Embedding Useful Tools Within Science Lectures

As part of the DISCOVERe tablet initiative at Fresno State, I have been considering ways to take advantage of a 1-to-1 (computer to student) classroom environment.  There are some particular websites and simulations that I have included in my classes that I believe have been mostly enjoyable and beneficial for students.  However, beyond anecdotal accounts, I do not have a holistic view of how students are using these resources outside of class time as a supplementary resource to my instruction.  I will use an exit survey at the end of the course to get a better sense of students' use of resources outside of class.

I consider the resources I have used so far to be well-described by the SAMR model (Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition; Figure 1).  The first two parts of the SAMR model, substitution and augmentation, focus on the enhancement of current pedagogy, while the latter two parts focus on the transformation of pedagogy.  The tools I have used so far this semester can be usefully classified and reflected on as either enhancement-based resources or transformation-based resources.

Figure 1 - SAMR Model (Taken from: goo.gl/zbi7GI)

Some examples of enhancement-based resources I have used are a scientific notation calculator, significant figures calculator, specific heat capacity data, and scale of the universe.  These resources have been mostly integrated as part of existing tasks within my courses.  I think these resources are very helpful supports for students, but a concern is how students may become over-dependent on them as opposed to using them exclusively to solve problems.  I encourage my students to solve the problems first by themselves and then use these tools to validate their answers.  However, if students do not follow my suggested learning approach, then these resources may be ineffective, if not problematic for student learning. The SAMR model fails to illustrate that substitution is not always necessarily an enhancement.

Some examples of transformation-based resources I use are simulations and name games such as Build an Atom, Build an Isotope, Making Compounds, and Naming Compounds.  The tasks I can now have in class allow students much greater ownership of the content, as opposed to me demonstrating the simulations on a data projector.  While students complete such tasks, I have found it beneficial to walk around the class and observe where students have difficulties so that I can elaborate on such examples to the whole class.  It also provides me with a better opportunity to interact with students as opposed to being centered at the top of the room for an entire class.  In some instances, I have students complete a Socrative questionnaire that provides me with additional insight on their learning for the particular resource being used that day.

I have a number of technology resources, both enhancement-based and transformation-based, that I plan to use during the rest of the semester.  I am hoping to keep my use of new technology on the latter end of the SAMR model, but I am also keeping in mind that some of my existing tasks are fine the way they are, with or without technology.   The SAMR model allows for wide interpretation in that the movement between different parts of the model is highly instructor-specific.  For instructors that use many teacher-centered approaches, any technology use by students could be transformative. For instructors that use many student-centered approaches, it is difficult to find technology that is transformative.  I like to think that my current teaching is mix of both student-centered and teacher-centered approaches. Hence, I can still target both sides of the SAMR model.

Integrating Student Tablets Into Lectures

Over the spring semester and a week in the summer I completed a professional development course at Fresno State for an initiative known as DISCOVERe.  The purpose of the DISCOVERe program is to support faculty in redesigning their courses to leverage the benefits of tablets, so that students can improve their conceptual knowledge while also developing their technology skill-set.  I will be teaching my tablet-supported General Chemistry class starting next week with over 100 students.  I hope to share some of the things I learn over the course of the semester through blog posts and to gain insight from others.

Before taking the DISCOVERe course I was a little skeptical about students using tablets within a lecture-based approach.  From my research, I know many ways that educational technology benefits students' learning.  However, using tablets in lectures presented me with a mismatch of what is typically a teacher-centered approach and the student-centered approach that using tablets would require.  I realized that DISCOVERe was asking me much more than to simply use tablets.  DISCOVERe was asking me to question my role and my students' role within my classes in order to effectively leverage the benefit of tablets.

In terms of Chemistry Education, there are great and open-source simulations that help explain many microscopic concepts such as the atom, concentration or pH.  Such concepts are difficult for students to grasp given that such phenomena cannot be seen with the naked eye.  Some examples of helpful simulations to support students include PhET simulations, Molecular Workbench, and Chemcollective. Before the DISCOVERe program, I was using these resources in a mostly didactic manner through demonstrations, despite a Predict-Observe-Explain (POE) approach.  Students would make predictions about a phenomenon through iClickers, I would demo the simulation, and then I would call on individual students to offer explanations. 

The prediction part of my POE approach was fine, but the advantage of using tablets this semester is that my students can now simply follow a link to observe and explore the simulations, as opposed to being bored by observing me do a demonstration.  My role can now switch from demonstrating to ensuring all students are able to use the simulation on their own.  Further, through the DISCOVERe program, I had the opportunity to trial Socrative, which allows for students to submit open-ended responses.  I previously had obvious difficulty in getting a response from all students in a large lecture class given time constraints, but through Socrative all students have an opportunity to participate and share their ideas on the simulations.  I will be able to view student responses in real time to get a much broader sense of their understanding than before and know what conceptual challenges to target.

I am looking forward to thinking about other ways to take advantage of tablets in my course throughout the semester.  I can already see from the activities I am developing that there will be better opportunities for student engagement.  I think what might be challenging is if students are ready to see their role as taking more ownership.  Much of this responsibility can reside with individual students, but I can help this process by setting clear expectations of students' role at the beginning of the semester and by consistently using activities that align with such expectations.