Embedding Graduate Attributes at the Inception of a Chemistry

We worked with students to progressively acquire graduate attributes that they need to become professional chemists. ..... Although professional chemi...
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Embedding Graduate Attributes at the Inception of a Chemistry Major in a Bachelor of Science Sarah A.M. Windsor,*,† Kerry Rutter,† David B. McKay,‡ and Noel Meyers§ †

School of Science, Education and Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, Queensland 4558, Australia Abu Dhabi University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates § School of Education, Outdoor and Environmental Studies, La Trobe University, Bendigo, Victoria 3550, Australia ‡

S Supporting Information *

ABSTRACT: Future employers increasingly require work-ready graduates. Higher education institutions throughout the world have responded through reforming the curriculum of major strands of study to incorporate graduate attributes. In this case study, we explicitly taught graduate attributes, obliged students to practice their newfound capabilities, gave feedback on their mastery of their new talents, and then assessed their expertise. We worked with students to progressively acquire graduate attributes that they need to become professional chemists. We implemented this strategy in a coherent suite of eight courses at a regional university in Australia. Our purpose was to design a tranche of eight courses to sequentially guide students’ mastery of graduate attributes in ways that would contribute to producing “bench-ready” chemists. Students’ perceptions of their acquisition of graduate attributes were ascertained through surveys and compared with student performance on assessment tasks. The knowledgeable and problem-solving graduate attributes were successfully developed in the first-year course, SCI105 Chemistry, and the third-year course, Physical Chemistry, respectively. The communication, engaged, ethical, and sustainability-focused graduate attributes were simultaneously developed in the second-year course, Inorganic Chemistry. We present here our model and underlying framework in such a way that others could implement this strategy in another context. KEYWORDS: First-Year Undergraduate/General, Curriculum, Learning Theories, Second-Year Undergraduate, Upper-Division Undergraduate

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INTRODUCTION Discipline-specific knowledge and associated technical skills were traditionally associated with higher education.1 A survey of 2,035 advertisements for chemistry graduates in both newspapers and online demonstrated that employers still seek future employees with a solid background in basic chemistry and exposure to modern analytical equipment.2 However, in today’s world, the pace, nature and demands of change exceed what has been previously experienced in human history.3 Graduates with a single degree, like science, can no longer expect to hold the prerequisites for a lifetime of practice.1a Rising expectations in the workplace combined with an increasingly educated workforce have produced an environment in which a Master’s degree is now required for jobs that once would have gone to graduates of first degrees.4 A recent graduate now holds only the professional foundation for the early years of practice.1a Long-term employability requires university graduates in employment to be adaptable, multiskilled, flexible and capable of learning on the job.5 Lifelong learning dimension has come to represent a holistic endeavor which requires people to synthesize, and apply existing and new discipline-specific knowledge and associated technical skills in an appropriate way. These skills require further integration with the human qualities needed to remain resilient to changing conditions and contexts.1a,6 Employers are now even more discerning and explicit in their searches for employees. They seek to employ graduate chemists who can communicate, collaborate, organize, problem solve and think critically.2 Industrial managers need © 2014 American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.

science graduates to move effortlessly from science to business to humanitarian issues.7 Education and training are the main instruments available to prepare individuals for a rapidly changing, increasingly demanding world of work and to improve their employability. In the 1980s and early 1990s, discipline-specific knowledge, associated technical skills and generic skills represented distinct and separate aspects of university studies. However, the benefits of context-free generic skills remain debatable. Contextualizing generic skills within discipline-specific areas provides a stronger foundation for enduring employability.1a Creating undergraduate programs to concurrently and explicitly develop generic skills as well as discipline-specific knowledge and associated technical skills remains a challenge. Although 73% of academic staff believes graduate attributes are important, misalignment between the intended and implemented curriculum can occur.1a,8 This misalignment is a problem for the approximately 75−85% of science graduates who seek and find employment in the nonacademic workplace.7 The University of the Sunshine Coast (USC), a growing regional university in Australia, introduced a new set of graduate attributes in 2010. To develop a generic program, like the Bachelor of Science (BSc), where students may select a diversity of courses, attribute mapping is required at the level of major, since a major represents the fundamental unit of sequential study required in all generic Bachelor programs. In Published: September 15, 2014 2078

