REFLECTION ON PRACTICE
Participant Self Assessment for Teaching PorTfolio
(Part 2)
|Module Two Learning Outcomes |Checklist |Evidence Included |
|Develop a personal critical philosophy of curriculum| |Thematic paper and Curriculum and Assessment Project |
|development including application of equal | | |
|opportunity and social inclusion principles | | |
|Identify educational needs of target student groups | |Thematic paper and Curriculum and Assessment Project |
|and develop curricula of appropriate types and | | |
|suitable levels accordingly | | |
|Creatively apply a range of curriculum development | |Thematic paper and Curriculum and Assessment Project |
|models showing cognizance of national and | | |
|international debates | | |
|Demonstrate a critical understanding of a wide range| |Reflection on Module 2 |
|of assessment strategies and mechanisms | |Section 2.2.6 and 2.2.7 |
|Select and apply the most appropriate and effective | |Reflection on Module 2 (Section 2.2.6 and 2.2.7) and |
|assessment strategies for their own specific needs | |Curriculum and Assessment project |
|Select, apply and evaluate appropriate learning | |Resource Review |
|technologies to support curriculum design and | | |
|assessment | | |
|Manage their time and stress effectively to fulfil | |Reflection on module 2 (2.2.1), Action plan for |
|different and changing roles | |professional development (2.3), Individualised Plan for|
| | |Module 2 (2.1) |
|Understand and apply an appropriate evaluation | |Reflection on Module 2 (Section 2.2.8) and Curriculum |
|strategy for curriculum design and assessment for | |and Assessment project |
|their own specific contexts | | |
1. Reflection on Practice
In module one the theme of my portfolio was ‘supporting the ‘non-traditional’ students in third level chemistry education courses in Ireland’ and I have continued this theme into module two. The rationale behind the increase in ‘non-traditional’ or ‘new’ student type in third level institutes across Ireland was attributed to the government policy on equal opportunities in higher education. In module one I referred to my experiences in my teaching practice throughout the portfolio on the implications arising (poor attendance, attitudinal barriers, term-time employment) with the ‘new’ student type. The emphasis in the portfolio for module one was support mechanisms (innovative learning activities, acknowledgment of different learner types, creating virtual learning environments, VLE’s) to ensure the ‘new’ students can succeed in their third level courses. The change in student type must be acknowledged both at a school level along with an institutional level in order for staff to implement support mechanisms in their teaching practice. The portfolio for module two focuses more on curriculum design, assessment methodologies and evaluative strategies. Curriculum design in third level education is going through a metamorphism due to the changing student type and the demands from Industry in Ireland. This metamorphism may also be attributed to the change in qualification frameworks such as NQAI and the Bologna process. Constructive alignment has escalated as a steering mechanism to ensure assessment drives learning outcomes. I will now discuss my reflection on practice in relation to each of the individual module learning outcomes. I have aligned the relevant sections to the learning outcomes and have briefly discussed their content. Supporting evidence referred through throughout the document may be found in the Appendices.
Develop a personal critical philosophy of curriculum development including application of equal opportunity and social inclusion principles
The thematic paper titled ‘Designing Curriculum and Assessment to promote effective learning in Chemistry Higher Education’ and the curriculum and assessment project ‘Module Descriptor: CHEM2206 Spectroscopy’ both discuss the philosophy of curriculum development.
Identify educational needs of target student groups and develop curricula of appropriate types and suitable levels accordingly
In the Curriculum and Assessment Project and the thematic paper the diversity of the third level students in chemistry education has been discussed and the role of curriculum design to cater for the variety of learners.
Creatively apply a range of curriculum development models showing cognizance of national and international debates
The Curriculum and Assessment Project and the thematic paper discuss the models of curriculum development this has also been reflected on in section 2.2 Reflection account of module two learning. Curriculum design models and course planning models have been created and references to further examples from the literature have been reviewed.
Demonstrate a critical understanding of a wide range of assessment strategies and mechanisms
In section 2.2 ‘Reflection on learning for Module Two specifically sections 2.2.6 and 2.2.7 the assessment strategies have been reflected upon and examples given. The assessment in my teaching practice is discussed and other innovative methods have been suggested.
Select and apply the most appropriate and effective assessment strategies for their own specific needs
I have selected effective assessment strategies for discussion in Reflection on Learning for Module Two and also for the Curriculum and Assessment project. This has also been discussed in the thematic paper.
Select, apply and evaluate appropriate learning technologies to support curriculum design and assessment
I have selected three e-packs for WebCT and two Chemistry books to review for my Resource Review. I have reviewed the three e-packs under seven key features and I have reviewed the two chemistry books concisely based on my opinion in relation to the students I am involved with in my teaching practice.
Manage their time and stress effectively to fulfil different and changing roles
To illustrate what I have been working on, goals I wish to achieve and how I am working towards achieving such goals have been discussed in context of the Reflection on learning for module two, Action plan for professional development, and the Individualised Plan for Module 2. My action plan for professional development in particular is a personal reflection of my current values, beliefs and expectations.
Understand and apply an appropriate evaluation strategy for curriculum design and assessment for their own specific contexts
Evaluation strategies have been discussed in the Reflection on learning in module 2, the thematic paper and also in the Curriculum and Assessment project. Examples of current evaluation mechanisms have been shown, the role of evaluation has been discussed and appropriate evaluation mechanisms for my discipline have been selected.
SECTION 2: PERSONAL LEARNING AND TEACHING DEVELOPMENT
2.1 Individualised Learning Plan for Module Two
As part of module two I hope to become more aware of the following;
➢ Develop a personal critical philosophy of curriculum development including application of equal opportunity and social inclusion principles. I would like to learn more as on the area of curriculum development as I am interested in developing new courses in the near future. Some of the ideas I have are; (i) Pharmacy Technician course (full and part time), (ii) Pharmachem degree (Ord and Hons), (iii) Chemistry Education (PGdip or MSc).
➢ Identify educational needs of target student groups and develop curricula of appropriate types and suitable levels accordingly. The courses I have mentioned above are courses for niche areas. The Pharmacy technician course is only facilitated by two other institutes in Ireland. The Pharmachem degree would support the ever growing demands of the multinational investments in the Pharmaceutical industry in Ireland. The Chemistry Education postgrad would be targeted at second level Chemistry teachers to promote innovation and bridge current gaps for teachers who may not have majored in Chemistry for their degree and are now teaching it.
➢ Creatively apply a range of curriculum development models showing cognizance of national and international debates. I am curious to learn more about the areas of curriculum development models as I would like to integrate student driven projects, project development assignments, peer assessment, peer mentoring and e-learning into future curriculum but in an effective and meaningful manner.
➢ Demonstrate a critical understanding of a wide range of assessment strategies and mechanisms. The area of assessment interests me greatly as I agree with much of the literature, that summative exams do not promote deep learning and encourages surface and strategic learners. By introducing more problem solving, project based practicals (rather than the normal expository based practicals in science) and more forms of formative assessment that may be electronically generated and available to students at any time via Virtual Learning Environments (VLE’s).
➢ Select and apply the most appropriate and effective assessment strategies for their own specific needs. Biggs speaks of constructive alignment in curriculum development and how assessment drives the learning content. In this way I feel that much thought should be put into this area as the assessment strategies employed will determine the skills and depth of learning on the course.
➢ Select, apply and evaluate appropriate learning technologies to support curriculum design and assessment. Currently I have been developing VLE’s along with my colleagues for the support of undergraduate chemistry courses in DIT. I am eager to learn how other people incorporate learning technologies into their curriculum but more importantly the student’s opinion is of such technologies.
➢ Manage their time and stress effectively to fulfil different and changing roles. I have become more strategic in my time management and prioritise my daily and monthly deadlines each morning. I feel that any extra curricular activities for professional development such as course attendance and research involvement is not recognised in a meaningful way in my Institute, however I am told this is due to improve. I do find that certain parts of the year I become stressed but this would be more frustration due to time constraints or lack of communication.
➢ Understand and apply an appropriate evaluation strategy for curriculum design and assessment for their own specific contexts. I have carried out evaluation surveys for my own personal benefit over the years to see how I may improve but I do feel that effective evaluation is difficult to carry out in a critical and unambiguous way. Again, there are many forms of evaluation tables, grids, surveys but I am interested in learning what people feel are effective evaluation methods.
2.2 Reflective Account of Module Two Learning
2.2.1 Stress and Time Management
I feel this session was not in sync with the rest of the course thus far. As educators we are essentially dependant on our own time management and in my practice I feel that is up to me to manage my time and how I effectively I use it. Identifying issues that make me stressed made me feel uncomfortable as they are many of the frustrations that academics have on the day to day basis that make me stressed. Examples of this are simple things such as lack of; adequate photocopying facilities, sufficient administrative support, stationary, visual aids in the class room. This also includes poor office facilities and poor computer facilities. It means that whilst you are trying to carry out your job in a professional manner many day to day issues make it feel almost impossible at times. The items that cause stress are identified widely across many academic institutes and yet it seems nothing is done about it.
