GENERAL ORGANIC AND BIOCHEMISTRY A BLENDED APPROACH Rebecca

GENERAL, ORGANIC, AND BIOCHEMISTRY A BLENDED APPROACH Rebecca Moden Stark State College North Canton, OH 2 YC 3 Conference – May 20 th/21 st

OVERVIEW Course Materials GOB I and GOB II at Stark State W 1(F 2 F) verses W 2(Blended) Similarities Differences Difficulties Improvements Future Chemistry Courses? Critical Success List for a Blended approach Open Forum

COURSE MATERIALS Text Book: Introduction to General, Organic, and Biochemistry, 9 th Edition, 2010, Bettelheim, Brown, Campbell and Farrell (including OWL access) Lab Book: CHM 121 & CHM 122 Stark State Custom Edition, 1 st edition, 2007, Seager & Slabaugh

GOB I AND GOB II GOB I (1 st semester) � Covers chapters 1 -10. Allowing for a slower delivery of general chemistry topics with a small overview of organic chemistry functional groups. GOB II (2 nd semester) � Covers chapters 10 -29. Making the first part of the semester Organic topics followed by Biochemistry topics.

W 1(F 2 F) VERSESW 2(BLENDED) GOB I and GOB II are offered in both modalities. W 1 – a traditional face to face (F 2 F) course that is taught in the classroom and in the laboratory. � Stark State has 3 hours per week devoted to lecture and 2 hours per week devoted to laboratory experiments. W 2 – a blended approach that is a web based course taught on-line and in the laboratory. � Stark State only schedules time for the 2 hours per week devoted to laboratory experiments.

SIMILARITIES IN F 2 F & BLENDED Same materials � Same text book, lab book and OWL access code � Students could switch modalities Same time frame � 16 weeks for spring and fall, 8 weeks in the summer Same lecture topics � Lecture notes from text � All sections/instructors must cover the designated concepts Same laboratory experience � Lab experiments, 2 lab practical's, prelab materials, lab reports, projects

SIMILARITIES IN F 2 F & BLENDED Same amount of exams GOB I - 5 exams and a final exam � GOB II - 4 exams and a final exam � Exams contain the same content Same amount of chapters are represented on each exam with a comprehensive final exam � GOB I - ~2 chapters, GOB II- ~4/5 chapters per exam � Same projects � GOB II – genetics project Same homework problems in OWL GOB I – 10 problems for each chapter � GOB II – 5 problems for each chapter � Same grading scale � 1000 points total = 30%lab, 40%exams/projects, 10%homework, 20% final exam

SO WHY F 2 F VERSESBLENDED? So why doesn’t every instructor want to teach W 2 courses? � It could free up some time, it should be easier than W 1 because you wouldn’t need to prepare lectures and attend set lecture times. Why don’t all students prefer to take their courses on the web? Again time… and the student can work on the material when they have time around their busy schedules. � Slow down on material they understand go faster on material they don’t. � So what about student success? Staying in the course � Passing the course � Learning the material �

DIFFERENCES IN W 1 & W 2 Students signed up for W 1 verses W 2 � W 2 are extremely busy with other obligations so they take it to alleviate their schedules. � Some students don’t want to drive to campus. � Some W 2 students feel they can move through the material at their own pace. Repetition � W 1 the instructor can emphasize the important concepts multiple times. Student / Instructor involvement � W 1 students get face time with the instructor � W 2 students need to address issues/concepts over e-mail

DIFFERENCES IN W 1 & W 2 Testing � W 2 is typically a challenging multiple choice exam online. The questions are theory based not definition based. � Students feel they are tricky but in reality they just don’t understand the concepts and how they are used. Grades � W 1 demonstrates an up and down learning curve for most students. Where the final exam is what ties all the material together. � W 2 is a consistent level either they understand or they don’t until the final exam when most students then get the material

DIFFICULTIES / SOLUTIONS IN W 2 Getting the right students in the class � Pretesting to determine if on-line class is appropriate � Make sure students know that on-line is harder than face to face and more time needs to be spent daily Getting the right instructors � Individuals that are willing to spend the time to really involve the students and push them toward success. � What is typically 3 hours during the week (W 1) translates to about one hour each day checking 1 -2 times per day. Making sure the students understand how to use the on-line sources (Angel) for the class � Use a tutorial that all students must complete

DIFFICULTIES / SOLUTIONS IN W 2 Keep students busy in the course. � Set up dates/assignments that are every couple of days Student interaction with other students or instructor � Create projects that require partners or corroboration � Create assignments that requires help from an outside source: Science Learning Center Writing center Local library So how do we proceed to insure that our students are really learning the material, retaining the information and setting themselves up for success?

IMPROVEMENTS FOR W 2 We are going to incorporate the following new idea’s into our W 2 sections A question of the week that will open on a Monday and close on a Sunday that will require active knowledge of the material. These questions will be in the form of a drop box and will be graded as points toward the exams. � Create worksheets to be used in a POGIL style. They would be created and assigned 2 days prior to lab each week. The students would have time to start to fill them out but then would be allotted 10 -15 minutes at the beginning of each lab to work with other students in groups. � Combine course material into weeks instead of chapters. This guides the students and does not overwhelm them with too many icons. � Any other suggestions?

FUTURE FOR A BLENDED APPROACH IN CHEMISTRY? Yes given the correct circumstances the following is possible: � Students feel comfortable with the web portion � They fully understand topics/material � They communicate effectively with the on-line instructor and other students � They obtain a learning curve that is the same as W 1 � They succeed in the course by obtaining working knowledge of the material. � Grades should be constant with a W 1 section.

CRITICAL SUCCESS LIST Early communication � Student evaluation for web based course Early start to web based programs: Angel and Owl � E-mail sent to students 2 weeks prior to the semester Students can spend time navigating through the new programs Diligent set up of dates and assignments Set up course in weeks not assignments Constant communication Announcements one per week � Open discussion forums � Extra materials and help available Extra time spent in lab from set up to instruction