Using Touch-Screen Technology, Apps, and Blogs To Engage and

Sep 29, 2014 - As part of an outreach program, we integrated chemistry apps with blogging to enhance the learning experience of students in and outsid...
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Using Touch-Screen Technology, Apps, and Blogs To Engage and Sustain High School Students’ Interest in Chemistry Topics Heejoo Kim,† Priya Chacko,† Jinhui Zhao,† and Jin Kim Montclare*,†,‡ †

Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, New York University Polytechnic School of Engineering, Brooklyn, New York 11201, United States ‡ Department of Biochemistry, SUNY-Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York 11203, United States S Supporting Information *

ABSTRACT: As part of an outreach program, we integrated chemistry apps with blogging to enhance the learning experience of students in and outside the classroom. Our outreach program involved college mentors who participated in the development and implementation of chemistry lessons alongside the classroom teacher. Three technology-rich modules that focused on molecules, balancing equations, and nuclear chemistry were taught to high school students. Feedback-oriented and interactive lessons through apps with blogging were used to engage the students with the instructors as well as their peers. The combination of blogging with interactive apps increased student involvement and sustained their interests in the chemistry topics covered by the modules. The students were divided into experimental and control groups. The experimental groups were required to use the blog, where students viewed the questions and uploaded their answers and comments. The control group did not have access to the blog during the modules. Performance, class participation, and interest in STEM fields by the groups were examined. The students received a personalized, interactive learning experience in chemistry, the college mentors gained teaching and mentoring experience, and the teacher received assistance in implementing technology in the classroom. KEYWORDS: High School/Introductory Chemistry, Upper-Division Undergraduate, Multimedia-Based Learning, Communication/Writing, Humor/Puzzles/Games, Women in Chemistry, Periodicity/Periodic Table, Lewis Structures, Minorities in Chemistry

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science and education publication also run blog sites.5−8 Since science concept familiarization, including science language and critical thinking development, is the key intent of our program, we chose to incorporate blogging into the chemistry classroom. However, to our knowledge, blogs have not been used exclusively in high-school science classrooms. As touch-screen technologies are successful in generating and sustaining student interest as well as enhancing learning through multiple senses, we have employed iPads as the vehicle for blogging in the classroom.9,10 In this paper, we report on an outreach program that incorporates blogs with chemistry lessons to increase student interest and performance in high school chemistry topics. Our program has had a long-standing collaboration with the Urban Assembly Institute of Mathematics and Science for Young Women (UAI).9,11 Two female college students were selected to serve as mentors for the program. One mentor was a senior and worked as a teacher’s assistant as well as a teacher at Saturday School in the Goshen Child School; she was part of the program the previous year. The other mentor was a junior who had previous teaching experience as a tutor in biology and chemistry. There were approximately 71 female students in the 10th grade at UAI, of which 89% were African-American and 11% were Latino. All the parents of the students at UAI signed a standard Department of Education release form enabling us to request and report feedback from the chemistry students.12 The program was conducted with the objectives to (1) help

s technology evolves, people’s means of acquiring, using, and sharing information evolve as well. For example, the Internet provides a system for communication, and it has shown both positive and negative outcomes for individuals and communities.1 Some have argued that Internet use can result in the elimination of face-to-face meetings and interactions leading to a lack of social bonds.1 Recently, however, researchers have discovered that Internet-based interactions can act as a bridge between individuals with online relationships through social networking services such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and others allowing individuals to maintain relationships easily and inexpensively.1 According to the research by Boase et al., people use the Internet to put their social networks into motion when they need help with important issues in their lives.2 Social networks have become crucial to society, allowing individuals to connect with other people and experts to help them make choices.2 Blogs, short for “weblogs”, are personalized Web sites where the author can post text, videos, audio files, and pictures to engage others on the Internet.3,4 Traditionally, one or more authors compile them, and readers of the blog can leave their comments on specific entries, or blog posts.4 Blogs are especially useful in sharing information and fostering discussion between viewers and the author (the “blogger”).4 Since there are many sites available for creating blogs, it does not require knowledge of Web design.4 The use of blogging beyond social networking is currently being exploited in the field of science.5 Blogging has been adopted for sharing news, views on research projects, and pedagogical ideas and practices.5 In fact, major © 2014 American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.

