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Organic Chemistry YouTube Writing Assignment for Large Lecture Classes Annaliese K. Franz* Department of Chemistry, University of California, Davis, California 95616, United States
bS Supporting Information ABSTRACT: This work describes efforts to incorporate and evaluate the use of a YouTube writing assignment in large lecture classes to personalize learning and improve conceptual understanding of chemistry through peer- and self-explanation strategies. Although writing assignments can be a method to incorporate peer- and selfexplanation strategies, this method is not often incorporated in large lecture classes and lower-division science courses. This work primarily focuses on a YouTube “video script” writing assignment where a student selects an organic chemistry concept and describes how they would “teach” or creatively explain the concept to their fellow classmates using real-world examples in a popular YouTube video format. In a more elaborate version of the assignment, students then proceed to make a YouTube video based on this written assignment. Subsequent details and feedback about the assignment are also presented. KEYWORDS: First-Year Undergraduate/General, Second-Year Undergraduate, Organic Chemistry, Communication/Writing, Multimedia-Based Learning, Student-Centered Learning
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ecent articles highlight the advantages and challenges to promote interactive learning for students in introductory science classes and students in interdisciplinary programs.1 4 Although many strategies are presented to promote active learning and improve teaching in science classes, these strategies are often described for upper-division or smaller lecture classes and not often implemented in large introductory lecture classes. Economic realities often dictate the necessity for large lecture courses, so it is important to consider what assignments and methods are most effective to help students in these classes connect with the material, engage in active problem solving, and receive the appropriate feedback that they need regarding their learning strategies. The use of a YouTube Video writing assignment in large lecture classes is described with the goal to personalize learning and improve conceptual understanding of chemistry through peer- and self-explanation strategies. Recent educational articles highlight the advantages and efficacy of peer- and self-explanation strategies through “thinkpair-share” activities and “clickers” to promote conceptual understanding and learning.5 7 Recent articles in this Journal also emphasize the advantages and efficacy of writing assignments to promote learning.8 18 Although writing assignments can also be a method to incorporate peer- and self-explanation strategies, this method may be less often incorporated in large lecture classes and lower-division science courses. Just as classroom discussion using think-pair-share and clicker activities has been shown to promote conceptual understanding,5,19,20 writing assignments where a student is tasked to translate and describe a concept into his or her own words should also improve conceptual understanding and develop cognitive skills.12,21 23 This type of writing assignment also allows students to become more engaged and Copyright r 2011 American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.
personalize their learning experience by picking a molecule, topic, or concept that is related to their future career or daily life. Moreover, writing helps students develop their science communication skills, which may extend the benefits beyond the classroom and provide avenues for public outreach.24,25
’ STRUCTURE OF LARGE UNDERGRADUATE LECTURE COURSE The YouTube writing assignment has been used in a twoquarter nonmajor organic chemistry sequence. The first quarter is a 2-unit, 10-week course with two 1-h lectures per week and no lab or recitation sections; the second quarter is a 4-unit, 10-week course with three 1-h lectures per week, one 3-h laboratory section per week, and no recitation sections. The course is composed of a cross section of diverse students who are not chemistry majors and are not planning to attend professional school in health and life sciences. Examples of typical students include those majoring in animal biology, biological and agricultural engineering, clinical nutrition, environmental sciences, evolution and ecology, food science, microbiology, cell biology, genetics, exercise biology, plant sciences, psychology, and viticulture and enology. Typical enrollment is approximately 300 400 students per course per quarter. Two types of writing assignments have been utilized in the organic chemistry sequence to incorporate self- and peerexplanation strategies in an effort to enforce conceptual understanding through writing and communication skills, while allowing Published: November 29, 2011 497
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Table 1. Examples of Molecules, Concepts, and Script Formats Selected for Writing Assignments Examples of Molecules Chosen for the
Common Concepts Chosen by
Examples of Formats or Creative
Organic Chemistry Scavenger Hunt Assignment
Students for YouTube Video Script
Explanations Used To Teach Chemical Concepts
Human and animal pharmaceutical compounds (e.g., prednisone, Prozac, amoxicillin, and thyroxine) Vitamins and other molecules related to food or nutrition (e.g., vitamins, GLA, caffeine, and quercetin) Polymers or monomer building blocks (e.g., polycarbonate, polyurethane, and cyanoacrylate) Amino acids and specific molecules mentioned in another class Environmental contaminants (e.g., DDT and trifluralin)
Catalysts
Cooking shows
Delocalized electrons
News reports
Resonance stabilization
Children’s shows (e.g., puppet shows)
Cis trans isomerization
Educational or instructional videos
Hydrogen-bonding forces
Variety shows or games shows
Polymerization reactions
Cartoon or comic drawings
Electronegativity Acidity
Musical song or rap Dance performances (e.g., enacting chemical
Organic bonding Enantiomers and chirality
bonding or chemical phenomenon) Demonstrations using molecular models Clever analogies using real-world concepts
