In the Classroom
View from My Classroom
edited by
David L. Byrum Flowing Wells High School Tuscon, AZ 85705
The Convergent Evolution of a Chemistry Project: Using Laboratory Posters as a Platform for Web Page Construction Sally Rigeman Moline High School, Moline, IL 61265
That evolution operates in the physical universe is generally accepted. That this principle can also operate in a curricular setting may be less obvious but is also possible. A recent series of events in my classroom would seem to confirm this suspicion. Over the past two years, Moline High School AP Chemistry students have progressed from standard poster presentations to electronic presentations via the World Wide Web. The resulting collection of student work offers a visual journal of evolving performance. The benefits of this latest phase persuaded me to share how this project unfolded. Introduction Pasteur is credited with the axiom, “Chance only favors the mind that is prepared”. And so it happened at the 29th annual Great Lakes Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society on May 20, 1996, at Normal, Illinois. Dr. M. A. Taylor of Bradley University was presenting a paper, “Real World Samples and Oral Presentations in Instrumental
Analysis”, about techniques he had employed with his college students. My mind drifted, and I looked at my watch noting that my substitute was currently supervising my AP Chemistry class. A week earlier I had assigned each student the task of selecting an experiment from the laboratory manual, Chemistry with CBL (Holmquist, 1995), to perform using our department’s latest technology acquisition. The laboratory activity was an ideal opportunity to observe and troubleshoot as the students interfaced with the new probes and CBL (Calculator-Based Laboratory) system. I had had limited exposure to CBL the previous summer, but the experiments and some of the probes would be new learning for me too. In addition, through prior agreement, our purchase of the CBL systems had been leveraged with the Regional Office of Education’s purchase of additional Vernier datacollecting probes. Our commitment was to provide CBL training for teachers in our region, and the first scheduled in-service workshop was just two weeks away!
Sally Rigeman has taught science at Moline High School since 1970. Additional classroom activities include an NSF-sponsored unified science project (THIS), IPS, Natural Science, Anatomy and Physiology, an integrated science course, and Advanced Placement Chemistry. Sally received her B.S. in biology and chemistry from St. Dominic College, St. Charles, IL, in 1967. Graduate studies include three NSF study grants—molecular biology at the University of California, Berkeley; population genetics at the University of Colorado, Boulder; and fundamentals of chemistry at the Institute for Chemical Education (ICE) at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She obtained an M.S. in Education from Northern Illinois University in 1976. Additional graduate work includes nucleic acid and protein chemistry, a summer research fellowship at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Rockford, an Advanced Placement Chemistry workshop at Purdue, and several secondary chemistry teaching summer workshops sponsored by the Illinois State Board of Higher Education. Rigeman is currently enrolled in the doctoral program in Science Education at the University of Iowa. In 1992, Rigeman received a $10,000 laboratory equipment award funded by the Moline Public Schools Foundation. The following year, as project director, she was granted a $24,000 scientific literacy award by the Illinois State Board of Education for a student job shadowing program. Her continued participation in proposal-writing initiatives has helped bring additional equipment and programs to western Illinois schools. She has received several Illinois PTSA service awards. In 1994, she received the Deere/Moline Partnership Award. In 1995, the Illinois-Iowa section of the American Chemical Society named her High School Chemistry Teacher of the Year. In 1996, the American Chemical Society selected her as Great Lakes Regional High School Chemistry Teacher of the Year. In 1997, she received the Dispatch-Argus Master Teacher Award. When Sally isn’t teaching or studying, she enjoys snow skiing, and her kitchen doubles as her second laboratory.