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close the classroom-technology gap by developing specific lesson plans through the use of blogs, (2) assist a chemistry teacher with particularly difficult topics in high-school chemistry, (3) encourage young underrepresented women to pursue science and engineering careers by increasing their interest in the sciences (through the use of novel technologyoriented classroom activities and teaching from female college mentors), and (4) publicize the results and modules for the benefit of the field of chemical education. All the lessons that were used to achieve this are included, along with teacher’s manual, as Supporting Information.

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THE PROCESS Throughout the 2012−2013 school year, the college mentors worked closely with the teacher to determine the chemistry subject areas in which students needed the most help and reinforcement. Three lessons (“modules”) were developed with the intent of subject reinforcement, increasing and sustaining interest in chemistry and science, and preparing students for the New York State Regents Examination in Chemistry. These lessons were performed on select days in March, April, and May of 2013. All three modules involved students viewing and solving problems as well as sharing their answers on the blog. In order to engage students with the blog, it was explicitly counted as class participation. Each module began with a 7 min introduction by the teacher on the topic followed by a 5 min introduction by the college mentors on the technical aspects of the activity. While the first two modules employed specific apps, the last module involved educational video clips the students watched, followed by an activity related to the video. Students were allowed to work by themselves, in pairs, or in small groups of up to 3 people (there were four classes with approximately 17 people in each class). The student mentors and the teacher were available to assist and guide students through technical difficulties as well as questions on the blog content. Evaluations were distributed and collected after each 60 min lesson and were used to improve the subsequent module. This feedback-modulated classroom enhancement was adopted based on success in previous projects.9,11,13−15

Figure 1. Screenshot of “RediscoverChemistry” blog from http:// polycbtl.blogspot.com.

continued until May 2013, a pilot study was performed in the 2011−2012 academic year (Supporting Information).

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THE MODULES The first module, “Lewis Dots”, was adopted from our previous work.1 The Lewis Dots App,16 available on the Apple iTunes store, provided students insight into Lewis Dot structures and the basics of bonding (such as sharing electron pairs, valence electrons, and ionic vs covalent bonding). Module 1 from the Lewis et al. paper1 was directly posted on the blog, and students could use the iPad to make molecules and explore interatomic bonding relationships with the Lewis Dots App. In addition, students could post pictures of their molecules on the blog. Completion of the activity involved answering the questions on the blog, saving screenshots of the molecules made on the Lewis Dots App, and filling in a puzzle to reveal a chemistry joke. The second module, “Balancing Equations”, was incorporated in the classroom to allow students to practice balancing various types of equations, such as single and double replacement, combustion, and redox reactions. Joe Scrivens’s “Balancing Equations” App was used.17 This app possesses over 100 equations, which appear in a random order. In the “Home” screen of the app, students could choose from balancing 10, 20, 50, 75, and even 100 equations in one session. When the student tapped “Start,” an equation with only chemical formulas and spaces in front of each chemical formula (where the coefficients of the equations should have been) appeared, along with the numbers 1−9 beneath the equation. The student could then drag the numbers to the spaces to balance the given equations. When finished, the student could check the equation and resubmit her answer if it was wrong. After practicing balancing equations with the app, students were given 10 new equations to balance and given 10 min to finish them. The results were submitted via a private GoogleDoc survey. After the submission, a summary of the survey answers was posted on the blog and students were instructed to provide their opinion of the module and results via the blog. For the last module, “Nuclear Chemistry,” students watched two educational video clips from a Web site called “Education Portal”.18 The first video covered three different types of radioactive decay and their effects on the nucleus. The second video focused on balancing nuclear equations and predicting