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students acquire knowledge cumulatively in an environment using an array of pedagogical strategies that can also develop graduate attributes. For example, knowledge of organic chemistry builds cumulatively across the major in chemistry. Functional groups of molecules are identified in the first year course, SCI105 Chemistry. Students use information literacy to inform their proposed strategies to synthesize compounds with particular functional groups in the second year course, Organic Chemistry. Students apply technologies in the third year course, Analytical Sciences, to quantitate compounds with particular functional groups in real world samples. This quantitation uses laboratory skills identified in advertisements for chemistry positions in newspapers, including: high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GCMS) and atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS).2 Knowledge of organic chemistry will be applied in the interdisciplinary field of medicine in Medicinal Organic Chemistry. Development of theoretical knowledge is the primary (60%) focus of the first year course, SCI105 Chemistry, and attainment of this graduate attribute has been surveyed in the Semester 2 2013 cohort. These student perceptions have been compared to student performances in the final examination. The cutting edge of chemistry research occurs within the minds of all professional chemists, and the foundations of this communicated wisdom comes from the communication of experiments that are archived almost exclusively in peer reviewed journals.12 Since experimental protocols represent the foundation necessary to make discoveries and work as a professional chemist, students engage in procedural experiments in all eight courses of the chemistry major. In preparation for laboratory work, students are taught to develop information literacy skills by locating, storing, analyzing, synthesizing and retrieving chemistry information in formal and informal contexts.13 In teams, students apply technologies to produce outcomes that they record in the form of chemical data during laboratory sessions. Individually, students use problem solving skills to calculate quantities from the chemical data they have produced. Students communicate their understandings and explain variances between their experimentally derived values and published values in the discussion section of the laboratory report.14 Development of practical knowledge is the secondary (20%) focus of the first year course, SCI105 Chemistry, and attainment of this graduate attribute has been surveyed in the Semester 2 2013 cohort. These student perceptions have been compared to the shift in student performance between the initial and final practical report assessment tasks.

2012, USC redeveloped its BSc program including the choice of a major in chemistry, the focus of this paper. The revised program has been implemented in 2013. Embedding graduate attributes in the context of chemistry have bridged the gap between the intended and implemented curriculum to provide long-term, employable professional chemists.8b,9 USC has 12 graduate attributes that students are expected to attain, including being: • Creative and critical thinkers • Empowered • Engaged • Ethical • Knowledgeable • Sustainability-focused • Communicators • Collaborators • Problem solvers • Organizers • Able to apply technologies • Information literate The USC BSc Chemistry Major consists of eight coherent and thematically linked courses: one first year course, three second year courses and four third year courses (see Table 1). Across the major in chemistry, graduate attributes are Table 1. Courses Comprising the Major in Chemistry Year

Course

1 2 2 2 3 3 3 3

SCI105 Chemistry Biochemistry Organic Chemistry Inorganic Chemistry Environmental Chemistry Analytical Sciences Physical Chemistry Medicinal Organic Chemistry

• Taught in lectures • Practiced in tutorials and laboratory classes • Assessed in examinations, practical reports and oral presentations and feedback provided after each assessment piece In this paper, one course from each year level is investigated so graduate attribute acquisition can be explored at the introductory (1st year), developing (2nd year) and advanced (3rd year) levels. Student perceptions and student performance of graduate attribute acquisition are compared for each course investigated. The second year course, Inorganic Chemistry, was chosen for investigation because it uses an innovative application of the socio-critical and problem-oriented approach to teach inorganic chemistry.10 The third year course, Physical Chemistry, was chosen because it applies the pedagogical philosophy of teaching mathematics to teach physical chemistry.11