I would consider myself a good time manager and I prioritise my daily tasks each morning. However, I feel that in order to achieve what is necessary to carry out my role in a professional manner and to engage with professional development for example research (chemistry and education), courses etc. I work on average 9 hours in college a day and must also work at home. This is mainly during the academic term. I do feel that I am putting in this amount of work to over come an activation barrier and once that has been achieved I hope that this level of involvement will stand to me. I have learned to say ‘no’ over the years as nothing is achieved when I spread myself too thinly. I try to collaborate more with others when working on projects as this facilitates getting task done effectively. It means also that I can get involved in more projects in which I have an interest without feeling that I am taking too much on.
2.2.2 Student Centred Learning
This was an interesting session for me as I am interested in developing and integrating more student centred learning activities in the programmes I teach on. Last year my colleagues and I developed Mini-projects for second year students and these were student driven projects. This strategy was a success and will be developed further in the laboratory sessions provided that sufficient support is allocated for the personnel involved. I feel that although I have aimed to introduce student centred approaches in my curricula, they are mainly support tools and are not clearly embedded into the programme. The learning activities that I have incorporated in my teaching practice over recent years are problem solving sessions, WebCT formative quizzes, Poster presentations, mini-projects (group work) and more recently chemistry crosswords (see Appendix I for examples). In the main I am using a more teacher-centred behaviourist approach but as Brian also acknowledged that the teacher centred approach is the cheaper and less demanding approach for academic support on the School. Currently the student centred activities are facilitated by voluntary staff. In my school this has been recognised and more and more staff members are helping out which supports those who are implementing these activities. The mini-projects have been a great success in the past two years and enhanced motivation and confidence has been observed in their final year projects following the group project in the second year. Mc Donnell et al. have published our observations so far.
2.2.3 Curriculum Design Theory
Curriculum as a definition as described by (Daniel Tanner, 1980) “The planned and guided learning experiences and intended learning outcomes, formulated through the systematic reconstruction of knowledge and experiences, for the learners continuous and wilful growth in personal social competence” . There are a variety of curriculum models available, when designing a curricula Fink’s (1999) five principles to good course design should be observed. (Biggs, 2002) also has published on how constructive alignment may be used to promote good learning. The learning outcomes are aligned with appropriate learning activities which in turn are assessed to fulfil the learning outcomes. The actual planning prior to the programme construction now becomes more important as the diversity of the student body has changes at third level due to the policy of widening of participation in recent times. (Dearing, 1997) Also, the modularisation and semesterisation of programmes allows students to achieve their ECTS credits in ‘smaller chunks’ and it is up to the curricula design to link the ‘chunks’ or modules together as co-requisites or pre-requisites. Hence, more thought is required to the pedagogical approach of the discipline. The selection, organisation and delivery strategies of the content has to be clearly laid out and should embrace the variety of learners and their needs that we are now experiencing at third level institutes. (Maslow, 1943)
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Figure 1: Maslows Hierarchy of Human Needs.
The needs of society must also be addressed as producing high quality graduates, will drive the economy and fulfil the requirements of industry. For new programmes or course reviews ‘needs analysis’ should be carried out to in industry to deliver programmes that are in line with what is required by industry and also to obtain feedback on recent graduates and their performance in the work place. One example of recent requirements that have been highlighted is the need for transferable skills, which includes computational skills, report writing, communication skills (oral and written), presentation skills, health and safety and risk management. These have been incorporated into science courses and others under the title of professional skills and are a result of direct feedback from industry.
The programme structure should be decided. The programme I coordinate is a level 7 degree with an opt out at level 6 for a certificate and a possibility to continue to level 8 once the student fulfils the requirements of the programme entry. This is a ladder approach to education and facilitates a flexible mode of education rather than a direct entry to a level 8 honours degree programme. The level of award and the competences of the graduate are outlined in the national qualifications awards framework, NQAI (National Qualifications Authority of Ireland). In order to maintain a high standard of quality in the programme and modules appropriate evaluation strategies should be considered. Examples of evaluation and the requirement for evaluation is discussed in section 2.2.8.
2.2.4 Models in Practice in the Discipline (Claire Mc Donnell, Tommy Nugent and Dave Gilmartin)
This session was interesting to see the variety of models in practice in the discipline. Claire initiated the session with an overview of what model of practice that she incorporates into her teaching practice in relation to chemistry to stimulate ideas with the group. I am very familiar with this area as Claire and I have given many presentations together and promote the incorporation of innovative learning and teaching methods in ones practice.
Dave Gilmartin from the careers office focused on the development of the individual. A quote that Dave gave was “To be employed is to be at risk, to be employable is to be secure” which makes sense as if a graduate has transferable skills (group work, problem solving/ trouble shooting, reporting, presentation, computing skills) flexibility, and are open to up-skilling themselves then they are very employable. I also support his comment on the development of the individuals self confidence. I do try to enhance the confidence of my students through assessment feedback and individual conversations. The recipe for student success is that career planning and study skills are embedded in the curriculum design. In Chemistry we currently incorporate study skills as part of induction(examples are shown in Appendix I), career planning at the end of year one and every year after that and also encourage work experience within the relevant industries during their progression through their programme. It is also useful for the students to identify their strengths and weaknesses as they progress through their programme and this should be highlighted in formative and summative assessment.
Tommy Nugent is a breath of fresh air. I know Tommy through the DIT e-learning club which he facilitated in 2005. I was also familiar with Tommy’s work and admire his use of ICT in engaging his students, especially as he learned all of the technology in very recent years. I was pleasantly surprised in Tommy’s innovative assessment methods and his awareness of blooms taxonomy. I liked his idea of the research annual and physics have published such an annual on the forth year projects for years. In chemistry we are hoping to prepare an electronic forth year projects annual to place on the forensic and environmental course website for the first graduates of the course this year.
2.2.5 Integrating ICT’s into the Curriculum
This session was facilitated by Jen Harvey and I found it very interesting as I have an interest myself in the use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) as a support toll in leaning and teaching chemistry. The theme was set with a statement that “ICT should be educationally led not Technology driven”, which I totally agree with. Any presentations I have given myself on this topic I have stated that ‘the use of ICT should be integrated in the delivery system not bolted on’ and that ‘ICT should only be used if it enriches what you already do in your practice and not replaces it’.
E-learning is supported by my Institute through the very approachable and efficient Learning Technology Team (LTT), the local computer support desk and the school technician assigned to facilitate difficulties with computers on a school level. However the level of computer equipment for staff and students in the school is very poor. We do have a designated computer room which is very useful but it does need resources to be updated.
The websites that we explored as groups were useful and I came across a few that I currently recommend for students as formative assessment. I am glad to be able to say that my colleague Claire Mc Donnell and I created the template for a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) hosted on WebCT and the initiation of this project was only possible through the support of a Learning and Teaching grant received from the DIT Learning and Teaching Centre. The funding (~ £2,000) allowed for a research assistant to compile and develop the VLE with the support of the grant applicants and other members of staff. The work was carried out in summer 2004 and went live in September 2004 with one first year class, October 2004 with a second year group and September 2005 with every class years one to four of chemistry courses (see Appendix I for examples). In 2005, school WebCT courses were hosted by the LTT. Course coordinators were assigned a WebCT ‘helper’ which consists of members of staff who are familiar with using it (Christine, Claire and Michael) and more members of staff have become involved this year. Some older members of staff found the use of WebCT too difficult and I would agree that it is not very user friendly so there is a team of us to facilitate their needs within the school.
On a final point, I found my group were a bit rude to the facilitator during this session as they continued to use the computers when she was talking and it was very hypocritical as we all know how this annoys us in our own practice. I felt that as teachers they should have been aware that there was sufficient time to engage with the technology during the presentation breaks. It made me feel uncomfortable and I feel it is disrespectful to the facilitator.
2.2.6 Assessment Strategies
This session was facilitated by Brain Bowe and I found it very useful and will outline my learning’s in the form of questions and answers. Brian posed the question “What is the purpose of assessment?” My feelings were that it should drive student learning to achieve the learning outcomes of the module, which is the essence of constructive alignment (Biggs, 1999). Assessment may also be used to identify misconceptions of individuals or a group. It is a good opportunity to evaluate the pedagogical approach. I also feel the type of assessment makes students engage further with a topic. I asked my first year students recently “What makes you study” and they said summative exams.
The second question was “What assessment methods do you use?”. I feel in chemistry we are quite innovative in this as there is a wide range in assessment methods which include formative, continuous and summative assessment especially in years 1 and 2. The formative assessment is purely feedback which occurs in weekly practical laboratories, tutorials, WebCT quizzes and other learning activities such as problem solving, five minute papers, case studies and chemistry crosswords. The continuous assessment includes laboratory practical reports, Miniposters with demonstrations (individual research), Miniprojects (problem based learning project), individual reflective writing on group work, log books/ research diaries, literature reviews, industrial visits and reviews, PowerPoint presentations (individual and group) final year research projects and essays. Summative assessment is 1.5 hour exams for each 5 ECTS module. A comment was made this month (March 2006) at a course validation board in which the external panel that reading time would be required as 1.5 hours is too short for a summative exam. The course panel commented that this is the director of faculty’s decision. It was recommended that this was addressed with the director to allow for reading time.