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THE BLOG Our blog, called “RediscoverChemistry”, was created via blogger.com (Figure 1). The college mentors were the administrators of the blog and posted the module introduction, questions, and other content. The two mentors developed the concept for the blog and its content collaboratively. Links to helpful, educational chemistry videos as well as supplementary questions related to the module were made available for the students to complete outside of class (Supporting Information). The blog could be viewed by anyone, but the administrators of the blog had the authority to approve the comments. This function was helpful, as it reduced plagiarism because students were not able to view their peers’ answers until after class, when the comments were approved. The students used their school-provided Gmail accounts to login and leave comments on the blog. Starting with the second module, GoogleDoc Surveys were employed to submit comments to address the slow WiFi connection in the classroom. Upon submission of answers via GoogleDocs, a summary of the results was posted after the module. While work on the blog and modules started in September 2012 and 1819

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the products of a nuclear reaction. Students took notes while watching the videos and used the notes to answer the module questions via a GoogleDoc survey. After the submission, a summary of the survey was posted on the blog and students were instructed to comment and ask questions via the blog. While the first module was employed previously and modified for integration with the blog, the other two modules were newly developed based on the request of the teacher. Both balancing equations and nuclear chemistry, in addition to molecular bonding, were challenging topics for the students. Thus, these technology-dependent modules emphasizing blogbased interactions were implemented to help engage the predominantly underrepresented female students.

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PERFORMANCE AND EVALUATIONS Four classroom groups, consisting of 71 total students, were involved in the program. These groups were divided randomly into experimental and control groups for the modules. The experimental groups were required to use the blog, where students viewed the questions, uploaded their answers, and commented. The control group did not have access to the blog during the modules. Rather, they were handed a physical worksheet with the same questions as the experimental group. All other components of the program, such as the apps, educational video clips, and teacher and mentor support, were kept the same in the experimental and control groups. The class blog was created and the experimental group was given access to the blog via iPads (Figure 1).19 The students were able to post and view entries using their Gmail accounts. The students answered questions as comments, but they could not be viewed until a teacher or mentor approved the comment for public display. When students posted their answers as comments, the results only appeared on the administrator’s dashboard. In order for the comments to be posted publically, the administrator could select the “Approve” button. As for the second and third module, students were asked to submit their answers through a GoogleDoc survey, which minimized the submission time. While students could not view their peers’ comments, after submission they were able to check and compare the answers among themselves from the picked submission summaries as well as provide feedback to their classmates’ answers. The students also could share useful science resources, post their thoughts, and ask or answer questions on the modules. By contrast, the control group answered the same questions on worksheets and had no chance to share or compare with their classmates. Since blogging allowed the experimental group to be more involved in contributing and interacting with classmates, they were expected to perform better in terms of engagement in science, class participation, and understanding the topics. Each module was graded and evaluated by the TAs. The experimental group showed better performance on the first two modules than the control group. For the experimental group, average grades of module 1 and 2 were 80.5% and 94.6%, respectively. While the control groups’ average grade of module 1 and 2 were 76.1% and 91.7%, respectively (Figure 2). By contrast, for module 3, the control group showed better performance with 72% versus 69% demonstrated by the experimental group. Overall, there was a slightly improved performance by the group exposed to technology and blogging. To assess whether each module was able to engage the students and investigate the effects of blogs and apps, students were required to fill out evaluations immediately after the

Figure 2. Students’ performances on each module.

completion of each module. This provided valuable feedback on the lessons and the program overall.6 The evaluation for module 1 showed the significant differences in class participation for the experimental group and control group. While the 79% of experimental group students answered that they contributed and asked questions during the module, 33% of the control group students answered likewise. Most of the control group (40%) answered that they did not contribute but asked questions (Figure 3).

Figure 3. Students’ participation during modules 1, 2, and 3.

Both the experimental and control groups showed similar levels of interest in STEM. Approximately 23% of the experimental group and 19% of the control group answered that the module had triggered their interest in science and that they would like to work or study in a STEM related field later on (Figure 4). Most of the students for both groups (42% of the experimental group and 69% of the control group) answered that they were not sure but enjoyed the module. For the second module, slightly higher levels of class participation of 71% were demonstrated in the control group when compared to the experimental group (66%) (Figure 3). However, the experimental group showed higher levels of interest in STEM fields than the control group. Specifically, 31% of the experimental group students exhibited interest in future STEM fields whereas only 13% of control group students answered that module 2 inspired their interest in science careers for the future (Figure 4). 1820

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Figure 6. Trend of both groups’ interest in future STEM field. Figure 4. Students’ interest in future STEM field after modules 1, 2, and 3.

was assessed relative to the overall class average. The most active students on the blog had the most number of entries on the blog over the course of the school year. The class average for the year was 72% ± 11%, but the five students who were most active on the blog had an average grade of 84% ± 2% (Figure 7).