promote students to make their video. Students first submitted the topic selection and list of potential group members for approval (through the online course page) approximately three weeks before the written assignment was due. Brief feedback was provided on the online course page regarding the topic selection, with a standard reminder to include examples containing organic molecules. At this time, an information sheet was also posted on the online course page compiling answers for several common questions received by e-mail. Students were given the option to submit their written assignment in paper format or by uploading the document to the course page using the online course management tools. Even if students submitted a video, they were also required to submit the written assignment for grading. The incorporation of technology and multimedia provided a method to further increase the impact of the writing assignment.10,15,27 32 During the first time this writing assignment was incorporated in the class, students were not required to make a video; however, extra credit was provided if the students made and posted their video on youtube.com. Because it was desirable to see the quality and impact of video production, students were told that they would receive up to 25 points of extra-credit (almost 4% of their final grade). As a result, 192 out of 399 students proceeded beyond the written assignment to make their proposed YouTube videos describing various organic chemistry concepts, and these were posted on youtube.com for all students to watch. A YouTube group site (Figure 1) was set up for the class so that all videos were posted together for easier viewing;33 however, these videos can be found with the search function and viewed as any YouTube video (Figure 2). The use of a group site is especially useful when videos are posted on different days. Video assignments were uploaded by the student directly to the course group on youtube.com and then the link and video was also submitted to the course page using the online course management tools.
students to personalize and select real-world topics that are important to them. The first type of writing assignment was an “Organic Chemistry Scavenger Hunt” report where students select an organic molecule and search for both the chemical and functional (e.g., biological) properties of this molecule (Table 1) and then describe why the molecule is relevant to their daily life or career path.13 As part of this assignment, students were required to include primary literature references, so this provides an opportunity to incorporate a literature-searching computer lesson for the lab component to instruct students and provide this as a valuable learning skill. The second type of writing assignment was developed as a “video script” writing assignment where students select an organic chemistry concept (Table 1) and describe how they would “teach” or creatively explain the concept to their fellow classmates using real-world examples in a popular YouTube video format.15,26 Both of these writing assignments were envisioned to be applicable for either quarter of the organic chemistry sequence; however, both assignments may benefit from a lab section that can be devoted to a literaturesearching lesson.
’ YOUTUBE WRITING ASSIGNMENT AND VIDEO PRODUCTION The YouTube concept writing assignment was implemented in the first quarter of the organic chemistry sequence and constituted 15% of the total grade. The purpose of the assignment was to help students become more familiar with an important concept in organic chemistry by thinking about how they would describe and present this concept in a visual way to other students in a YouTube video. The assignment was mentioned in the course syllabus and students were provided with a handout several weeks into the course that described the purpose and specific details of the assignment (see sample handout in Supporting Information). Students were encouraged to pick a concept with examples that relate to their major, intended career path, or another outside interest. For the assignment, students presented information about the concept, provided two examples of how or why it is important, and then wrote a script or stage notes to describe how they would creatively (and accurately) convey this information in a YouTube video. Because this was for an organic chemistry class, students were told that their concept must include at least one organic molecule as an example in the description of their concept. Students were allowed, and encouraged, to work in groups of 2 5 people to facilitate discussion and
’ GRADING DETAILS One possible drawback or resistance to writing assignments is grading. In both assignments, a handout with specific details about point distribution was provided as a guide to convey clear expectations to the students and to ensure that specific organic details and analyses were included for molecules and concepts. To simplify the grading and ensure consistency, teaching assistants were given an enhanced rubric to use for grading. The organic chemistry course does not fulfill a general education-writing 498
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Journal of Chemical Education requirement for the university and both writing assignments were graded for correct scientific ideas and content rather than grammar. In the grading of these assignments, teaching assistants were instructed that any assignment that was not a clear match of partial credit with the rubric, or was difficult to evaluate for any reason (e.g., too short, potential plagiarism, etc.), should be given to the professor to grade (this varies and has been roughly 10% of the assignments). In the case of the YouTube Video assignment, the grading of the written assignment was often performed simultaneously with viewing of the actual YouTube video (if one was submitted). It is notable that grading was often
Figure 1. Screenshot of the course group on youtube.com.
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facilitated in these cases because a majority of points for the assignment were related to the examples selected and how the students chose to creatively communicate the concept. When students selected to work in a group, all members of the group received the same grade for the writing assignment and the production of the video; however, it may be preferable to implement a method to specifically assess the contribution from each group member.