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Inorganic Chemistry

Chemistry is a highly collaborative science. In practice, the research group forms a team to guide and support achievement of outcomes. This team has been simulated in the second year course, Inorganic Chemistry.12 In teams of three, students communicate scientific ideas and information by constructing evidence-based arguments. Specifically, each team proposes and justifies its ethical, sustainability-focused position on a topic related to solar or nuclear power. Teams are assessed in a headto-head oral debate. The audience includes peers, staff and government officials. The topic of solar versus nuclear for future power supplies is an engaging topic which solidifies connections between theory and practice of energy transformations, engenders controversy and requires decisions.15

MAPPING GRADUATE ATTRIBUTES IN THE DISCIPLINE CONTEXT OF CHEMISTRY

SCI105 Chemistry

Within the discipline of chemistry, a mixture of theoretical and practical knowledge is used daily by professional chemists and the major in chemistry was constructed on the basis that 2079

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respond on a 5 point Likert scale (not at all, slightly, moderately, very much, or extremely) post completion of the Physical Chemistry course.

The oral debate turns into an important learning forum. A tenuous position held by the affirmative team can be rebutted by the negative team and vice versa.14 Collaboration with capable, motivated students bolsters the performance of weaker students. Meanwhile, explaining things to peers gives strong students a deeper understanding.15 Development of the communication, engaged, ethical and sustainability-focused graduate attributes has been surveyed in the Inorganic Chemistry Semester 2 2013 cohort. Students’ perceptions have been compared to students’ performances in the oral debate assessed by staff and government officials.

SCI105 Chemistry

It is important and pedagogically sound for students to begin their learning with some concepts in chemistry before working with actual experiments in the laboratory.14 In the first year course, SCI105 Chemistry, students attend three lectures covering the following: introduction to the multidisciplinary nature of chemistry and measurements in chemistry, atomic structure, and the periodic table; and participate in a tutorial about laboratory reports. Then students conduct their first experiment which converts copper solid to copper(II) ions in solution to copper(II) in an ionic solid back to copper(II) ions in solution and back to copper solid. Lecture notes provide the necessary foundation for students to inform their active and scaffolded identification of the critical concepts and to paraphrase those conceptions in their own words.16 Students learn how to present solutions to qualitative and quantitative chemistry problems in meaningful ways during teacher centered activities (13 2 h lectures) and students practice this skill during student centered activities (6 3 h laboratory sessions and 6 1 h tutorial sessions).15 Assessment reinforces the development of theoretical knowledge in the first year course, SCI105 Chemistry. Students practice declaring their content knowledge by presenting solutions to qualitative and quantitative chemistry problems in meaningful ways in the low anxiety, moderate stakes (20%) midsemester examination.17 Students are given feedback on their performance on the midsemester examination prior to being assessed in the high stakes (40%) final examination. There was a statistically significant difference between the pretest (n = 65) and post-test (n = 73) survey responses to the statement, my theoretical chemistry knowledge is good, according to nonparametric, independent samples Mann− Whitney U tests: P = 0.001. Figure S1 (in the Supporting Information) shows the students’ perceived increase in their theoretical chemistry knowledge. Student performances (n = 55) in the final examination show a bimodal distribution of percentage scores (see Supporting Information Figure S2), with peaks at approximately 25% and 75%. A similar bimodal distribution has also been observed in examination scores of physics students with maxima at approximately 30% and 60%.18 The upper mode student group (n = 38) (see Supporting Information Figure S2) demonstrated a depth and breadth of theoretical chemistry concepts. This could have been due to a stronger initial background in chemistry,19 self-reported by students (n = 29) (see Supporting Information Figure S1) who either agreed or strongly agreed that their initial theoretical chemistry was good. The lower mode student group (n = 17) (see Supporting Information Figure S2) knew a limited number of theoretical chemistry concepts. This may not mean that these student did not learn any theoretical chemistry concepts by studying SCI105 Chemistry, because they could have had no prior chemistry knowledge,19 self-reported by students (n = 12) (see Supporting Information Figure S1) who either disagreed or strongly disagreed that their initial theoretical chemistry was good. Instead, this lower mode student group may represent students who have not yet learnt sufficient theoretical chemistry concepts to reach the threshold of understanding that students need to cross before they could score well in the final examination.18

