Showing papers in "New directions in the teaching of physical sciences in 2011"

The many positive impacts of participating in outreach activities on postgraduate students

Abstract: Postgraduate students are excellent role models for school students, where their passion and energy play a vital role in engaging younger students and spreading enthusiasm and excitement about science. However, participating in outreach is not a one way activity for these postgraduate students. Through focus groups we show that the postgraduate students perceive that there are many benefits for themselves. These benefits are identified and discussed. This paper also contrasts the postgraduate with their undergraduate counterpart in terms of their contributions to engagement activities.

Screencasting as a means of providing timely, general feedback on assessment

Abstract: Feedback has been highlighted as a key area for improvement in teaching in higher education following recent National Student Survey results. While feedback may be provided in a variety of forms, both general and specific to individual students, there is often a need to provide general feedback to a whole class without consuming valuable and limited contact time. Screencasting involves recording a short video clip of a computer screen with narration. It can be used to demonstrate various computer programmes, how to perform data analysis and to provide feedback on assessment, both individually and to the class as a whole. Camtasia or other screencast facilities were used to produce short videos of solutions to problem based assessments, incorporating general feedback and addressing misconceptions that had arisen. The resulting video files can be made available through virtual learning environments or on external websites giving the students round the clock access to a „mini lecture‟ enabling them to use the feedback at a time and place of their choosing. We have experimented with screencast feedback in a number of chemistry modules, focussing on feedback for in-class tests and problem-solving activities. In this communication we will look at screencasting as a means of providing efficient and effective whole class feedback, highlighting the strengths and challenges of this technology. We will discuss the experiences of both students who receive screencast feedback and tutors who provide it, and finish with our suggestions for best practice in the area.

Using audio for Feedback on assessments: tutor and student experiences

Abstract: Recently we have been providing individual audio feedback to 1st and 2nd year undergraduate Chemistry students on a variety of assessments (posters, laboratory reports, laboratory diaries) with the aim of providing richer, more detailed and more comprehensible individual feedback than is possible within the same timeframe using written feedback. In this communication, various aspects of the use of audio for feedback are discussed including practical and technical aspects of the recording of audio files whilst viewing and assessing student work, the transmission of these files to individual students, our experiences as tutors of providing audio feedback and the experiences and views of students on audio feedback.

Combining screencasting and a Tablet PC to deliver personalised student feedback

Abstract: In many large research intensive universities in the UK the ability to provide a personalised university learning experience for their students is providing a serious challenge. Based on the National Student Survey (NSS) data, the absence of focused personalised feedback is often a concern of students. Here we describe how we use the combination of modern technologies encompassing a Tablet PC and screencasting to provide a personalised feedback to our students on submitted coursework and tutorial example classes. The fundamentals and practicalities of this approach, in particular with regard to the physical sciences, are described and data from student attitudinal and informational surveys are presented.

On the impact of the Bristol ChemLabS’ outreach programme on admissions to the School of Chemistry

Abstract: Analysis of the average number of applicants received from schools that engaged in the Bristol ChemLabS Outreach program prior to a student‟s application with those that did not engage, shows a significant increase in applicants from engaged schools. The significance is weaker when just Post 16 students are considered but this is almost certainly due to a smaller sample size. When this analysis was inspected in terms of the distance of the school from the University of Bristol, there was an increase in the number of applicants from engaged schools irrespective of distance. However, a statistically significant increase was observed for schools within 50 miles of the University from an analysis of just Post 16 students. Students who applied to the department from an engaged school were more likely to accept an offer and also to make the department their firm acceptance. A slightly higher number of applications that were rejected came from engaged schools too. There are two possible reasons; first, the engagement may have encouraged more students who did not have the required entry qualifications. Second, during the period of analysis, the overall entry grades went up by one grade each year. Such a dramatic rise was probably the reason for the slightly elevated numbers.

Making better and wider use of undergraduate teaching laboratories in the support of chemistry in the UK

Abstract: The Chemistry Departments at Bristol and Sheffield Universities have adopted two complementary approaches to maximising the use of teaching laboratory space, in the main to support secondary school level study. The two approaches involve the adaptation of a small part of a teaching laboratory or the use of the whole of the undergraduate teaching laboratories themselves. In the former case a small number of students can enjoy their use throughout the week and in the latter a large number of students can use the facilities one day per week in undergraduate term time and in the remaining 18 weeks of the year when not required for undergraduate teaching. This paper describes the development and the challenges to be overcome with both scenarios and the advantages and disadvantages of both approaches, using an example from each.