’ STUDENT RESPONSE Voluntary participation in midterm evaluation interviews and online surveys were used to assess students’ perceptions of the course and the writing assignments. When a voluntary, anonymous online survey was performed to ask the students about the value of the YouTube writing assignment (along with other aspects of the course), 332 out of 399 students participated (84% response rate). Students were asked to respond to statements using a rating system from 1 to 5. Students were asked: “Did the YouTube writing assignment help you to understand organic chemistry concepts and connections to real life and your career better? (where 1 = no, not at all and 5 = yes, definitely).” Overall, the results were largely positive with an average student response score of 3.64 (standard deviation = 1.16), with 58% giving a rating of 4 or 5, with 28% giving a rating of 3, and with only 14% giving a rating of 1 or 2. On the basis of a yes or no response, 60% of students responding indicated that they chose to make the extra-credit video. Students were also asked to provide comments or feedback about the YouTube writing assignment. Overall, students provided positive response and their feedback suggested that the writing assignment provides an effective method to engage
Figure 2. Screen shots of student videos made for the course and posted on youtube.com. 499
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Journal of Chemical Education students and help personalize the learning experience. Many student comments included phrases indicating how the assignment prompted them to personalize their learning experience, such as how the assignment allowed a student “to make the subject my own” or how students were able to understand a concept “on their own terms”. Many students also commented about how the writing assignment impacted the way that they will remember their concept (examples of student comments are available in the Supporting Information). Comments included phrases such as “it will be hard to forget since we acted about organic chemistry” or how the concept is “engraved in my brain”. It is also interesting to note the effective recruiting and outreach that was observed in the process of making the videos. Many students recruited family members, roommates, and neighbors as actors or participants in the video. Family pets were also included in videos for demonstrations and creativity.
’ IMPROVEMENTS AND FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS In future courses, examples of the final YouTube video assignment will be provided to students, and the timeline changed to encourage more videos to be made and utilized as a resource for other students.34 Several students commented how useful it was to watch other student’s videos as they studied for their final exam. One student specifically requested that the papers were graded “before the video is due to make sure there is not misinformation in the video so they will be more helpful for future classes.” As expected, there were some small technology-related issues with submitting or uploading video files due to the movie file size and type. In the future, the video lab on campus will be informed about the assignment so that they can help the students achieve the goals of the assignment. A preapproved list of topics or concepts for the students will be used, and students will “petition” if they are interested in a different topic. This assignment may also be more effective when there is a lab component where students can work with lab partners to increase discussion and incorporate more opportunities for peer explanation as part of the process to make their video. A possible concern for any large course is cheating related to the submission of an assignment that has been completed in a previous year. Although not currently utilized at this university, it was suggested by a reviewer that this concern could be resolved by having students submit their paper to a Web site such as Turnitin.com as a way to identify plagiarism. It is also an option to modify or evolve the writing assignment requirements slightly each year. For YouTube video assignments, the assignment may also be evolved to have students critique the content of existing videos on youtube.com and explain how they would improve upon the video or combine creative teaching methods to make a video more engaging as well as more educational.
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concepts, it also gave feedback to see how the students connect to the concepts as the students “teach back” the material in their assignments. The topics and connections to real life also provide ideas for new case studies and examples to use in future courses, and several of the videos will be useful to show in class or post on the course Web site as a learning tool for future students.
’ ASSOCIATED CONTENT
bS
Supporting Information Assignment handouts; the information sheet; examples of student comments. This material is available via the Internet at http://pubs.acs.org.
’ AUTHOR INFORMATION Corresponding Author
*E-mail:
[email protected].
