A New Teaching Approach for an Old Subject
Thomas Greenbowe, professor of chemistry, has discovered a winning formula for teaching that improves student achievement. Greenbowe is using a combination of animated computer simulation programs, interactive labs, and traditional lecture to teach freshman chemistry in a National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded education research project exploring ways to help students excel.
RECOGNIZING DIFFERENT LEARNING STYLES
"One important thing to recognize is that students have different learning styles that may call for different teaching approaches," said Greenbowe.
Studies show that only about 20 percent of students are verbal learners. Greenbowe said these are the students who do well in a traditional lecture class. The other 80 percent have difficulty in lecture situations; they master material better when taught through a more visual approach.
"When your teaching includes a visual component, as well as student involvement, many students begin to understand what they didn't learn in the traditional lecture setting," said Greenbowe.
In any class, there are ways to accommodate visual learners. Using NSF grant funds, Greenbowe worked with Brian Hand, professor of curriculum and instruction, to develop materials specifically for chemistry. The materials include detailed visuals for lectures and a series of animated computer simulation programs that mimic actual lab experiments. You can review the simulations on the Internet.
UNIQUE APPROACH TO THE LEARNING CYCLE
In addition to creating material specifically for the visual learner, Greenbowe uses a unique approach to the learning cycle that seems to help all students more easily master and retain information. He doesn't just present concepts and ask students to verify them as in traditional chemistry classes. Instead, he uses a science-writing heuristic (discovery) strategy to encourage active learning. His approach includes:
- Exploration - students are placed in small groups. Each group is given a related question they must explore and answer using reasoning and constructing logical arguments. Learners work to identify trends or discrepancies and report their findings back to the larger group.
- Introduction of concept - The instructor helps students compile the results so the class can identify the concept.
- Application - The instructor presents the application of the concept.
RESULTS ARE POSITIVE
"In this setting, students can hardly help but get the work right," said Greenbowe.
Student achievement has improved significantly since Greenbowe began using his new approach. Low achieving students in particular gained significantly, as well as women, who typically score lower on a chemistry pretest than men but now finish the class with an average score similar to the men's average score.