Communication Cite This: J. Chem. Educ. XXXX, XXX, XXX−XXX
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You’ve Got Mail (and Homework): Simple Strategies for Promoting Student Engagement with Prelecture Videos Robert L. Woodward* and Carolyn S. Reid Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, The University of Mount Union, Alliance, Ohio 44601, United States
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S Supporting Information *
ABSTRACT: The use of video productions in chemistry courses, though pedagogically beneficial, is not sufficient in and of itself. Students must also be willing to engage with these productions, especially when the videos are meant to be viewed prior to a class. Accordingly, we describe herein the implementation of two simple but effective strategies to promote student engagement with prelecture videos in a sophomore organic chemistry course. These two strategies, e-mail reminders and online homework assignments, represent easy-to-implement tools that have allowed us to achieve consistently high levels of student engagement with assigned videos. KEYWORDS: Second-Year Undergraduate, Computer-Based Learning, Student-Centered Learning, Organic Chemistry, Learning Theories
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ver the past two decades, technology has been increasingly utilized as an effective pedagogical tool across chemistry classrooms. Strategies such as real-time student polling,1,2 interactive textbooks,3 and perhaps most notably the flipped or inverted classroom3−12 have all been employed as ways to enhance the student educational experience in these chemistry classrooms, much as they have been used in classrooms of other disciplines.13,14 A recent report by Ardisara and Fung even details the use of a 360° camera to produce videos for an undergraduate organic chemistry lab so as to better capture the intricacies of laboratory techniques.15 Nevertheless, no matter how wellintentioned the use of such technology may be, its use must also be accompanied by a willingness of the students to engage with it. Approaches to ensure such engagement are thus critically important.
Figure 1. Process utilized in the development and use of prelecture videos in a sophomore organic chemistry course.
watched the video. It should be noted that these quizzes were not graded but rather served as a survey tool that also provided a basis for our discussion that day. Representative examples of these quizzes can be found in the Supporting Information. The participation level observed during the first semester of use (Spring 2015) was modest, at a level of 79% (Figure 2). This level was problematic, however, as the goal of utilizing such videos was to provide foundational knowledge outside of class so that in-class time could be focused upon development of critical thinking skills through application-based problems and peer-to-peer instruction. If nearly one-quarter of the class was not obtaining this foundational knowledge, such activities were likely being hampered. We therefore sought to employ strategies that we hoped would significantly increase the number of students engaging with this prelecture content.
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VIDEO CREATION AND INITIAL IMPLEMENTATION We at the University of Mount Union have seen the need for such engagement approaches recently. Over the past several years, the delivery of the organic chemistry curriculum at Mount Union has transitioned to an approach in which the classroom is “inverted” through use of prelecture videos at several times throughout the semester. Specifically, we utilized Microsoft Surface tablets and free software from Screencast-OMatic to create 15−20 min prelecture videos for each major topic or chapter throughout the academic year (Figure 1). These videos were then uploaded to YouTube, and students were provided a link through our learning management system (Brightspace) ∼48 h prior to the corresponding class. Upon arriving to class, one or two question quizzes were administered that (a) tested students on the concept covered in the video and (b) simply asked the students if they had © XXXX American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.
Received: April 1, 2019 Revised: May 16, 2019
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DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.9b00315 J. Chem. Educ. XXXX, XXX, XXX−XXX
Journal of Chemical Education
Communication
Figure 2. Impact of engagement strategies on prelecture video viewership. The timing and subject lines of e-mails were consistent throughout the semesters for the modified e-mail reminders.
Figure 3. Representation of the general inbox appearance of a reminder e-mail as well as the information provided in that e-mail.