The third question was “When do you assess your students?”. For my modules I would assess them throughout the year in a summative or formative style depending on the module descriptor and the class size. I do feel that the weighting of continuous assessment and summative assessment is appropriate in chemistry (60% Summative/ written element and 40% Laboratory/ continuous assessment). The high weighting of the laboratory element is essential to drive the achievement of good laboratory skills which essential for the graduate’s future employment.
The final question was “How do you decide on your assessment methods?”. In this case the learning outcomes of the module should be looked at and how I can find an assessment method to achieve them. This depends on the learner types and year of course in which they are in. The assessment method is also dependent on class size, time constraints and resources required. I have had difficulty in running computer laboratories on several occasions (lack of internet support, password requirements) and would not rely on them to host a summative assessment.
In general it was a stimulating exercise as I always hope to discover a level of understanding in my exam questions and often the student may be answering on recognition of formulae or question or just from rote learning. I do feel my question types have evolved with experience as initially when I came to DIT I tried to keep them in line with my predecessors in order to eliminate any confusion for the students. Now my attitude is that once I give sample questions during a module this should enable the students to learn the style of question and the marking scheme involved and this demystifies the exam process.
In this session I also learned about Accredited Prior Learning (APL), Accredited Prior Experiential Learning (APeL) and Recognition for Prior Learning (RPL) each of which are useful to know about as they promote lifelong learning. I have experience in RPL as we have students who transfer into our courses in year 3 and 4 from other colleges. I have come across APL in Trinity college for a Qualified Persons course where students can be exempted from a module if they can write an essay to show their depth of knowledge on the topic.
I do believe that any subjective assessment should be done in teams and that is currently the ethos in the School of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Science. In my school we would have both criterion referencing and norm referencing assessments which are explicitly outlined to guide both students and staff on the assessment criterion.
2.2.7 Group Assessment Strategies
I felt the session on group assessment was very informative. Group assessment was described as having a shared aim, collective responsibility, interactive, cohesiveness and a collective responsibility. I have had experience in assessing groups and have been assessed as part of a group in the past. When I experienced being part of a group myself I was doing a part-time taught MSc and my group’s where very hard working and well structured. We had two group projects that were very time consuming but everyone contributed and the projects were delivered in the form of ; for the first a group report, and in the for the other a group presentation with individual essays. Both projects were delivered to the highest standard and the marks were received without any feedback or comparison to other groups and their marks/ group product. I felt that all the hard work was not recognised and I did not know where improvements could have been made.
I facilitated case studies for the first time this year and put the students in groups of 3 with group case studies on environmental issues of a country in crisis. The group to put forward the best case to their peers was elected the group to be awarded the funding to aid that country in crisis. The students were very interactive and the level of debating and presentation skills that came to the fore front was very interesting. The case studies were part of formative assessment but emphasised the environmental analysis that was covered in the lecture and laboratory course.
When marking my own students group work the students give a group presentation which each student must participate in, questions will be asked by a group of staff and their peers are in attendance. The students are then requested to write an individual project diary and a one page reflective piece on their experience of group work. The assessment criteria are clearly set out for the students and this is hosted on WebCT for reference. The group assessment session informed me on the importance of aligning the learning outcomes with the methods actually assessed. The learning outcomes that are assessed in the group projects are presentation skills incorporating PowerPoint, research skills, group work, reflection, scientific communication skills and application of theory however all of these learning outcomes are not currently listed in the module descriptor of this module.
Problems I have experienced assessing groups have been assigning the groups, lack of interest and motivation of individuals, group dynamics and communication. I have not come across a problem with age spread but I could see where problems would arise. The key to solving many of these problems is the assessment criteria which should be designed to drive the group dynamics.
As part of this session I was an observer of groups participating in role play of students working on a physics problem for problem based learning. Other learning outcomes were highlighted during the role play such as peer tutoring. It is difficult to assess students in a dynamic group as individual contributions are very different and this was evident in the role play session.
In general group assessment should not be based on the product alone. The individuals should be required to participate in critical reflective writing on (i) what their role was in the group and (ii) what they would do different the next time. The staff/ facilitator feedback should be short and succinct and identify the worst problem they have.
2.2.8 Evaluation in Curriculum Design
“A characteristic that is closely related to instruction is the assessment of student learning and the evaluation of teaching. Reliable and valid assessment of learning and giving helpful comments on students’ work is a distinguishing characteristic of good teaching. So too is learning from students about the effects of teaching–their misunderstandings, their approaches to studying and their perceptions of the course and what we do as teachers” (Cannon and Newble, 2000, p 208) I take evaluation of course delivery very seriously as I am actively involved in developing my learning methods to engage students in learning and participation. Currently the evaluation methods I incorporate are annual staff/ student meetings which I host as a course coordinator a month or so into each semester. The class representative is requested to voice anonymous feelings from the group on course delivery and content for each module and to suggest a possible solution to the problem. This is a very effective method and the students’ comments are always acted on to the best of the staffs ability. This year for the fist time I have carried out individual student interviews after their semester one results were received. The idea behind carrying out the interviews was to discuss their strengths and weaknesses from semester one and how they may improve in semester two. The class representative will be requested to sit on course committee meetings in which they can voice opinions on behalf of the class and are open to the committee developments or concerns. I have designed individual module evaluation forms to assess any innovative techniques I have incorporated into my module delivery to assess the students opinions. As part of the DIT quality assurance there are Q6 course evaluation forms and Q5 coordinator feedback forms and the evaluations are reviewed by the academic quality assurance committee. During this session I expressed an interest in designing some on-line evaluation for WebCT that would generate statistics to compare with module feedback.
2.3 Action Plan for Professional Development Module Two
I have approached this section under the following headings: Course attendance, Conference attendance and Education Research, Chemistry research, and Curriculum and Assessment Design.
2.3.1 Course Attendance
I hope to complete the module two of the postgrad cert to the best of my ability and hope to continue on the Diploma course next year. I intend to attend any staff development courses that I can as I progress through my career when my timetable permits. I think that an ‘Innovative Learning and Teaching Club’ would be a good idea to start up within DIT for assessment and evaluation methods to be generated. The DIT E-learning club (2004 – 2005) was a great forum to get WebCT up and active for many academics and at many levels of advancement and integration. The innovations in learning and teaching showcase are very useful each year to highlight new methods of learning and teaching. However, I feel a Learning and Teaching club may encourage staff in a less formal setting to showcase their assessment, evaluation and learning and teaching strategies. It may encourage more academics to think about education and would be a nice forum for new academic staff and experienced academics to learn from each other.
2.3.2 Conference Attendance and Education Research
In relation to education conferences, my colleagues Dr Claire Mc Donnell and Dr Michael Seery and I are hosting the Irish Variety in Chemistry Education in 10th April 2006 after the success of us being the host venue last year we were returned the honour. Other members of the organising committee are Dr Bill Byers of Ulster University and Dr Peter Childs of Limerick University. Michael will give an oral presentation and I will prepare a poster presentation both of which are compiling work done by the Chemistry Education Research Team (CERT).
Claire and I are attending a European Chemistry Thematic Network (ECTN) workshop in student centred learning in Vienna 18 – 21 April 2006. Claire, Michael and I are attending and hopefully presenting at the European Chemistry Research in Chemistry Education (ECRICE) in Budapest in August 2006. (Supproting evidence in Appendix I)
Following all of this work, which I might add would not be possible without the team effort and motivation of all involved, I would really like the CERT website to go live as soon as possible so we can showcase what are interests are and collaborate with others within out institute and internationally. I would hope that we would receive funding from out institute and also from external sources to assist CERT in engaging further with education research by funding research assistants and postgraduate students.
I am always interested in sharing my ideas, presenting any findings and would love to make more time to publish work and engage more with the scholarship of learning and teaching. I feel this post grad cert has encouraged me to read more from the education literature not just focussing in my discipline but taking a broader look at education in a whole.
Innovation in Chemistry Education
Just some of the ideas I would like to investigate into in the future are;
➢ I would like to engage further with the use of E-learning and hope to evaluate chemistry e-packs for WebCT to support undergraduate courses.
➢ I would also like to encourage student bloggs on our course websites as it informs students outside of the institute of courses and students involved.
➢ I would like to introduce chemistry learning portfolios for students to construct their learning and create links as they progress through their course.
2.3.3 Chemistry Research
I have recently taken on a PhD student in a synthetic chemistry project in which I am the principal supervisor. The title of the project is Multifunctional Biomimetic Devices as Drug Delivery Vehicles and the student is Mr Antonio Clementi from the University of Catania, Sicily. I have recently prepared a research proposal entitled ‘Metallopharmaceuticals for Anticancer Therapeutics’ in which I have requested Dr Mick Devereux to be my co-supervisor on this project. Mick has vast experience in therapeutics and is based in the Faculty of Food and Environmental Science so I hope this will encourage cross faculty collaborations. (Abstracts in Appendix I)
I have been asked by Prof Han Vos of Dublin City University to be part of the organising committee for the ‘International Photochemistry and Photophysical Chemistry Conference’ at Trinity College Dublin in June 2007. I have been involved in the SFI funded Ureka project which gives undergraduate students an opportunity to work in a research group for 3 months over the summer and all students are funded. The students involved in the summer 2005 were all from Science backgrounds 9 Irish students and 9 international students and the Ureka project also encompassed key skills training, scientific meetings and social events. All students were housed in the FOCAS institute and were supervised voluntarily by staff members over the summer. My student was involved in a collaborative study with the Fingerprint department in the Garda Forensic Science Lab and prepared an oral presentation for SFI, a reflective report on her experience, feedback on improvements for next year and also resource packs for future projects in forensic science which are hosted on the Forensic Environmental Chemistry Course WebCT site. (Reference material in Appendix I)
I supervise about four undergraduate chemistry projects a year and I enjoy linking postgraduate research into undergraduate projects as it gives students a feel for working on a research project and it allows the postgraduate students an opportunity to mentor undergraduate students.