Physical Chemistry

Mathematics is a critical component of physical chemistry. In developing the third level course, Physical Chemistry, at USC, innovative practice was exhibited in the selection and organization of content and delivery, by capitalizing upon the pedagogical philosophy of teaching mathematics espoused by Mahavier.11 In Physical Chemistry, students present quantitative stepwise solutions to chemistry problems in situ for staff and peers. Using visual aids and communication technologies, they create a shared understanding of their thinking and approaches.15 The processes and rationales students use to solve problems is clearer in this vocal thinking format compared to closed book, timed examinations.8b To solve quantitative chemistry problems, each student presents six (5%) solutions throughout the 13 week course. This strategy enables feedback between presentations.14 Physical Chemistry focuses attention on numeracy skills to solve quantitative chemistry problems: rearranging equations, performing dimensional analysis of units, graphing data, differentiating, integrating and solving quadratic equations using the quadratic formula. Development of the problem solving graduate attribute has been surveyed in the Physical Chemistry Semester 1 2014 cohort. These student perceptions have been compared to the shift in student performance between the initial and final oral presentation assessment tasks.

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EVALUATING ATTAINMENT OF GRADUATE ATTRIBUTES IN THE DISCIPLINE CONTEXT OF CHEMISTRY The Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) at USC approved (HREC A/13/485) voluntarily and anonymously surveying students of the Semester 2 2013 cohorts of the first year course, SCI105 Chemistry, and the second year course, Inorganic Chemistry. Student perceived graduate attribute acquisition was ascertained by asking students to respond on a 5 point Likert scale (strongly disagree, disagree, neutral, agree, or strongly agree) prior to commencement and post completion of their course. Statistically significant differences (P < 0.05) between pre-test and post-test survey responses were determined by nonparametric, independent samples Mann−Whitney U tests. The HREC at USC also approved (HREC A/14/579) deidentified publication of student performances in the Semester 2 2013 cohorts of SCI105 Chemistry and Inorganic Chemistry and in the Semester 1 2014 cohort of the third year course, Physical Chemistry. Statistically significant differences (P < 0.05) between initial and final assessment tasks were determined by parametric, paired samples t tests. Approval was also gained under HREC A/14/579 to voluntarily and anonymously survey Semester 1 2014 Physical Chemistry students. Student perceived problem solving improvements were ascertained by asking students to 2080

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and government officials of their ethical, sustainability-focused solutions. Nonparametric independent samples Mann−Whitney U tests of the pre-test (n = 12) and post-test (n = 10) survey responses of the Semester 2 2013 cohort of the second year course, Inorganic Chemistry, revealed significant differences in students’ conceptions of their skills sets, before and after studying the course, exemplified by the following: • my ability to communicate orally to government officials is good (P = 0.021) • my ability to inform government officials about future energy supply is good (P = 0.002) • my ability to justify ethical solutions to inorganic chemistry problems is good (P = 0.001) • my ability to justify solutions to inorganic chemistry problems responding to ecological, social and economic imperatives is good (P = 0.004). Supporting Information Figures S7−S10 illustrate the students’ self-reported growth in their mastery of speaking with government officials, in ways designed to inform and influence decision makers about ethical and sustainability-focused future energy supplies. This very positive student assessment of their inorganic chemistry learning through this societally relevant, current and authentic context is consistent with the student views of learning chemistry of alcohols through the use of bioethanol as a fuel.10 The government officials present at the oral debate for Inorganic Chemistry concurred with student perceptions because government officials thought that all debate teams: • covered all the information the government official already knew about solar/nuclear power plus information the government official did not already know • spoke clearly, at an appropriate volume and in a language the government official could understand • would make a significant contribution to government officials through providing an information service prior to government officials voting on the adoption of solar/ nuclear power in their region. The staff assessment of student performance at the oral debate also concurred with student perceptions because even the lowest ability debate teams were competent in their ability to apply knowledge of solar/nuclear power to propose and justify an ethical, sustainability focused solution to current and future power shortages. This staff assessment is in agreement with the observation of teachers who used the socio-critical and problem-oriented approach to teach the essential chemistry of alcohols: the level of argumentation was unexpectedly high and the socio-critical aspects were well thought out.10