The trials and tribulations of designing and utilising MCQs in HE and for assessing forensic practitioner competency

Abstract: Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) are a very well known, traditional and accepted method of assessment. The use of MCQs for testing students has produced numerous debates amongst academics concerning their effectiveness as they are viewed as practical and efficient but also perceived as possibly „too easy‟ and potentially unable to appropriately test the higher order cognitive skills that essay questions can assess. The use of MCQs in a forensic science context is currently being investigated, not only for use within forensic science education, but also for the testing of competency of qualified forensic practitioners. This paper describes a Higher Education Academy funded project that is investigating the design and the implementation of MCQs for testing forensic practitioners and the lessons that have been learnt so far, that will assist academics in the development of robust MCQ assessments within forensic science degrees to promote and assess deep learning.

Solving the maths problem in chemistry: the impact of a pre-university maths summer school

Abstract: Mathematical skills beyond that taught at GCSE level (under 16 in UK) are required to pursue a physical sciences degree in the UK. However, many departments are unable to recruit sufficient students who have both the physical science and Mathematics qualification at A-level (post-16). Therefore, students are admitted with GCSE Mathematics and are taught the mathematical skills during the degree course. In this paper we investigate the impact of running a pre-university mathematics summer school for students about to start a physical sciences degree who have GCSE Mathematics as their highest mathematics qualification. The students are tracked through their first two years of a UK chemistry degree. It is shown that they perform significantly better than similarly qualified students in first year physical chemistry and second year theoretical chemistry units. Reasons for these results are presented.

Sharing learning outcomes in chemistry teaching at HE level: Beneficial or detrimental?

Abstract: The sharing of explicit learning objectives and/or learning outcomes is considered to be good practice in schools, with OFSTED observation criteria indicating that this is a pre-requisite to a good or outstanding lesson1. Such practice does not appear to be widespread in chemistry teaching at HE level. Whilst a statement of aims/objectives/outcomes can normally be found in the documentation accompanying any given unit of teaching, these are typically in a less student-friendly format than those used in school, or are too vague to be useful. At the same time, many lecturers do communicate aims at the start of a lecture, but there may be scope for doing this in a more effective way. The extent to which students are exposed to „learning outcomes‟ varies greatly from institution to institution, discipline to discipline and from teacher to teacher, and as such it is difficult to discern the best approach. This article presents some background on developments at pre-university level that have influenced practice in this area, and outlines the findings of a research project carried out in the School of Chemistry at the University of Southampton. The project probed the views of staff and students regarding the usefulness of learning outcomes. Several different approaches to sharing learning outcomes with first year students were trialled and evaluated during the course of the 2010-11 academic year. This work is part of an on-going initiative which aims to identify effective methods to support students in becoming independent learners when making the transition to university, and to improve retention rates.

Public engagement with science: Ways of thinking and practicing

Abstract: The primary focus of the Higher Education Institution (HEI) is the generation and dissemination of knowledge. This knowledge is generated and shared throughout the research community and to students specifically enrolled in university programmes. Public engagement with science enables and ensures the generation and sharing of knowledge throughout a wider community. Public engagement with science has enjoyed an increasingly heightened profile in recent years with six „Beacons for Public Engagement‟1 being established across HEIs in the UK, including a National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement2 hosted between the University of Bristol and the University of the West of England In addition, public engagement is a component in the „Pathways to Impact‟ statements3 which have been introduced into all RCUK research funding applications. However public engagement, and in particular public engagement with science, can often be perceived as an add-on or „Cinderella‟ activity to be undertaken only by the dedicated and often only in their own time. This paper argues that public engagement with science is a legitimate area of academic practice in HEIs which complements and extends research and teaching. The paper outlines key principles which underpin public engagement with science and describes effective work practice

Sowing the seeds of change: Students taking the lead in chemical education research projects

Abstract: This article outlines the benefits to institutions of engaging students (undergraduate and postgraduate) in carrying out education research projects. The activity outlined herein is probably best described as „action research‟, which potentially lays the foundation for chemical education research in the future. These projects aim to identify (or develop) best practice and provide the evidence to convince occasionally cynical academics that a new approach is effective in enhancing learning and/or the student experience. The benefits to the students carrying out the projects in terms of skills development and increased confidence are discussed, along with the benefits to academics and their institutions.