2.3.4 Curriculum and Assessment Design
I intend to continue to be involved in Course Coordination and Programme Committee’s. Following this module on the postgraduate certificate I feel more motivated to put my energies into the development of curriculum for new courses. I am interested in creating flexibility in the current modules in use and look at ways of piecing modules together (cross school and faculty) to design focussed courses and using core modules to rationalise the resource issues. I have an interest in developing a degree course in PharmaChem accredited by the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC).
3. DESIGN FOR LEARNING
3.1 Designing Curricula and Assessment Strategies
The approach taken to this project is one in which the Programme design was first looked at and then one of the module descriptors within that programme. The rationale behind this method of approach is that the current student numbers entering the course are falling which can be attributed to two main inhibitors (1) the drop in student numbers taking second level science/ chemistry (Childs, 2002) and (2) the programme changed its historical name ‘Diploma in Applied Science’ to ‘BSc (Ord) in Physical and Life Sciences’ which has had a dramatic impact on the intake of the course. The students entering this level 7 course are a diverse group doing a common first year science course as shown in figure 1 and they select Physics, Chemistry or Biology to specialise in for year 2 and 3. The current modules run in years 2 and 3 of the chemistry stream are shown in figure 2 and 3 respectively.
I have stepped back and had a look at the programme as a whole under the new modularisation and semesterisation system and have designed a new approach to the chemistry stream of this programme.
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Figure 1: Structure of common first year science course and assigned ECTS credits.
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Figure 2: Structure of second year chemistry option showing assigned ECTS credits for modules and semesters of delivery.
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Figure 3: Structure of third year chemistry option showing assigned ECTS credits for modules and semesters of delivery.
The introduction of focussed course titles that are seen to directly link to a career path are more favourable to students and their families. (Hyslop-Margison, 2001) Forensic science has become a very favourable topic for science students to study both in the UK and Ireland and is drawing more students towards chemistry based courses again. (SEMTA, 2004 and Royal Society of Chemistry, 2005)
The main criteria that were determining my programme design were:
1. Staff resources
2. Current modules successfully running
3. Appropriate use of the modularisation system
4. Needs analysis from industry and research
5. Attractive course titles (niche areas)
The school of chemical and pharmaceutical sciences currently has a number of staff with a variety of specialisations and the aim is to avail of their expertise. The current course as mentioned is a mixture of traditional subject areas that have been taught for years; however some of the subject areas have been rationalised since the last course review for material that was overlapping. This led to themed team teaching in topics such as spectroscopy. Emphasis has been set on the introduction of transferable skills.
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Figure 4: Proposed ‘New’ Curriculum Design for Chemistry Stream Yr 2 [pic]
Figure 5: Proposed ‘New’ Curriculum Design for Chemistry Stream Yr 3
A core module has been assigned to maths and computational chemistry in order to assist students in their interpretation and synthesis of their chemistry analysis, which will be required for their future careers. The need for attractive course titles in niche areas is required to attract students to DIT in preference to other institutes and to reflect a possible career that may be envisaged as a graduate of that programme. In the programme model I have designed I have colour coded the modules for year 2 and 3 as shown in figure 4 and 5 (Blue/ grey = modules currently running, Yellow = suggested new modules which do not currently exist, and Pink = modules currently available from the School of Business and the School of Languages). By combining a series of electives the undergraduate may select their own specialisation as shown in figure 6.
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Figure 6: Specialisations for Chemistry Stream Yr 2 & 3
I envisage a more extensive use of the modularisation system in the future. This will be more appropriate when the DIT is based on a unified campus as cross faculty and school modules may be selected as elective modules to create a variety of specialised programmes. Current needs analysis from industry and research depicts the requirement for graduates from multidisciplinary backgrounds. There is also a need for a multilevel skills base to support industry and this will be facilitated by having level 7 courses, with an outlet at level 6 and opportunities which may feed into the DT299 level 8 course. On completion of the Level 8 course the student should have a good grounding to enter the Level 9 taught DIT MSc courses or research. Two examples of proposed ‘new’ chemistry programmes are Pharmachem (figure 7) and Technical Support (figure 8).
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Figure 7: PharmaChem Specialisation Core and Elective Modules Yr 2 & 3
(PharmaChem Graduate Profile: The graduate will be suitable for employment in the pharmaceutical or chemical industry as an analyst with level 7 qualifications. The graduate will be eligible to transfer to level 8 on fulfilling the institutes’ requirements.)
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Figure 8: Technical Support Specialisation Core and Elective Modules
Yr 2 & 3
(Technical Support Graduate Profile: The graduate will be suitable for employment in the pharmaceutical, medicinal or chemical sales industry as an sales representative with level 7 qualifications. The graduate will be eligible to transfer to level 8 on fulfilling the institutes’ requirements.)
The core modules and suggested elective modules are assigned to correspond with the programme aims. The graduates we be conjointly taught which will be cost effective except for their specialised elective modules, however they may overlap at times. The difference in the graduate profile and course content and structure would have to be clearly outlined on course documentation, handbooks and the website. The Handbook for Academic Quality Enhancement, DIT (2006) states “All modules and programmes of study must be approved by faculty Board and by the Academic Council, as appropriate, before they are advertised and before any students may be admitted and registered for same”.
The module I have selected is spectroscopy which is a core module that I wrote last year with two of my colleagues and is an example of themed team teaching.
3.2 Module Descriptor: CHEM2206 Spectroscopy Module DT212/2C
The module CHEM2206 (Appendix II) is a core module and is delivered by three members of staff over semester one in year 2 of the DT212 chemistry course. The module is assigned: 24 lecture hours, 18 laboratory hours and 12 problem solving sessions.
The pre-requisite module is CHEM1201 which is first year chemistry and the co-requisite is CHEM2201 which is organic chemistry year 2. The reason for the pre-requisite is that the student would require a basic understanding of chemistry in order to understand the terminology used during the delivery of this module. The co-requisite is required so that students are familiar with organic chemistry structures and names.
3.2.1 Module Aim
The module aim is ‘to introduce the fundamental concepts of the interaction of electromagnetic radiation with molecules in order to obtain basic structural information, compound identification and quantitative analysis. This will be achieved with the aid of tutorial sheets and computer based learning assignments. An additional aim of this section is to build upon the practical knowledge gained by the student in first year with a series of laboratory sessions that are dedicated to the areas covered in the lecture programme.’ The students require to understand and piece together the information they receive on spectroscopic analysis of various chemicals (solids, liquids and gases) in order to determine the identity of the chemical and its concentration.
3.2.2 Module Philosophy
The content and methods of delivery of this module would encourage a constructivist approach by the learner. The theory behind the topic is delivered in a series of lectures from three members of staff and each member of staff which are supported by a problem solving session hour each week. The theory and problems are applied during practical sessions (6 x 3 hours) which have run this year as a list of 5 expository-based laboratories whereas next year it is envisaged that a more project-based approach will be used during the lab sessions to engage the learners further.
3.2.3 Rationale of Curriculum Design
This module lends to a problem solving based approach to learning as there is a lot of interactive spectroscopic material on the web and students can work in groups to solve the identity of the spectra data. A simple white powder may be produced and the students could be asked the following questions to drive their learning:
1. What type of compound would you suggest this may be?
2. List spectroscopic instruments that may be used to identify this sample?
3. Comment on your choice of instrument you have selected and the interaction of the sample with the technique?
4. How would you prepare your sample for analysis?
5. What data would you expect to receive from the spectrum?
6. How could you piece the information together to identify the sample?
7. Draw and name the structure of the sample.
8. Give an example of where this sample would be found in everyday life.
The above questions would be used in problem solving sessions before and after practical sessions. The theory behind the techniques will be covered in the lecture sessions.
3.2.4 Syllabus Content
i. General features of spectroscopy.
ii. Rotational spectroscopy of diatomics.
iii. Vibrational spectroscopy of diatomics.
iv. Introduction to electronic spectroscopy.
v. Structure determination of organic compounds.
vi. The role of infrared and ultraviolet spectroscopy in structure elucidation of organic compounds.
vii. The importance of NMR in structural elucidation of organic compounds.