Professional chemists use a mixture of theoretical and practical knowledge daily;20 thus, development of practical knowledge is the secondary (20%) focus of the first year course, SCI105 Chemistry. According to nonparametric, independent samples Mann−Whitney U tests, there were statistically significant differences between the pre-test (n = 66) and post-test (n = 73) survey responses to the following statements: • my practical chemistry knowledge is good (P < 0.001) • I am aware of safe laboratory practices (P = 0.001) • my ability to work in teams in the laboratory is good (P < 0.001). Supporting Information Figures S3, S4, and S5 show the students’ perceived increase in their practical chemistry knowledge, awareness of safe laboratory practices and ability to work in teams in the laboratory, respectively. These student perceptions match the shift in student performance (n = 55) between the initial and final practical report assessment tasks. There was a statistically significant difference between the initial and final practical report percentage scores, according to parametric, paired samples t test: P = 0.028. Supporting Information Figure S6 shows the shift to higher percentage scores for more students from initial to final practical report assessment tasks. Although professional chemists use all of these practical skills on a daily basis,20 proven team-working abilities are also a valued characteristic of future employees at any nonacademic 21st century workplace, where approximately 75−85% of science graduates seek and find employment.7 Inorganic Chemistry

The socio-critical and problem-oriented approach has previously been used to teach the chemistry of alcohols and their technical uses as fuels in conjunction with an examination of the effect of corn and wheat prices and on food availability.10 In the second year course, Inorganic Chemistry, the societally relevant, current, authentic and controversially debated issue within society of viable energy supplies is used as the context through which students can learn inorganic chemistry content.10 Inorganic Chemistry students were taught about chemistry of nonmetals including groups 13/14/15 interactions in conventional solar cells and how to debate by watching highly successful teams debate scientific topics,14 in the first lecture. In the first laboratory class, students constructed a nanocrystalline solar cell,21 and compared their voltage and current output data with literature values.22 In the second lecture, students were taught about nuclear chemistry including patterns of nuclear stability, radioactive decay and current (fission) and potential future (fusion) nuclear power generation. In the first tutorial students analyzed Umanskii’s and Klyushnikov’s journal article describing the economic considerations of extracting uranium from Russian ore in relation to nuclear chemistry theory, nuclear reactions, nuclear fission and world nuclear power production.23 At the end of this analysis, students chose their debate topics, which included the following: nuclear power is a more viable future energy supply than solar power, nuclear power is a more viable future energy supply than coal power, and solar power is a more viable energy supply than wind power. In the tutorial before the oral debate, students were given formative feedback on their performance in a short, practice debate.14 Students used the formative feedback from this task as a reflective tool to help them improve their performance in the summative assessed debate.16 The summative oral debate (40% of total course marks) involved teams of three students persuading peers, staff