Figure 4. Mastering Chemistry homework problem used to evaluate student comprehension of a Diels−Alder reaction prelecture video. From Wade, Leroy G.; Simek, Jan W. Mastering Chemistry with Pearson Etext − Standalone Access Card − for Organic Chemistry, 9th ed., copyright 2017. Reprinted by permission of Pearson Education, Inc., New York, NY.16
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such reason, which first appeared during that seminal Spring 2015 semester, was indicated by the phrase, “Sorry... I forgot.” This reason, which was by far the most common, prompted us to start actively reminding the students to watch each video through a reminder e-mail. These e-mails led to a notable increase in viewership levels in Fall 2015, as 90% of the class
IMPACT OF STUDENT ENGAGEMENT STRATEGIES
Use of Email Reminders
At the time, our in-class quizzes were not structured to collect feedback from students regarding their specific reasons for not watching videos. Fortunately, students have still occasionally provided their reasons throughout the past several years. One B
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.9b00315 J. Chem. Educ. XXXX, XXX, XXX−XXX
Journal of Chemical Education
Communication
positive, we also plan to more systematically evaluate the broader student response to this approach.
watched the videos on average. We did see a decline in viewership in Spring 2016, however, with only 82% of the class participating on average. This decrease led us to be more intentional about maintaining consistency with regards to (a) when the e-mails were sent and (b) what the subject line included. Beginning in Fall 2016, we therefore sent each e-mail at noon the day prior to class and included the phrase “Video Reminder” in the subject line. As shown in Figure 3, the goal of this approach was to essentially embed a reminder into the students’ inboxes near the time during which they would normally begin watching these videos. Such consistency proved fruitful, as the 2016−2017 academic year showed excellent viewership levels of 91% in the fall and 90% in the spring.
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ASSOCIATED CONTENT
S Supporting Information *
The Supporting Information is available on the ACS Publications website at DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.9b00315.
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Representative examples of in-class quizzes (PDF, DOCX)
AUTHOR INFORMATION
Corresponding Author
Pairing of Email Reminders and Online Homework
*E-mail:
[email protected].
Although we were pleased with these increases, a participation level of 90% in a class of 30 students during Spring 2017 still meant that 3 students on average were not engaging with the prelecture video content. Given our desire to reach these remaining students, we modified our approach to include a graded component as an incentive, a strategy that has been implemented in several previous flipped classroom studies.3,5−12 Specifically, in Fall 2017, we began periodically pairing prelecture videos with an assignment on Mastering Chemistry, the online homework platform utilized in our course. These questions were selected to determine if students possessed a foundational understanding of the prelecture video content. For example, after watching a video discussing the Diels−Alder reaction, students were asked to draw the product formed upon reaction of a particular diene and dienophile (Figure 4). The addition of this graded component appears to have provided an additional impetus for student engagement, as participation levels continued to trend upward with values of 92% in Fall 2017, 93% in Spring 2018, and 92% in Fall 2018. Notably, the average participation level for those videos that were paired with a Mastering Chemistry assignment (an average of three per semester) was 95%. Those videos that were not paired with an assignment yielded an average level of 92%. Given this positive outcome, we now plan to pair each video with an assignment in an effort to further raise the overall participation levels while also considering how such pairing can be optimized to create a more active learning-based experience outside of the classroom.
ORCID
Robert L. Woodward: 0000-0003-1659-5291 Carolyn S. Reid: 0000-0001-8401-2348 Notes
The authors declare no competing financial interest.