3.2.5 Delivery Methods
As stated in the module descriptor, a variety of learning methods will be incorporated in the delivery of this module. These will include lectures, formative problem-solving exercises (1 hour allocated each week for the semester), computer-based learning assignments, self-directed learning (Formative quizzes, crosswords, useful interactive websites) supported through the use of WebCT. The practical laboratories will take the form of a project based laboratory (groups of 3). The spectroscopic instrumentation in the undergraduate and research laboratories will be demonstrated (Tour of advanced laboratories and research labs takes place in review week to demonstrate the daily and broad range of usage of such instruments. This also demonstrates the state of the art equipment that is available at the DIT.) The project based practicals will be designed to promote higher order cognitive skills (HOCS) (Zoller, 1999) as described by Blooms taxonomy shown in figure 9. (Bloom, 1956)
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Figure 9: Blooms Taxonomy; six levels within the cognitive domain
3.2.6 Flowchart of Module Delivery
The flowchart in figure 10 represents the cyclical nature of the module delivery which is reinforcing the problem solving nature of the topic. The problems are constructively built upon each week until the student can identify and/or quantify the compounds they are analysing through spectral analysis.
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Figure 10: Spectroscopy module design model.
3.2.7 Teaching Resources required
Computer room, lab 346 with internet access for Webspectra website, Organic Chemistry Online website, SDBS website (spectral database) and WebCT. Spectroscopy lab 305 (UV-Vis, Fluorimeter, IR (solid, gas and liquid samples) and NMR).
Required Texts
An up to date reading list with relevant websites is listed in the module descriptor.
3.2.8 Evaluation Mechanism
The three modes of evaluation used for this programme are
1. Staff-student meeting
2. Evaluation survey
3. Q6 forms
The staff student meetings are held once a semester and are very effective. An example of the minutes taken at the staff student meeting are in Appendix II. The minutes are posted on WebCT for staff and students to refer to. This is a fast and effective way of making alterations to the programme delivery while the process is occurring. The class rep is asked to voice the opinion of the class and any issues arising must have a corresponding suggestion for improvement.
I have carried out evaluation surveys on the modules I deliver to get specific and detailed feedback in the form of questionnaires (example in Appendix II) from the students. What works well for one topic may not do so for another.
As part of the DIT we have student feedback forms called Q6 forms which are summarised into Q5 forms by the coordinator and this information is fed into the Academic Quality assurance Committee.
3.2.9 Module Assessment
The student will be assessed on this module through end of module written exam and laboratory practical module mark. The weighting between the written element and the practical element of the module is 60:40 respectively. A minimum laboratory element mark of 40% must be achieved. Formative assessment will take place in weekly problem solving sessions, laboratory practicals and through interactive assessment on WebCT.
3.2.10 Potential links to other DIT Programmes
This module could be offered to any other science course in DIT at year 2 of a level 7 course. This could also be delivered as a short course to second level teachers as a refresher course in spectroscopic analysis.
3.2.11 Equality Proofed by NQAI Guidelines
As mentioned in the introduction of this project the DT212 programme is a level 7 course. The graduate will be awarded 180 ECTS credits over three years of the ordinary degree in chemistry. Each year 60 ECTS credits may be achieved on successful fulfilment of the DIT examinations requirements. The module credits allocated over the three years were highlighted in figure 1, 2 and 3. The spectroscopy module descriptor has been allocated 5 ECTS credits which equates to 100 learning hours. The learning hours can be broken down into 24 lectures, 12 problem solving, 18 laboratory practicals and 46 self directed. The contact hours are quite high for the module but it is felt that the level 7 student cohort require extra support mechanisms in second year to enhance student engagement and retention. This has been reflected in the addition of problem solving sessions.
The course has been validated by DIT academic council and membership of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) and the Institute of Chemists in Ireland (ICI) is available for students of this course.
3.2.12 Learning Outcomes
On completion of this section the student is expected to:
• Have a knowledge of;
- The fundamentals governing the absorption and emission of radiation,
- The basic principle of operation of a variety of spectroscopic techniques,
- Quantitative analysis of single compounds and mixtures,
- The relation between spectra and molecular structure,
• Have an understanding of the optical properties of cells and solvents in the UV-Vis and IR regions,
• Be able to identify simple organic compounds by spectroscopic methods,
• Use spectroscopic techniques for quantitative analysis,
• Determine force constants.
• Report on spectral data for the identification and quantification of chemical compounds.
Table 1 shows the constructive alignment (Biggs, 1999) of the Spectroscopy module. Spectroscopy covers a range of analysis techniques that are required to support a variety of chemistry modules. As mentioned before this module is an example of theme team teaching to reduce repetition within other modules. The competencies acquired in this module are required for the analysis that takes place in practicals for most modules and would also be required for project work and working in industry. An example of An exam question is provided in Appendix II.
Table 1: Constructive alignment grid:
|Learning Outcomes |Learning and Teaching Activities |Assessment Strategy |
|Have knowledge of (i) the fundamentals governing the |(i) to (iv) are covered in Lectures, problem solving sessions, |Summative Assessment: |
|absorption and emission of radiation, |laboratories. |End of module exam 60% |
|(ii) the basic principle of operation of a variety of | |(problem type questions – in order to identify the structure of the chemical the |
|spectroscopic techniques, (iii) quantitative analysis of | |student must understand the module content to piece the information together. For |
|single compounds and mixtures, (iv) the relation between | |example UV-Vis distinguishes between inorganic or organic structures, NMR tells |
|spectra and molecular structure, | |how many Hydrogen atoms there are and where they are etc.). |
| | | |
| | |Laboratory Element (reports and participation). 40% |
| | |The laboratory practicals require the students to use each spectroscopic |
| | |instrument a number of times under varying parameters. The students must prepare |
| | |their samples in the correct sample cell before analysis and collect spectral data|
| | |from a variety of instruments in order to determine the structure of the chemical.|
| | | |
| | |Formative Assessment: Problem solving sessions. In class problem based exercises. |
| | |Laboratory techniques, during practical sessions. |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
|Have an understanding of the optical properties of cells |Lectures, problem solving sessions, laboratories. | |
|and solvents in the UV-Vis and IR regions. |In laboratory they can really see the difference between cells | |
| |and this would be incorporated into a practical session. | |
|Be able to identify simple organic compounds by |Lectures, problem solving sessions, laboratories. This may be | |
|spectroscopic methods |carried out on webspectra or in the laboratory practicals. | |
|Use spectroscopic techniques for quantitative analysis, |Lectures, problem solving sessions, laboratories. The students | |
| |may use UV-Vis and Fluorimetry to carry out quantification | |
| |using the Beer Lambert Law. | |
|Determine force constants |Lectures and problem solving sessions. | |
|Report on spectral data for the identification and |Lectures, problem solving sessions, laboratories. The | |
|quantification of chemical compounds. |identification and quantification of chemical compounds is | |
| |required for many (e.g organic, inorganic and physical | |
| |chemistry) other modules so the techniques will be reinforced | |
| |on an ongoing basis. | |
4. SCHOLARSHIP OF LEARNING AND TEACHING
4.1 Resource Review: WEBCT e-packs for Chemistry Education
The resource that I have selected to review is the use of chemistry e-packs for WebCT. I chose this as I have no prior experience of this resource and would consider them for future use on WebCT if I thought they would enhance what is already done. The e-packs I have viewed are all related to the chemistry discipline; however there is material available to support most other disciplines. In order to review the e-pack I first came across a very useful website entitled ‘Evaluating an e-pack in 10 minutes or less: Using the WebCT Key Features’ (Young and Kornblith, 2006). This site provided a visual display of how one may evaluate e-packs following 7 key features to look for and an audio clip to listen to while doing so. This was very useful as I could listen to the guidance and see what they were looking at and take notes at the same time. In this website Young and Kornblith, (2006) have identified 7 key features to look for when reviewing a WebCT e-pack. The key features are as follows:
1. Consistent navigation and organisation
2. Practice exercises and self tests
3. Interactivity
4. Multimedia
5. Quizzes and assessments
6. Question database with varied question types
7. Instructor resources
The 7 key features are self explanatory however they may be interpreted differently. Young and Kornblith, (2006) gave examples of the interactivity (3) to look for such as; case studies, games and simulations at a level that should require input and actively engage students in a learning process. Another thing to look for that was highlighted is in relation to the quizzes and if the quizzes are supported with information on the chapter, level of difficulty and reference page numbers from text book. Multimedia (4) on the other hand does not necessarily mean interactivity and comes in many forms such as videoclips, animations and audio clips but whatever the form they should enhance the content of material. The instructors resources may include useful downloads or instructor diagnostics. The three e-packs I have selected are from the WebCT e-packs content showcase.
Review I: Chemistry in Your Life, 2nd edition, Baird, WH Freeman
The first is ‘Chemistry in Your Life’, 2nd edition, Baird, WH Freeman. I was delighted to see the title of this book as it contextualises chemistry throughout the content. I will review the e-pack under the 7 key features:
1. Consistent navigation and organisation
The navigation is consistent and the organisation is easy to follow but I felt that it was lacking in design and the content page is just a list of chapters as shown in figure 1.
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Figure 1: Screen shot of table of contents.
2. Practice exercises and self tests
Within each chapter (as shown in figure 2) there are; visualisations, useful links to websites, flashcards (containing definitions), ‘taking it further with math’ (brief tutorial with problems) and online quizzes. The ‘taking it further with math’ would be associated with practice exercises.
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Figure 2: Screen shot of chapter 1 content.