Physical Chemistry

The cyclical nature (teach, prepare, present, feedback) of the pedagogical philosophy of teaching mathematics espoused by Mahavier has been implemented in the third year course, Physical Chemistry.11 In week 1 of Physical Chemistry students are taught to rearrange equations. The de Broglie equation is rearranged to compare the wave-like properties of a truck traveling down a highway and an electron traveling around a nucleus.24 The Bohr equation is rearranged to calculate the wavelength of light emitted when an electron falls from a higher orbit to a lower orbit and compared with spectroscopic observations of hydrogen lamps.25 In week 2 of Physical Chemistry, students deliver their initial oral presentation in 2081

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ability to justify ethical solutions to inorganic chemistry problems is good. Figure S10, the number of Inorganic Chemistry students per response for statement: my ability to justify solutions to inorganic chemistry problems responding to ecological, social and economic imperatives is good. Figure S11, the number of Physical Chemistry students (n = 11) who achieved each initial and final oral presentation percentage score. Figure S12, the number of Physical Chemistry students (n = 8) per response for statement: completion of the oral presentations assessment task has improved my ability to solve physical chemistry problems. This material is available via the Internet at http://pubs.acs.org.

which they solve their own choice of physical chemistry problem which requires them to use their newly learnt numeracy skill of rearranging equations. Staff provide feedback on students’ acquisition of the problem solving graduate attribute: verbally at the end of their presentation and in writing via the USC online grade center within a day of their presentation. This cycle is repeated a further five time throughout the course to solve physical chemistry problems involving the following numeracy skills: performing dimensional analysis of units, graphing data, differentiating, integrating and solving quadratic equations using the quadratic formula. There was a statistically significant difference between the initial and final oral presentation percentage scores (n = 11), according to parametric, paired samples t test: P = 0.006. Supporting Information Figure S11 shows the shift to higher percentage scores for more students from initial to final oral presentation assessment tasks. Student perceptions (n = 8) match this shift in student performance as most students thought that their ability to solve physical chemistry problems had very much improved upon completion of the oral presentation assessment task (see Supporting Information Figure S12). Students and staff agree that the cycle of staff demonstration, student presentation and staff feedback has enabled students to apply newly learnt numerical skills to solve unseen physical chemistry problems.11

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Corresponding Author

*E-mail: [email protected]. Notes

The authors declare no competing financial interest.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

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REFERENCES

The authors would like to thank the students studying SCI105 Chemistry and Inorganic Chemistry in Semester 2 2013 and Physical Chemistry in Semester 1 2014 for participating in surveys.

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CONCLUSION Current and future academics teaching chemistry and interdisciplinary courses at USC have a blue print to graduate chemists for an unknown future.3,6,8a,9 The efficacy of this blue print has been investigated by the chemistry major students’ perceived and staff assessed emergence of their graduate attributes.8b,26 Theoretical and practical knowledge were successfully developed in the first year course, SCI105 Chemistry. The communication, engaged, ethical and sustainability-focused graduate attributes were simultaneously developed in the second year course, Inorganic Chemistry. Problem solving was successfully developed in the third year course, Physical Chemistry.

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AUTHOR INFORMATION

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ASSOCIATED CONTENT

S Supporting Information *

All Figures can be found in the Supporting Information. Figure S1, the number of SCI105 Chemistry students per response for statement: my theoretical chemistry knowledge is good. Figure S2, the number of SCI105 Chemistry students (n = 55) who achieved each final examination percentage score. Figure S3, the number of SCI105 Chemistry students per response for statement: my practical chemistry knowledge is good. Figure S4, the number of SCI105 Chemistry students per response for statement: I am aware of safe laboratory practices. Figure S5, the number of SCI105 Chemistry students per response for statement: my ability to work in teams in the laboratory is good. Figure S6, the number of SCI105 Chemistry students (n = 55) who achieved each initial and final practical report percentage score. Figure S7, the number of Inorganic Chemistry students per response for statement: my ability to communicate orally to government officials is good. Figure S8, the number of Inorganic Chemistry students per response for statement: my ability to inform government officials about future energy supply is good. Figure S9, the number of Inorganic Chemistry students per response for statement: my 2082

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