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Beginnings One problem I had not yet addressed was evaluation. How does one evaluate student work when every student experiment is different? As Taylor’s presentation was drawing to a close, the significance of his poster session suddenly hit me. Eureka! A research poster would be a perfect authentic assessment tool! It is an advanced alternative to the usual laboratory report; the process of planning and developing a poster reinforces the use of skills from other academic areas— English, mathematics, art, technology, etc.—in the science curriculum; and the standard format is easily transformed into an assessment rubric. The finished posters would have added value as a teaching tool for the CBL teacher workshop. If the AP Chemistry students were willing to demonstrate how they used the data collecting probes, they could help train the workshop teachers. Student participation in the workshop would greatly enhance the delivery system. Instead of two teacher trainers, there could be 14 demonstrators; instead of merely one or two demonstrations, there could be 14 different experiments. The first thing I did the following day was to modify the student assignment to include a poster with a separate abstract. The posters had to include the following sections: an introduction, data, sample calculations, graphs, conclusion, and technical difficulties. Using Taylor’s suggestion, students would compose abstracts to frame the workshop program. During the next two weeks, each day brought a new set of challenges, problems, and questions. The AP Chemistry students were breaking new ground with the equipment. Our standard 50-minute class period did not accommodate this activity. Students came in before school, and they stayed after. They were creatively engaged. Student Posters and the Workshop—Year One The June ’96 CBL Teacher Workshop was sectioned into two time blocks. The first segment, in which the teachers could circulate among the lab stations and interact with the students, the equipment they were demonstrating, and their posters, proved so productive that its time allotment was extended. The conversation level was high and animated. During the second segment, the teachers were introduced to simple graphing calculator operations. Every workshop evaluation contained positive comments about the students’ presentations. Observations The first poster assignment was a success. Several things were obvious after this first experience with posters. •
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The students learned chemistry. While conducting their experiments, they initiated specific questions and searched reference books for answers. As they began to construct poster sections, they asked clarifying questions. And knowing that they were to explain their work to the teachers and answer questions, the students had an immediate need to understand. The process of poster development illustrated the value of possessing and being able to use additional, nonscience skills. The students enjoyed the opportunity to create a different type of lab report, and they were proud of their finished products.
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Despite routine problems that developed while adjusting to the new equipment, the students found the technology thoroughly engaging. The students tolerated frustration better because they all were experiencing similar problems. Because every student was working on a different experiment, the usual competitive behavior was missing. Collaboration among students was quite common. Every student did not fully embrace all aspects of the new technology. The text and graphs of four posters were hand-prepared. The students were effective as teacher trainers. Clearly, they enjoyed the role reversal.
Based on this first experience, the AP chemistry course timeline, and the availability of only three classroom computers for student use, I decided that a team approach would be better for a repeat of the project. Student Posters and the Workshops—Year Two The success with the first poster series prompted me to use the same type of format with a new group of AP Chemistry students in September 1996. This time, however, the new students had poster examples to view. The importance of design and color was not lost on these students. The teams pulled out all the stops, and the best of last year’s posters paled in comparison. These students also appeared to be more comfortable with computer applications and technology in general. No doubt this was the benefit of early implementation of a district technology plan. The student teams presented a poster session and demonstrated the use of CBL probes at the Rock Island-Milan Education Conference in October 1996 and at a special Saturday in-service workshop for the science staff at Adlai Stevenson High School in November 1996. This second workshop was particularly insightful for the students because they were involved in planning, preparing, and packing for the trip to Chicago. My department chairman and I shared the honorarium with them. Again, the teacher evaluations applauded the student participation. The students spoke plainly and candidly about their experiences with the materials. A final CBL workshop presentation was requested by the Regional Office of Education (ROE) in April 1997. Fearing that the AP students had grown tired of their first posters and focusing on the current AP topic (acid–base reactions), I suggested that they choose new experiments and make new posters. A search of laboratory manuals generated the usual enthusiasm and resulted in a representative selection of acid– base experiments. By this time a few teams had enough familiarity with the probes and their programming routines to modify regular labs for use with the CBL equipment. A new feature of this poster assignment was the additional requirement that each team use its poster to make an oral presentation to the class. The workshop poster session and the oral presentations would be the final AP chemistry project. The Web Page Connection Rosendo Terronez, a science colleague from a neighboring school district, participated in this workshop. We had become acquainted through an ROE-sponsored Internet class. During the CBL workshop, he suggested that the student posters
Journal of Chemical Education • Vol. 75 No. 6 June 1998 • JChemEd.chem.wisc.edu
In the Classroom
would make good Web pages. Of course, the AP Chemistry students overheard this, and that was the stimulus they needed. They wanted to give the Web page idea a try.
see the direct developmental links between the posters and Web pages (URL: http://www.moline.lth2.k12.il.us/High/science/apchemistry/index.html).