3. Interactivity
I did not find any interactive areas on this site. The links to other websites are just to fact sheet sites. The only interactivity is in the online quiz and looking at the visualizations.
4. Multimedia
Visualizations are used in the form of mini-video clips of simulations as shown in figure 3. There is no explanation (text or audio) to support what the student is viewing only a heading. I felt that the simulations were not useful as there is no point looking at simulations unless you know what you are looking at and what process is occurring.
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Figure 3: Screen shot to show an example of a simulation.
5. Quizzes and assessments
The quizzes are the best part of this e-pack as in figure 4. They are (i) very appropriate to the chapters, (ii) at a first year level, (iii) grade the student and (iv) shows them the correct answer with feedback on the answers. The quizzes are multiple choice questions (MCQ’s) and there was not too many to answer at the end of the chapters.
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Figure 4: Screen shot to show an example of a quiz
6. Question database with varied question types
I did not locate a question database on this e-pack.
7. Instructor resources
The demo version I was viewing only contains the student resources. I have ordered the e-pack so may have more to view when that arrives.
STAR RATING: 1/5
Comment: One mark given as I felt the quizzes were the only useful part of the site.
Review II: Organic Chemistry, 4th edition, Bruice, Prentice Hall
1. Consistent navigation and organisation
This e-pack is very well laid out and the table of contents (as shown in figure 5) is well structured and easy to follow. Each chapter layout is consistent and the information mirrors that of the textbook.
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Figure 5: Screen shot of table of contents.
2. Practice exercises and self tests
There are several practice exercises and self tests within each chapter and the chapters end with a chapter test. There are hints built in to the exercises and quizzes and they are suitable for multiple attempts. The answer choices are randomized and will appear in a different order each time the page is loaded for the quizzes.
3. Interactivity
There is ample to interact with within the tutorial gallery (example given in figure 6) and there is also an interactive molecule gallery.
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Figure 6: Screen shot of tutorial gallery.
4. Multimedia
The video clips of reaction simulations (as shown in figure 7) are very useful and different to the normal simulations that are used on many electronic resources. There is a voice over explaining what is occurring, as you watch the process occur at a molecular level. There are plenty of examples for each chapter.
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Figure 7: Screen shot of animation gallery.
5. Quizzes and assessments
As mentioned previously there are several quiz tools which appear under three link headings; practice exercises, quizzes and tests. The answers are randomised each time the quiz is downloaded.
6. Question database with varied question types
There is not a database as such but there are plenty of questions within each chapter.
7. Instructor resources
On the homepage there is an icon for communication and utilities which contains links to chat, discussion forums, mail, student grades and student progress. There does not appear to be a specific section with extra instructor resources.
STAR RATING: 5/5
Comment: This would be a very useful learning tool for first and second year undergraduate chemistry students. This is the best of the three e-packs I have viewed. I have ordered a copy of this e-pack to host on WebCT and have consulted with the Organic Chemistry Lecturers about incorporating the use of e-packs for next year.
Review III: Chemistry: The Central Science, 9th ed.,
Brown, Le May & Bursten, Prentice Hall
1. Consistent navigation and organisation
This e-pack is very well laid out (shown in figure 8) and I also have the relevant textbook to refer to at hand which is useful. One comment though, is that there are several editions with supporting e-packs but this one seems to have the most comprehensive information at the moment. Chemistry: The Central Science, 9th ed., Brown, Le May & Bursten and Organic Chemistry, 4th ed., Bruice e-packs have a consistency between them as they are both published by Prentice Hall.
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Figure 8: Screen shot of course materials homepage.
2. Practice exercises and self tests
There are practice exercises and self tests, homework and eMedia exercises for each chapter. The exercises, self tests and homework are in the form of MCQ’s with grading and feedback. They are available for multiple attempts and answers can be checked.
3. Interactivity
The interactivity is wonderful on this e-pack for example the two screen shots shown below in figure 9, allow students to change the temperature for one purpose (Activity: Temperature) to compare temperature in Kelvin’s to Celsius and the second example (Activity: Phases of the elements) allows students to change the temperature to see when the elements are solid liquid or gas. There are many examples and they are very clear and easy to use. Downloading of the multimedia plug-ins may require a suitable firewall on the PC and a powerful PC.
[pic][pic]
Figure 9: Screen shot of student activity sites.
4. Multimedia
Again, there is a wide range of multimedia activities which are linked to the content of the chapter and have voice-overs to explain what is happening. They are clear to see and clearly labelled, as shown in figure 10 and clearly described.
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Figure 10: Screen shot of movie of chemical reaction.
5. Quizzes and assessments
There are self assessment quizzes, homework quizzes, student activities and current topics available for extra curricular activities. The ‘current topic’ refers to a current event in science related to material in the chapter and prompts the students to write an essay on the topic and this may be submitted on-line.
6. Question database with varied question types
There are questions available on the homepage under the icon ‘MCAT Warm up’, which contains questions that are comprehensive in course content coverage but are not arranged in chapter order. There is a link to the relevant content page/ visual material within each question.
7. Instructor resources
There is not an allocated icon for instructor resources, however it does contain the facilities for; student tracking, student grades, student homepages, mail and calendar which are available on the navigation bar on the left of the page or on the homepage. The calendar could be used to direct students to chapters and relevant quizzes in line with course and laboratory delivery.
STAR RATING: 4/5
Comment: One mark is deducted because some of the molecular visualisations would not open on my computer.
Concluding comment:
All screen shots were accessed at the demo version of each e-pack on WebCT content showcase for review purposes. I intend hosting Chemistry: The Central Science, 9th ed., Brown, Le May & Bursten, Prentice Hall and Organic Chemistry, 4th edition, Bruice on WebCT for first and second year chemistry students in September 2006. I have contacted the Learning Technology Team (LTT) at DIT and they have agreed to support me in any facilitating required to; encourage students, induction to, and use of e-packs as part of the Virtual Learning Environments (VLE’s) on WebCT. I have contacted the local IT support to request the PC’s in the chemistry computer room are updated. I will carry out some evaluation studies to track the students views of epacks as chemistry learning tools.
Further Work
Chemistry Crosswords and Chemistry Su Doku
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Figure 11: Cover page of Chemistry Su Duko and Chemistry Crosswords by RSC.
I have reviewed two books titled ‘Chemistry Crosswords’ and ‘Chemistry Su Doku’ published by the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) in 2005. The Chemistry crosswords are cryptic and I found them quite frustrating (even the ones at the front of the book), however all the answers are available at the back of the book. The Su Duko is graded into sections; easy, medium and hard, and again all answers are printed on the back of the book. I would not favour either of these books as I do not feel they would be suitable texts for the students I am involved with as the level is pitched too high for the crosswords. I am not familiar with Su Duko, so apart from being a brain teasing exercise I do not see how it may support learning chemistry.
4.2 Thematic Paper
Designing Curriculum and Assessment
to promote effective learning
in Chemistry Higher Education
Christine M. O’Connor, Chemistry Education Research Team (CERT), School of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Dublin Institute of Technology, Kevin Street, Dublin 1. Christine.oconnor@dit.ie
Abstract
This paper is an overview of current considerations for academics designing programmes for third level chemical education. The changing demographic of third level students along with employers’ demands has resulted in course development with a focus on skills basis (Hyslop-Margison, 2001) to support a knowledge base society. The rationale behind the changes in curriculum design is introduced and further focus is emphasised in the areas of curriculum design models, assessment models and evaluation models. Examples of innovative curricula and assessment models in third level chemistry education will be incorporated during the paper.
Introduction
Current chemistry education is in a dynamic state as third level institutes are under pressure to fulfil the economic demands from industry as well as attracting prospective students to their programmes from the ever decreasing pool of chemistry second level graduates. (Childs, 2002) Current chemistry programmes in Ireland are becoming more career focused than before and the transferable skills acquired during the programmes are now used as marketing tools for prospective students. The change in career focused curricula design may be a way forward however is the content knowledge being lost by our current students. A ‘need to know’ attitude is being experienced by academics from the students as they frequently ask ‘What do I need to know?’. This question should be answered by the learning outcomes of the curricula and modules and the delivery mechanisms and assessment strategies (Biggs, 1999) in place should reinforce this. A structural guide to standards of knowledge, skill or competence to be acquired by learners has been published by the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland (NQAI). The European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) has been implemented as part of the Bologna process. The ECTS is a student-centred system based on the student workload required to achieve the learning outcomes and competences to be acquired. With all this guidance and transparency why are we still being asked ‘What do I need to know?’.
Designing curriculum and assessment strategies for third level education in the 21st century has drastically changed from that of the past. Since 1975 education researchers have witnessed a shift in focus from the curriculum to the student. (Bucat, 2004)
“OECD economies are placing an increasing emphasis on the production, distribution and use of knowledge. The knowledge economy is dependent on peoples ability to adapt to situations, update their knowledge and know where to find knowledge. These so called knowledge workers are being paid for knowledge skills rather than manual work” (Maier and Warren, 2000)
The past 100 years saw the dominant influence in the curricula structure has been that of the academics in their separate knowledge fields. Barnett, (2000) states that ‘in the contemporary world, academic hegemony is dissolving as curricula become subject to two contending patterns of change’. The two patterns of changed suggested by Barnett are; (i) Widening of participation at third level colleges and (ii) that a universal shift in the direction of performativity is emerging: what counts is ‘less what individuals know and more what individuals can do (as in their demonstrable skills)’. He goes on to say that ‘curricula are taking on ad hoc patterns that are unwitting outfall of this complex of forces at work, diversifying and universalling. He feels that as a consequence, curricula will be unlikely to yield the ‘human qualities of being that the current age of supercomplexity requires’.