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REFERENCES
(1) King, D. B. Using Clickers to Identify the Muddiest Points in Large Chemistry Classes. J. Chem. Educ. 2011, 88 (11), 1485−1488. (2) Flynn, A. B. Developing Problem-Solving Skills through Retrosynthetic Analysis and Clickers in Organic Chemistry. J. Chem. Educ. 2011, 88 (11), 1496−1500. (3) Stoltzfus, M. W. Active Learning in the Flipped Classroom: Lessons Learned and Best Practices to Increase Student Engagement. In The Flipped Classroom Volume 1: Background and Challenges; Muzyka, J. L., Luker, C. S., Eds.; ACS Symposium Series 1223; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2016; pp 105−122. (4) Bergmann, J.; Sams, A. Flip Your Classroom: Reach Every Student in Every Class Every Day; ISTE/ACSD: Eugene, OR, 2012. (5) Christiansen, M. A. Inverted Teaching: Applying a New Pedagogy to a University Organic Chemistry Class. J. Chem. Educ. 2014, 91 (11), 1845−1850. (6) Teo, T. W.; Tan, K. C. D.; Yan, Y. K.; Teo, Y. C.; Yeo, L. W. How Flip Teaching Supports Undergraduate Chemistry Laboratory Learning. Chem. Educ. Res. Pract. 2014, 15 (4), 550−567. (7) Fautch, J. M. The Flipped Classroom for Teaching Organic Chemistry in Small Classes: Is it Effective? Chem. Educ. Res. Pract. 2015, 16 (1), 179−186. (8) Flynn, A. B. Structure and Evaluation of Flipped Chemistry Courses: Organic & Spectroscopy, Large and Small, First to Third Year, English and French. Chem. Educ. Res. Pract. 2015, 16 (2), 198− 211. (9) Seery, M. K. Conf Chem Conference on Flipped Classroom: Student Engagement with Flipped Chemistry Lectures. J. Chem. Educ. 2015, 92 (9), 1566−1567. (10) Eichler, J. F.; Peeples, J. Flipped Classroom Modules for Large Enrollment General Chemistry Courses: A Low Barrier Approach to Increase Active Learning and Improve Student Grades. Chem. Educ. Res. Pract. 2016, 17 (1), 197−208. (11) Ryan, M. D.; Reid, S. A. Impact of the Flipped Classroom on Student Performance and Retention: A Parallel Controlled Study in General Chemistry. J. Chem. Educ. 2016, 93 (1), 13−23. (12) Mooring, S. R.; Mitchell, C. E.; Burrows, N. L. Evaluation of a Flipped, Large-Enrollment Organic Chemistry Course on Student Attitude and Achievement. J. Chem. Educ. 2016, 93 (12), 1972−1983. (13) Lage, M. J.; Platt, G. J.; Treglia, M. Inverting the Classroom: A Gateway to Creating an Inclusive Learning Environment. J. Econ. Educ. 2000, 31 (1), 30−43. (14) Crouch, C. H.; Mazur, E. Peer Instruction: Ten Years of Experience and Results. Am. J. Phys. 2001, 69 (9), 970−977.
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CONCLUSIONS We have been able to realize consistently high levels of prelecture video viewership through implementation of two simple but effective strategies: e-mail reminders and online homework assignments. Although the e-mail reminders themselves, if delivered in a consistent fashion, afforded a substantial increase in viewership levels, the pairing of this strategy with the use of online homework yielded even higher levels. These strategies thus offer necessary tools to ensure that students are in fact engaging with the materials that we as instructors spend considerable time developing. Moving forward, we now hope to develop additional strategies to finally engage the remaining 5% of students not watching the videos. The specific nature of these strategies will be determined by information gathered on modified in-class quizzes, which will provide students the space to share their reasons for not watching the videos should they have not done so. Additionally, although student attitudes and comments on instructor course evaluations have been overwhelmingly C
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.9b00315 J. Chem. Educ. XXXX, XXX, XXX−XXX
Journal of Chemical Education
Communication
(15) Ardisara, A.; Fung, F. M. Integrating 360° Videos in an Undergraduate Chemistry Laboratory Course. J. Chem. Educ. 2018, 95 (10), 1881−1884. (16) Wade, L. G.; Simek, J. W. Mastering Chemistry with Pearson Etext − Standalone Access Card − for Organic Chemistry, 9th ed.; Pearson Education, Inc.: New York, NY, 2017.
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DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.9b00315 J. Chem. Educ. XXXX, XXX, XXX−XXX