Considering a Web Page Project
What the Students Learned
What did I know about such a project? From an instructional perspective, developing Web pages from the posters was a logical step in the series of year-long classroom/laboratory/ workshop activities. The students were primed for this stage of technological growth. Their early experiences and success with the probes, posters, and workshop presentations had empowered them. From a logistical perspective, the January opening of the new Math–Science Mac-based computer laboratory had solved the student–computer ratio problem of the prior year. The new lab could support the technical requirements of the project because the computers were networked and Internet-accessible. Graphic support for the Web pages could be provided by both the Media Center and the Art Department. Fortuitously, every AP Chemistry student and a parent had signed and returned the school district’s Internet policy consent forms earlier in the year. What did the students need to know about such a Web page project? From a technological perspective, everything! Our high school Web site had only a front page. The project would be new learning for the AP students and me; but more importantly, it would be new learning for our technology specialist. The development process would be slow-going, problem-laden, and time-intensive. Web page construction involves hypertext markup language (HTML), using a variety of translators, importing graphics, creating links, using frames, tables, etc. Rosendo dropped by one afternoon and introduced me to Adobe’s PageMill 2.0 software. Within an hour we had made a front page, and I knew what was needed for the project. The next day I contacted the ROE and asked for ten copies of PageMill 2.0 for conducting the CBL workshop in April.
Students brought their own unique backgrounds and experiences to this activity. When we began constructing the Web pages, the extremes in student computer experience ranged from no experience to working with Corel Suite 6.0. Likewise, what each student learned from this activity was truly unique to his or her experiences with computer technology. Viewing each poster Web page can provide obvious hints about what the class and individuals learned. •
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Implementing the Web Page Project Within the next two weeks, each student team had produced two Web pages, and every student had primary responsibility for one page. The posters had served as platforms to launch the Web pages. Week one of the project was consumed with learning the Macintosh Power PC operating system, navigating the Web, reviewing Web sites, finding information, and learning how to use PageMill. Rosendo was released for two class periods to assist us with using the software. During week two, the students designed, developed, and assembled a variety of computer-generated images and text into an electronic presentation. Each Web page was required to have my email address. High school and college teachers, science consultants, and technology coordinators were contacted to review the student poster pages and provide evaluation feedback. The students were focused and absorbed. Class time was not adequate. They asked for additional computer lab time, and I supervised them for two evenings. Three-fourths of the class showed up each time, and they spent between three and four hours working on the pages. To show off their Web pages and newly acquired skills, we held a Web Page Open House in the Mac lab for parents and school district administrators. The original posters were also on display and everyone could
The students were able to interface successfully with the available computer technology and the Internet to construct Web pages. The students had varying levels of creativity and design sophistication. Some pages exhibited great complexity, while others were simple. The students had an interest in animated graphics. Every Web page had at least one animated graphic. Several pages had more than one. The most computer literate student created his own graphics and personalized backgrounds. What he did not realize is that download time is an important factor in Web design and graphic-intensive pages take longer to load. Some students used too many “frames”. One evaluator specifically suggested that frames might only be appropriate on the front page. When they began to “surf the Net”, the students eagerly shared the URLs of novel sites; but when they began to develop their page, they became more secretive and sharing was reduced. They did continue to help their team member. Most students were able to find three links to their page—one related to their topic, another related to the equipment, and a third related to a graphics resource for their Web page.