Bodner (1992) stated that “changing the curriculum – the topics being taught – is not enough to bring about meaningful change in science education, we also need to rethink the way the curriculum is delivered”. Bucat, (2004) proposes that “Before our teaching can advance, we need to be knowledgeable not only about the learning outcomes of our teaching, but of the conditions, including subject specific factors, that have given rise to those outcomes. Then perhaps we can design our teaching accordingly”. The dramatic changes which have been taking place in higher education in recent years and the consequential disruption to the ‘traditional identities of place, of time and of scholarly and student communities’ is changing the structure and functions of third level education institutes. The changes are producing for the 21st century a higher education system which operates under a greater variety of conditions than ever before (part-time/ full-time, work-based/ institution-based, face to face/ delivered at a distance etc.) and which brings with it a student experience and an informal curriculum, which are both changed and increasingly diverse. Competing epistemologies which are struggling to shape the formal undergraduate curriculum of the 21st century: the deconstruction of the subject, as reflected in, for example, the modularisation of the curriculum; the cross-curricular ‘key’ skills movement, the learning through experience movement and the shift of the seat of learning outside the academy; the profoundly disruptive potential of web based learning. (Bridges, 2000)
In order to approach the challenges of the diversifying educational demands in third level institutes the role of curriculum design and assessment strategies will be discussed and some evaluation techniques suggested.
Curricula Design
Chemistry is regarded as a difficult subject and many of the concepts are inexplicable without the use of analogies or models. Reviews of misconceptions over the past 16 years will affirm this. (Andersson, 1990; Gabel and Bunce, 1994 and Nakhleh, 1992) Recent modifications in chemistry education have seen the introduction of modularisation. The introduction of the modular system has been a quick transformation and maybe with little time for forward planning and minimum prior knowledge of the importance of programme learning outcomes.
“Planning for learning means that designing the forms of instruction which support learning becomes as important as preparing the content of programmes”. (Dearing, 1997)
Many of the programmes currently modularised are a dissected version of the ‘unmodularised’ course with all the content and less delivery time and formative assessment due to semesterisation. If the current curricula of our programmes are closely looked at are they “The planned and guided learning experiences and intended learning outcomes, formulated through the systematic reconstruction of knowledge and experiences, for the learners’ continuous and wilful growth in personal social competence” as curricula is defined by Tanner (1980). An example of a curriculum design model is given in figure 1 which gives a simplistic overview of where to start. The level of award in which the programme is to achive can be selected in accordance to the NQAI. Level 7 is a BSc (Ord), level 8 is a BSc (Hons) and level 9 is MSc etc. The next step is to decide on the programme aims and objectives in the form of learning outcomes specific (i) to the programme and (ii) to the individual modules.
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Figure 1: Example of a Curriculum Design Model.
The learning outcomes should reflect the skills and competences required of the graduate from this programme. Learning and teaching activities should be selected that are suitable to the delivery of the module. (Bucat, 2004) Activities is the ‘key’ word as “Learning takes place through the active behaviour of the student: it is what he/ she does that he/she learns, not what the teacher does” (Tyler, 1949) In an integrated system where assessment is constructively aligned (Biggs, 2002) to drive the learning, this approach to curriculum design optimises the conditions for quality learning.
When designing a new programme a curriculum planning model may be used to overview the programme design as shown in figure 2. This gives the programme manager and committee a prospective view of the programme as a whole and the criteria that must be fulfilled in order to implement it successfully. Fink (1999) has outlined five principles to ensure good course design which include criteria such as; (i) challenges students to higher level learning, (ii) uses active forms of learning, (iii) gives frequent and immediate feedback to students on the quality of their learning, (iv) uses a structured sequence of different learning activities and (v) has a fair system for assessing and grading students. The last criteria is an important one, as the increased diversity of learners has changed from the traditional students pf the past and this diversity must be catered for within the programme design.
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Figure 2: Example of a Curriculum Planning Model
Teaching and learning should take place through a system from the classroom, to department, to institution levels. A coherent system should have integrated curriculum, teaching and assessment tasks to support learning and promote students into a higher order learning process. (Zoller, 1999)
One example of a Curriculum Alignment Project (CAP) developed by Pinkerton (2001) incorporated the CAP to coordinate one semester of activities. CAP’s are long-term, multiple approach design and construction projects that provide students a concrete task to accomplish, rather than an abstract theme to appreciate. Pickerton found that “after one cycle of CAPs, student motivation began to change from extrinsic to intrinsic; achievement on objective measures was holding steady; students’ abilities to craft and carry out long-term plans for complex projects were improving; and the teacher was learning how to design curriculum that fostered students’ need to know”.
Inquiry based learning through technology (Edelson et al, 1999) or student driven practicals (Mc Donnell et al) are other examples of strategies to promote learning through curriculum design. Jones (1999) has discussed introductory chemistry learning environments that promote the use of design activities which can provide students with opportunities to develop authentic scientific inquiry skills. ‘Many of the activities students complete in their coursework are “school activities”, activities conducted only in classroom settings. Seldom are opportunities to carry out more authentic science activities available. However, when asked to design their own experiments and control variables, students must think like scientists. Such authentic experiences are difficult to provide and to monitor in large general chemistry classes. However, multimedia computer based simulated laboratory experiments can give students the opportunity to design and carry out many experiments in chemistry in a short period of time.’
Problem based learning (PBL) is a very good example of aligned teaching. In PBL, the aim is to produce graduates who can solve professional problems, the main teaching method is to get the students to solve professional problems, the assessment is judging how well they have solved them. Most teaching methods could be more effectively aligned than they currently are. (Biggs, 2002) How we assess should promote learning and drive the learning outcomes.
Assessment models
The role of assessment in accordance to constructive alignment is to achieve the learning outcomes to the best of ones ability. Figure 2 fives just some examples of assessment strategies. These do not include group projects, PBL, and all the other assessment activities used to assess a diverse range of learner types and skills basis. Module descriptors require the assessment weighting and methods to be outlined by the module authors. The competencies envisaged in the learning outcomes should be assessed in the appropriate manner. Clear assessment criteria should be at hand for students to refer to and it should be evident from the assessment criteria ‘What they need to know’!
Coppola et al, (1997) have restructured their classroom practice and have devised five principles which guide their instructional design to help students develop higher order learning skills. The five principles they have outline are
i. Give out explicit rules/ criteria
ii. Use Socratic Instruction
iii. Create alternative metaphors for learning
iv. Use authentic problems to elicit authentic skills
v. Make examinations reflect your goals (constructive alignment)
[pic]
Figure 2: Examples of Assessment Strategies.
Formative assessment in students learning is usually acknowledged, but it is not well understood across higher education. It is argued that there is a need to take account of the epistemology, theories if intellectual and moral development, students stages of intellectual development, and the psychology of giving and receiving feedback. It is noted that formative assessment may be either constructive or inhibitory towards learning. (Yorke, 2003)
“Assessment should be given serious consideration and reflection and the choice of assessment methods should clearly relate to the learning outcomes. There will rarely be one method of assessment which satisfies all learning outcomes for a module and we would recommend that in devising your assessment strategy, a variety of methods is included.” (Donnelly and Fitmaurice, 2005)
Evaluation
“It is therefore important, as part of course design, to develop an evaluation programme which will provide evidence of the degree to which the programme meets its own goals and which also attempts to evaluate the programme from other perspectives” (Toohey, 1999, p 197)
Module design and development is a dynamic process and to obtain meaningful information to improve the module evaluation mechanisms must be put in place. Examples of evaluation mechanisms are questionnaires, interviews and checklists. Kosecoff and Fink (1982) have developed a five step approach to evaluation; (1) Formulating questions and standards, (2) selecting a research design, (3) collecting information, (4) analysing information and (5) reporting information.
Conclusion
The focus of this paper was to answer the initial question asked ‘What do I need to know?’ from a students perspective. The answer to this question has been made transparent by the development of coherent curriculum through the use of learning outcomes, learning and teaching activities, delivery strategies, assessment strategies and evaluation mechanisms. I hope this brings some clarity to the reader on the importance of planning curricula design for chemical education and some food for thought on how that may be achieved.
Thematic Paper References
Andersson B (1990) ‘Pupil's conceptions of matter and its transformations’, Studies in Science Education, 18, 53.
Barnett R (2000) ‘Supercomplexity and the Curriculum’, Studies in Higher Education, 25, 3, 255.
Biggs J (2002) ‘Aligning the Curriculum to Promote Good Learning’, Constructive Alignment in Action: Imaginative Curriculum Symposium, LTSN Generic Centre.
Biggs, J. (1999) Teaching for Quality Learning at University, Buckingham: SRHE/ OU Press.
Bridges D (2000) ‘Back to the Future: the higher education curriculum in the 21st century’, Cambridge Journal of Education, 30, 1, 37.