The third module evaluations illustrated consistently high levels of class participation for the experimental group (64% answered they participated and answered questions); however, the control group demonstrated a lower degree of participation (53%, Figure 3). More students in the control group answered that the teacher and mentors did the talking most of the time (20% of control group and 7% of experimental group). Interestingly, both groups showed similar levels of interest where 33% of the experimental group and 29% of the control groups answered that module 3 had triggered their interest in science (Figure 4). Consistently, more than 60% of the experimental group students believed that they participated and contributed in class (Figure 5).

Figure 7. End of year class averages for all 71 students and the five most active bloggers.

This trend indicated that as students participated more in blogging, their grades improved. The students who most actively blogged achieved grades greater than one standard deviation than the class average grade, demonstrating that blogging was an effective tool for teaching chemistry.

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DISCUSSION To extend learning beyond the classroom, we chose to incorporate the element of blogging, where students’ access to classroom materials was not limited to the 60 min confines of a class period. Furthermore, through the incorporation of blogging in our mentoring program, students engaged in collaboration by allowing them to comment on and work with students who were not part of their class or group. From the results, we found that blogging helped students to engage in the topics presented in the modules in and outside the classroom. According to the data, the experimental group (bloggers) showed consistent high levels of class participation and contribution and also exhibited high interest levels in the topics covered. While the control group also demonstrated interest in certain topics and pursing STEM because of the iPad App integration, their participation and the STEM interest fluctuated (Figures 5 and 6). Blogging was the essential part of the experimental group’s increasing interest level and participation. Students understood

Figure 5. Class participation and contribution level trend for both experimental and control groups.

The experimental group students felt that they were more involved with the lessons and had contributed to the class via blogging. Moreover, the experimental group demonstrated an increasing level of interest in STEM highlighted by an upward trend (Figure 6). While the control group also completed the modules, they showed inconsistent levels of class participation (Figure 5). Overall, the class participation of the control group changed according to the interest level in the topics; they exhibited the most interest in balancing equations leading to a high level of participation. This inconsistency was also manifested in their level of interest in STEM; a decrease in interest was observed after completing module 2 (Figure 6). To evaluate the impact of blogging on performance, the overall course grade for the students most active on the blog 1821

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that the contribution to the blog had a direct benefit.20−22 The shared part of the blog brought the students together and made them feel that they were “working together,” which consequently increased their involvement, and by actively blogging, these students were able to achieve higher grades more consistently than the control group or the infrequent bloggers.