What Did I Learn? The following points reflect issues that should be addressed before beginning a Web page project. In order of importance, they are •
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It is essential that a school district have an Internet publishing policy. At the start of every Internet project, the teacher should review that policy with the students. It can prevent disappointments, hurt feelings, and a host of problems. The student posters were vital to the project’s success. It was easy to build the Web page because the essential parts of the electronic presentation already existed as part of the poster presentation. I discovered that the second poster was like a posttest and the first poster, a pretest. When placed side by side, the educational growth was clear. Although the student pages were done, the project was not yet done. Even though the students had used spelling checkers and had checked grammar, the real editing work began after all the pages were hung on the server. The students should be responsible for their own editing. If the project deadline had been a month ear-
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lier, I would have had more time to review the home pages properly, and the students would have had more time to reflect on their work and make any necessary changes. I suspect that third quarter would be the best time to complete a Web page construction project. The time line would also permit time for each student to contact an online chemist for feedback regarding the chemistry in his poster. The use of links in a Web page assignment creates special problems. Each student Web page was required to have at least three links. Some of the selected sites have since changed their URL. Choosing well-established sites eliminates those problems. Our school district policy requires a three-tiered review of all Web pages before they are published on the school district’s Web site. If a student selected a dark background and used light or white text, I was unable to make the required hard copy of the Web page without making temporary changes to the page. The district has since modified the review procedure by allowing any new Web documents to be hung for review before they are uploaded to an active page. At the open house for parents, the student Web pages were projected onto a screen. This was a very valuable experience. Some students modified either their Web page background or text color based on whether their audience experienced difficulty reading it. Time-lines should be realistic. A Web page construction project is analogous to a term paper assignment. This project took two weeks, but the students started with a presentation product. The students handled technical difficulties in a constructive manner through collaboration, and they were motivated to ask questions!
Conclusion The Web page project has been humbling. An AP Chemistry poster page was a non-thought that Monday morning in May as I sat listening to Taylor’s presentation. Each project began with the end—the poster, as assessment of chemistry learned—in mind. But in the end, the students learned much
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more than chemistry. At stages in the evolution of the presentation format I’ve felt more like the director of an improvisational group than the architect of an educational environment. The final result has been a presentation greater than the sum of the individual parts that contributed to its form. Pasteur may have had most of it right, but—“Chance also favors the mind that is prepared”…to take risks. Acknowledgments The following individuals have played significant roles in the history of this project: M. A. Taylor, for inspiration; former Moline High School AP Chemistry students Peter Mohr, for early CBL support, Barry Huntley and Jason Crider, for HTML and Web page mechanics; MHS computer specialist Warren Brandt, for his patience; and MHS Science Chair Wes Johnson and ROE Science Consultant Ron Vail, for their support. The impromptu contributions of these individuals were vital to the creation of the AP Chemistry Web page. Additional Resources Adobe. PageMill: version 2.0 for Macintosh. Adobe Systems Incorporated: San Jose, CA, 1996. [Page-Authoring Software for the World Wide Web]. Holmquist, D.; Randall, J.; Volz, D. Chemistry with CBL. Vernier Software: Portland, 1995. Nadelson, L. Sci. Teach. 1997, 64(3), 22–25. Niguidula, D. Educ. Leadership 1997, 55(3), 26–29. The Annenberg/CPB Projects; Learner Online: Science and Math Initiatives (SAMI); Boulder Valley School District Project, 1997; http://www.learner.org/sami/lessons.shtml The Global SchoolNet Foundation & Microsoft Corporation, 1995– 1997; The Global Schoolhouse: The Connected Classroom; http:// www.gsh.org/class/default.htm Illinois Science and Mathematics Academy; http://www.imsa.edu/edu/ geophysics/geostudents/stuproj.html The National Center for Super Computing Applications, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1996; http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/ Edu/Classroom/k12-projects/summer/jscott Virtual Professional Development School, Washington State University, 1996; Youth Science Forum; http://www.vpds.wsu.edu/sciforum
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