Ausubel’s principle of prior knowledge in first year mechanics

Abstract: The Force Concept Inventory, a 30-question multiple choice test, has been used to test the baseline knowledge in mechanics prior to a course of instruction at Hull over the three years corresponding to entry in 2008, 2009 and 2010. Students whose pre-university education occurred outside the UK or who were repeating the year have been excluded from the analysis in order to focus attention on first-time UK students. These constitute the great majority of the entrants and the results essentially characterise the entry-level knowledge of a typical cohort. Two interesting findings have emerged. First, there is a wide range of abilities within each cohort, as judged by the test scores, and secondly, analysis of the scores question by question reveals a remarkable consistency between the different cohorts. This consistency extends even to the distribution of choices within individual questions. Five such questions are analysed in detailed to reveal which aspects of mechanics a typical class finds difficult. Ausubel‟s principle of first finding out what students know in order to teach accordingly can therefore be applied not to the individual students but to the class as a whole and suggestions as to how instruction might be tailored to address the weaknesses revealed by the Force Concept Inventory are discussed.

Mission to Mars: A one-week introductory project for new physics students

Abstract: A new event to help smooth the induction of year 1 students to university was run in the Physics Department on a trial basis in the academic year 2009/10 and extended in 2010/11.The event took place in the first week of term with the aim of introducing the students to the Department and the level of engagement expected of them. After some ice-breakers and simple problem-solving, an open-ended physics problem on a topical issue was presented to the students who were organised to work in groups. In addition to working on the project problem, the students completed some on-line assignments (in order to introduce them to Pearson‟s Mastering Physics software which the Department has adopted after a successful pilot). In the first year the event ran for 2.5 days, with the groups producing a 1-page report (requiring them to encounter the printing system) and a poster for a poster session. In 2010/11 teams (each containing 5 groups) presented their results to an audience of academics (and fellow students), emphasising the importance of communication skills. The evaluation results indicate that it was a beneficial experience, and the effect of the changes in the second year has been investigated.

SEPnet Outreach: Building and sustaining links between university physics departments

Abstract: The SEPnet Outreach work strand is a collaboration between university physics departments around the South East of England as a direct response to the national STEM agenda and the recruitment needs of the partner departments. A portfolio of activities has been developed that builds on the strengths of each department to deliver higher impact through collaborative development and delivery. In particular, the two year repeat contact „SEPnet GCSE Programme‟ shows that a region-wide programme drawing inspiration not just from the physics departments but the school teachers they work with can be particularly effective. This paper looks at the successes of the activities so far, and takes a look ahead.

The physics outreach group: A how to guide

Abstract: In less than two years in existence, the Liverpool Physics Outreach Group has developed and delivered physics workshops to over 3000 school pupils. The Group is voluntary and non-credit bearing, meeting once per week to share good practice, develop new ideas and obtain feedback on their communications skills. Funding to run projects, such as Photons in the Classroom has been awarded from the Science and Technologies Funding Council, and the Institute of Physics. After some collaboration with Chemistry and Mathematics, we have put together a business case for a School of Physical Sciences Outreach Group. Collaboration with other Departments has begun in which we introduce students who require an understanding of physics, but often have no background in the subject (e.g. Radiotherapy). By incorporating the hands-on „fun‟ elements of outreach activities, these students have found physics more accessible, and a thorough evaluation of benefits to their learning is underway. The Ogden Trust have provided funding for a Women in Physics Outreach event which will be run by girls, for girls This approach is considered effective for the recruitment and retention of girls in physics and engineering in other countries (notably Germany). Benefits to our students involved include everything from a huge increase in confidence to an improvement in their motivation to learn physics. The schools involved and the Physics Department benefit from opening the lines of communication. Evaluation indicated that the pupils in all schools visited thoroughly enjoyed the sessions and have an improved attitude toward science, and in particular, physics. The uptake of Triple (separate) Science in all schools visited has increased since our visits began. We would like to share our experience of setting up and running so many successful events on order that other departments might develop their own without having to re-invent the wheel.