(3) Sawmiller, A. Classroom Blogging: What is the Role in Science Learning? Clearing House 2010, 83, 44−48. (4) Placing, K.; Ward, M.; Peat, M.; Teixeira, T. Blogging in Science and Science Education. In Proceedings of the Learning in Science Teaching and Learning; Uniserve Science: Sydney, Australia, September 2005; pp 159−164. (5) Hamstra, D.; Kemsley, J. N.; Murray, D. H.; Randall, D. W. Integrating Webinar and Blogging Technologies into Chemistry Seminar. J. Chem. Educ. 2011, 88, 1085−1089. (6) Science/AAAS. Science Blogs and Communities. http://blogs. sciencemag.org/ (accessed September 2014). (7) Nature. Blogs and News. http://www.blogs.nature.com (accessed September 2014). (8) The Chronicle of Higher Education. Blogs and News. http:// www.chronicle.com/section/Blogs/164 (accessed September 2014). (9) Lewis, M. S.; Zhao, J.; Montclare, J. K. Development and Implementation of High School Chemistry Modules Using TouchScreen Technologies. J. Chem. Educ. 2012, 89, 1012−1018. (10) Poupyrev, I.; Maruyama, S.; Rekimoto, J. Ambient Touch: Designing Tactile Interfaces for Handheld Devices. Proceedings of the 15th Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology 2002, 4, 51−60. (11) Lorenzini, R. G.; Lewis, M. S.; Montclare, J. K. CollegeMentored Polymer/Materials Science Modules for Middle and High School Students. J. Chem. Educ. 2011, 88, 1105−1108. (12) New York City Department of Education. Consent to Photograph, Film, or Videotape a Student for Non-Profit Use. http://schools.nyc.gov/NR/rdonlyres/2E974D18-2CA2-445D-8A0F8AAE9B4EF238/88120/consent_form_revised35.pdf (accessed September 2014). (13) MacBride, R.; Luehmann, A. L. Capitalizing on Emerging Technologies: A Case Study of Classroom Blogging. Sch. Sci. Math. 2008, 108, 173−183. (14) Divitini, M.; Haugalokken, O.; Morken, E. Blog to Support Learning in the Field: Lessons Learned from a Fiasco. In Proceedings of the Fifth IEEE International Conference on Advanced Learning Technologies, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, July 5−8, 2005; pp 219221 (15) Chan, Y. M.; Hom, W.; Montclare, J. K. Implementing and Evaluating Mentored Chemistry-Biology Technology Lab Modules to Promote Early Interest in Science. J. Chem. Educ. 2011, 88, 751−754. (16) Yuvienco, C. Lewis Dots App. Copyright 2011 Carlo Yuvienco. (17) Scrivens, J. Balancing Equations App. Copyright 2012 Joe Scrivens. (18) Education Portal. http://education-portal.com/academy/topic/ nuclear-chemistry.html (accessed September 2014). (19) Rediscover Chemistry. http://polycbtl.blogspot.com (accessed September 2014). (20) Kerawalla, L.; Minocha, S.; Kirkup, G.; Conole, G. An Empirically Grounded Framework to Guide Blogging in Higher Education. J. Comput. Assisted Learn. 2009, 25, 31−42. (21) Farmer, J. Uses of Blogs; Peter Lang: New York, 2006; pp 91− 103. (22) Efimova, L. Blogs: The Stickiness Factor. In BlogTalk: A European Conference on Weblogs, May 23−24, 2003; pp 109.

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PROGRAM OUTCOMES The modules implemented in the program had positive impacts on the students, teachers, and college mentors. The students from UAI were able to review and reinforce challenging chemistry topics in and out of the classroom. The hands-on modules in conjunction with advanced technology encouraged students to learn science and adopt important technical skills. Students could apply what they learned from the modules to answer questions on the Regent Examinations. Students from both groups could receive one-on-one help from the college mentors, peer support through the blog, and support to pursue STEM in their future. Overall, the students participating in this program exhibited improved engagement in science, class participation, and understanding of the topics. The college mentors gained valuable experience sharing their knowledge and mentoring the students to engage in science. The classroom teacher was able to implement technology-rich modules in the classroom to further engage her students with the lessons she taught.

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ASSOCIATED CONTENT

S Supporting Information *

Information about the pilot study that tested the initial assumptions stated in this paper as well as justification for modifications to the modules from the pilot study to the experimental stage of examination and the Teacher’s Manual containing instructions, questions, and answers keys for the Lewis Dots, Balancing Equations, and Nuclear Chemistry modules. 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 This program was supported by the Teagle Foundation and the National Science Foundation (NSF, Grant DMR-1205384), as well as partially by the MRSEC Program of the NSF under Award Number DMR-0820341. We are also particularly grateful to Jessica Chen, the UAI Chemistry teacher, and Carlo Yuvienco, the app developer.

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REFERENCES

(1) Ellison, N. B.; Steinfield, C.; Lampe, C. The Benefits of Facebook “Friends;” Social Capital and College Students’ Use Online Social Network Sits. J. Comput.-Mediated Commun. 2007, 10, 1083−6101. (2) Rainie, L.; Horrigan, J.; Wellman, B.; Boase, J. The Strength of Internet Ties. Pew Internet and American Life Project. http://www. pewinternet.org/2006/01/25/the-strength-of-internet-ties/ (accessed September 2014). 1822

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