Brown S and Knight P (1994) ‘Assessing Learners in Higher Education’ Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, Kogan Page Ltd.
Bucat R (2004) ‘Pedagogical Content Knowledge as a way forward: Applied research in chemistry education’, Chemistry Education: Research and Practice, 5, 3, 215.
Coppola BP, Ege SN and Lawton RG, (1997) The University of Michigan undergraduate Chemistry Curriculum, 2. Instructional Strategies and Assessment, Journal of Chemical Education, 74, 1, 84.
Chickering AW and Gamson ZF (1987) ‘Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education’, AAHE Bulletin accessed at:
Childs, P.E (2002) Chemistry in Action, 68 (33) Winter edition.
Dearing, R (1997) Higher Education in the Learning Society, HMSO available at leeds.ac.uk/educol/niche/natrep.htm
Donnelly R and Fitzmaurice M (2005), ‘Designing Modules for Learning’, AISHE, accessed at:
Edelson DC, Gordin DN and Pea RD (1999) ‘Addressing challenges of Inquiry based learning through technology and curriculum design’, Journal of the Learning Sciences, 8, 3 & 4, 391.
European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) accessed at:
Ege S.N., Coppola, B.P. and Lawton R.G. (1997) ‘The University of Michigan Undergraduate Chemistry Curriculum 1. Philosophy, Curriculum and the Nature of Change’, Journal of Chemical Education, 74, 1, 74.
Fink, L.D. (1999) Fink’s Five Principles of Good Course Design accessed at
Gabel DL and Bunce DM (1994) ‘Research on problem solving: Chemistry’, Handbook of Research on Science Teaching and Learning, Macmillan: New York, 301.
Hyslop-Margison EJ (2001) ‘An Assessment of the Historical Arguments in Vocational Education Reform’, Journal of Career and Technical Education accessed at:
Jones L., (1999) ‘Learning Chemistry through Design and Construction’, UniServe Science, 14, accessed at
Kosecoff J and Fink A (1982) ‘Evaluation Basics: A practitioner’s manual’. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
Maier, P. and Warren, A (2000), ‘Integr@ting Technology in Learning and Teaching; A practical guide for educators’, Kogan Page Ltd.
Mc Donnell, C., O’Connor, C. and Seery, M.K, Developing Practical Chemistry Skills by Means of Student-Driven Problem Based Learning Projects, Chemistry Education Research Team, Dublin Institute of Technology, Kevin St., Dublin 8, Ireland. (to be submitted)
Nakhleh MB (1992) ‘Why Some Students Don’t Learn Chemistry: Chemical Misconceptions’, Journal of Chemical Education, 69, 191.
National Qualifications Authority of Ireland (NQAI) accessed at:
Pinkerton KD (2001) ‘Curriculum Alignment Projects: Toward Developing a Need to Know’, 78, 2, 198.
Tanner, D., & Tanner, L. (1980) Curriculum development: Theory into practice. New York: Macmillan.
Toohey S (1999) ‘Designing Course for Higher Education, The Society for Reseacrh into Higher Edcuation’, SRHE: OU Press.
Tyler, RW (1949) ‘Basic principles of curriculum and instruction’ Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Yorke, M (2003) ‘Formative assessment in higher education: Moves towards theory and the enhancement of pedagogic practice’, Higher Education, 45, 4, 477.
Zoller U (1999) ‘Scaling-up of higher-order cognitive skills-oriented college chemistry teaching: An action-orientated research’, Journal of Research in Science and Teaching, 36, 5, 583.
5 Portfolio References
(All websites have been accessed by the author in May 2006)
Andersson B (1990) ‘Pupil's conceptions of matter and its transformations’, Studies in Science Education, 18, 53.
Barnett R (2000) ‘Supercomplexity and the Curriculum’, Studies in Higher Education, 25, 3, 255.
Biggs J (2002) ‘Aligning the Curriculum to Promote Good Learning’, Constructive Alignment in Action: Imaginative Curriculum Symposium, LTSN Generic Centre.
Biggs, J. (1999) Teaching for Quality Learning at University, Buckingham: SRHE/ OU Press.
Bridges D (2000) ‘Back to the Future: the higher education curriculum in the 21st century’, Cambridge Journal of Education, 30, 1, 37.
Bloom B. S. (1956). Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, Handbook I: The Cognitive Domain. New York: David McKay Co Inc.
Brown S and Knight P (1994) ‘Assessing Learners in Higher Education’ Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, Kogan Page Ltd.
Bucat R (2004) ‘Pedagogical Content Knowledge as a way forward: Applied research in chemistry education’, Chemistry Education: Research and Practice, 5, 3, 215.
Cannon, R. & Newble, D. 2000. A Handbook for Teachers in Universities and Colleges, 4th edn. Kogan Page.
Coppola BP, Ege SN and Lawton RG, (1997) The University of Michigan undergraduate Chemistry Curriculum, 2. Instructional Strategies and Assessment, Journal of Chemical Education, 74, 1, 84.
Chemistry Su Duko and Chemistry Crosswords by RSC. Image accessed at
Chickering AW and Gamson ZF (1987) ‘Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education’, AAHE Bulletin accessed at:
Childs, P.E (2002) Chemistry in Action, 68 (33)Winter edition.
Dearing, R (1997) Higher Education in the Learning Society, HMSO available at leeds.ac.uk/educol/niche/natrep.htm
Donnelly R and Fitzmaurice M (2005), ‘Designing Modules for Learning’, AISHE, accessed at:
Edelson DC, Gordin DN and Pea RD (1999) ‘Addressing challenges of Inquiry based learning through technology and curriculum design’, Journal of the Learning Sciences, 8, 3 & 4, 391.
European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) accessed at:
Ege S.N., Coppola, B.P. and Lawton R.G. (1997) ‘The University of Michigan Undergraduate Chemistry Curriculum 1. Philosophy, Curriculum and the Nature of Change’, Journal of Chemical Education, 74, 1, 74.
Fink, L.D. (1999) Fink’s Five Principles of Good Course Design accessed at
Gabel DL and Bunce DM (1994) ‘Research on problem solving: Chemistry’, Handbook of Research on Science Teaching and Learning, Macmillan: New York, 301.
Guide for Busy Academics Constructive Alignment, LTSN accessed at:
Handbook for Academic Quality Enhancement (2006), Validation of a New Module, Dublin Institute of Technology publication, Chapter 2.
Hyslop-Margison EJ (2001) ‘An Assessment of the Historical Arguments in Vocational Education Reform’, Journal of Career and Technical Education accessed at:
Jones L., (1999) ‘Learning Chemistry through Design and Construction’, UniServe Science, 14, accessed at
Kosecoff J and Fink A (1982) ‘Evaluation Basics: A practitioner’s manual’. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
Maier, P. and Warren, A (2000), ‘Integr@ting Technology in Learning and Teaching; A practical guide for educators’, Kogan Page Ltd.
Maslows Hierarchy of Human Needs image accessed at:
Maslow, A. (1943). ‘A theory of human motivation’. Psychological Review, 50, 370-396.
Mc Donnell, C., O’Connor, C. and Seery, M.K, Developing Practical Chemistry Skills by Means of Student-Driven Problem Based Learning Projects, Chemistry Education Research Team, Dublin Institute of Technology, Kevin St., Dublin 8, Ireland. (to be submitted)
Nakhleh MB (1992) ‘Why Some Students Don’t Learn Chemistry: Chemical Misconceptions’, Journal of Chemical Education, 69, 191.
National Qualifications Authority of Ireland (NQAI) accessed at:
Pinkerton KD (2001) ‘Curriculum Alignment Projects: Toward Developing a Need to Know’, 78, 2, 198.
Royal Society of Chemistry (2005) ‘Forensic science degrees – it’s a crime’, accessed at
SEMTA (2004) ‘Forensics Science: Implications for Higher Education 2004’ accessed at:
Tanner, D., & Tanner, L. (1980) Curriculum development: Theory into practice. New York: Macmillan.
Toohey S (1999) ‘Designing Course for Higher Education, The Society for Reseacrh into Higher Edcuation’, SRHE: OU Press.
Tyler, RW (1949) ‘Basic principles of curriculum and instruction’ Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
WebCT Contents Showcase, Accessed by the author in May 2006 at: .
Yorke, M (2003) ‘Formative assessment in higher education: Moves towards theory and the enhancement of pedagogic practice’, Higher Education, 45, 4, 477.
Young E. and Kornblith P., ‘Evaluating an e-Pack in 10 Minutes or Less: Using the WebCT Key Features’, Accessed by the author in May 2006 at:
Zoller U (1999) ‘Scaling-up of higher-order cognitive skills-oriented college chemistry teaching: An action-orientated research’, Journal of Research in Science and Teaching, 36, 5, 583.
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Curriculum Design Framework (Models)
Course and Module
Aims and Objectives
Learning and Teaching Activities/ Strategies
Assessment Strategies
Assessment Strategies
Formative Assessment
Summative
Assessment
Continuous Assessment
On-line quizzes
Problem Solving
Tutorials
End of Module Exam
Project
Presentation and Thesis
Laboratory
Practicals
In class tests
Take home assignments
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