme was the discussion of alternate solutions to the math problem in FYCCC: tailoring sections to students with common skill sets (partitioning, as I called it), offering preparatory chemistry courses, and adding math prerequisites. The key for partitioning to work is to find a placement test that accurately associates the right students with similar enough skill sets to enable teachers to engage students to make their learning most effective. This is very dependent on the math background trends of incoming students at the institution, and the ability of the institution to resource sections of classes and laboratories that could cater to the needs of the different student groups. However, many colleges and universities succeed and create competitive advantage by meeting students where they are when they come in the door and motivating students so they will go further. There is much to be gained should colleges and universities get this right. Some participants suggested adding math prerequisites to FYCCC and against preparatory chemistry courses for underprepared students, citing literature evidence against their desired effect.3 Others were in favor of the preparatory chemistry courses because these produced much more prepared students. There were concerns raised about the lack of moral leadership in academia when underprepared students were being allowed to register for FYCCC, knowing this would put them in a stressful and hopeless situation.
The author declares no competing financial interest.
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REFERENCES
(1) Brown, P. C.; Roediger, H. L., III; McDaniel, M. A. Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning, 1st ed.; Belknap Press of Harvard University Press: Cambridge, MA, 2014; Chapter 2. (2) Putnam, A. L.; Sungkhasettee, V. W.; Roediger, H. L., III Optimizing Learning in College: Tips from Cognitive Psychology. Perspectives on Psychological Science 2016, 11, 652−660. (3) Bentley, A. B.; Gellene, G. I. A Six-Year Study of the Effects of a Remedial Course in the Chemistry Curriculum. J. Chem. Educ. 2005, 82, 125−130. (4) American Chemical Society, Division of Chemical Education, Committee on Computers in Chemical Education. 2017 Fall ConfChem: Mathematics in Undergraduate Chemistry Instruction. https://confchem.ccce.divched.org/2017FallConfChem (accessed May 2018). (5) American Chemical Society, Division of Chemical Education, Committee on Computers in Chemical Education. The Building Student Confidence with Chemistry Computation paper and discussion are available at https://confchem.ccce.divched.org/ content/2017fallconfchemp5 (accessed May 2018).
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LOCAL IMPACT In relation to the findings of this study and other data, such as the high correlation of math placement test scores and resulting grades in FYCCC at McDaniel, we will be offering a preparatory “fundamentals of chemistry” course for underprepared students. Students placed into this course on the basis of the math placement test scores would need to pass this and the math algebra or arithmetic courses related to that placement result before being able to register for a regular twosemester sequence of FYCCC. This report summarizes one of the invited papers to the ConfChem online conference on Mathematics in Undergraduate Chemistry Instruction, held October 23 to November 27, 2017, and hosted by the ACS DivCHED Committee on Computers in Chemical Education (CCCE).4 This paper was discussed November 8−16, 2017;5 the paper itself and the related discussions are available in the Supporting Information. ConfChem conferences are open to the public and can be accessed at the CCCE Web site.
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ASSOCIATED CONTENT
S Supporting Information *
The Supporting Information is available on the ACS Publications website at DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.8b00091.
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Full text of the original paper with associated discussions from the ConfChem Conference (PDF)
AUTHOR INFORMATION
Corresponding Author
*E-mail:
[email protected]. ORCID
Peter R. Craig: 0000-0003-1555-1844 B
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.8b00091 J. Chem. Educ. XXXX, XXX, XXX−XXX