’ ACKNOWLEDGMENT Neil Schore and Dean Tantillo (Department of Chemistry) are gratefully acknowledged for course consultation, and Mikaela Huntzinger (UC Davis, Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning) is acknowledged for midquarter evaluations and consultation to implement the YouTube writing assignment and video production. ’ REFERENCES (1) Handelsman, J.; Ebert-May, D.; Beichner, R.; Bruns, P.; Chang, A.; DeHaan, R.; Gentile, J.; Lauffer, S; Stewart, J.; Tilghman, S. M.; Wood, W. B. Science 2004, 304, 521–522. (2) Wieman, C. Change Magazine 2007, 39, 9–15. (3) Hrepic, Z.; Zollman, D.; Rebello, N. J. Sci. Educ. Tech. 2007, 16, 213–224. (4) Chickering, A. W.; Gamson, Z. F. Am. Assoc. Higher Educ. Bull. 1987, 39, 3–7. (5) Smith, M. K.; Wood, W. B.; Adams, W. K.; Wieman, C.; Knight, J. K.; Guild, N.; Su, T. T. Science 2009, 323, 122–123. (6) Tanner, K. D. CBE Life Sci. Educ. 2009, 8, 89–94. (7) Crouch, C.; Mazur, E. Am. J. Phys. 2001, 69, 970–977. (8) Shibley, I. A.; Milakofksy, L. M.; Nicotera, C. L. J. Chem. Educ. 2001, 78, 50–53. (9) Sivey, J. D.; Lee, C. M. J. Chem. Educ. 2008, 85, 55–58. (10) May, C. L.; Locke, J. R.; Coppola, B. P.; McNeil, A. J. J. Chem. Educ. 2010, 87, 1159–1162. (11) Thall, E.; Bays, G. J. Chem. Educ. 1989, 66, 662. (12) Beall, H. J. Chem. Educ. 1991, 68, 148. (13) Ablin, L. J. Chem. Educ. 2008, 85, 237–239. (14) Cooper, M. M. J. Chem. Educ. 1993, 70, 476–477. (15) Ryswyk, H. V. J. Chem. Educ. 2005, 82, 70–72. (16) Rossi, F. M. J. Chem. Educ. 1997, 74, 395–396. (17) Olmsted III., J. J. Chem. Educ. 1984, 61, 798–800. (18) Whelan, R. J.; Zare, R. N. J. Chem. Educ. 2003, 80, 904–906. (19) Chi, M. T. H.; de Leeuw, N.; Chiu, M. H.; LaVancher, C. Cogn. Sci. 1994, 18, 439477. (20) Coleman, E. B.; Brown, A. L.; Rivkin, I. D. J. Learn. Sci. 1997, 6, 347–365. (21) Rivard, L. P. J. Res. Sci. Teach. 1994, 31, 969–983. (22) Jang, S. J. Educ. Res. 2007, 49, 65–81. (23) Powell, A. Coll. Compos. Commun. 1985, 36, 414–418. (24) Kovac, J.; Sherwood, D. W. Writing Across the Chemistry Curriculum: An Instructor’s Manual; Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River, NJ, 2001. (25) Coppola, B. P.; Daniels, D. S. 1996, 1, 67-86.
’ CONCLUSIONS Student feedback suggests that writing assignments provide an effective method to engage students, create a student-centered learning experience, and use technology to enhance self- and peer-explanation learning strategies.35,36 It is a unique and rewarding experience to hear the voices of the students in YouTube videos where the professor can learn from students at the same time as he or she teaches them. While the assignment allowed evaluation of the student’s understanding of chemical 500
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(26) Paulson, D. R. J. Chem. Educ. 1999, 76, 1136–1140. (27) Organic Chemistry for the YouTube Generation. Physorg.com, December 6, 2007. http://www.physorg.com/news116181206.html (accessed Nov 2011). (28) Jacobsen, E. J. J. Chem. Educ. 2008, 85, 173. (29) Pursell, D. P. J. Chem. Educ. 2009, 86, 1219–1222. (30) Gutow, J. H. J. Chem. Educ. 2010, 87, 652–653. (31) Taylor, D.; Rogers, A. L.; Veal., W. R. J. Chem. Educ. 2009, 86, 393–398. (32) Pence, L. E.; Greene, E.; Pence, H. E. J. Chem. Educ. 2019, 87, 254–255. (33) The group site was established as http://www.youtube.com/ group/chem8A. At the time of publication, this group site is no longer active and youtube.com no longer offers the feature to make a group page. Creating a group page on Facebook.com may provide an alternate method to post the YouTube videos together for easy viewing. (34) As evidence that these videos are also reaching an audience outside of the class through www.youtube.com, at time of submission of this manuscript at least 10 of the YouTube videos posted had received more than 1,000 views, with two of these videos receiving more than 10,000 views. (35) During the review and revision process for this manuscript, several additional examples were reported that provide evidence where making YouTube videos can be incorporated in high school and college classrooms to enhance learning about chemistry. One example is the “It’s Elemental” online video contest, sponsored by the Chemical Heritage Foundation and the Dow Chemical Company, which attracted 1000 high school student participants from 36 states, see: http://www. chemheritage.org/discover/chemistry-in-history/its-elemental/index. aspx. A second example is a collection of music videos produced by Neil Garg’s organic chemistry class at UCLA and posted on youtube.com, see: http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/students-rap-to-chemistry160127.aspx (both accessed Nov 2011). Two commentaries have also recently been published related to this topic: (a) Smith, D. K. Nat. Chem. 2011, 3, 681–684. (b) Haran, B.; Poliakoff, M. Nat. Chem 2011, 3, 180–182. (36) Since submission of this manuscript, the YouTube writing assignment has been used in subsequent offerings of the course. Due to the success and enthusiasm of the students for the project, the creative multimedia component is now a standard part of the project, in addition to the written part of the assignment. To accommodate different technical expertise and multimedia preferences, students may select between two options for the project component: 1) to make and post a YouTube video, or 2) to make a flyer/brochure, which accomplishes similar goals. Extra credit is offered for the best flyer/brochure and the top 3 videos, as determined based on three categories: 1) best video based on TA votes, 2) best video based on student votes, and 3) video receiving the most views on youtube.com.
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