Sparky IntroChem: A Student-Oriented Introductory Chemistry Course

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Chemistry (12)This project is revising the introductory chemistry (IntroChem) course to include three distinct student populations: health science majors, science majors with little chemistry background, and nonscience majors. The goal is to integrate several previously developed student-oriented initiatives into a proposed Sparky IntroChem course to promote student learning in: mathematical problem-solving, understanding concepts, scientific reasoning, and development of positive attitudes towards science. Six class modules, which are being adapted from existing materials or developed as part of the project, are providing the focus of classroom activities, along with the use of Concept Test questions to assess student progress. The modules are focused upon chemical issues of local interest, including industrial wood chemistry, air pollution, and water quality. Peer-led workshops of eight students, conducted by undergraduates who have taken the course, are being employed to solve problems and discuss issues for presentation to the entire class. Discovery based and problem-based laboratories are being adapted or developed to provide students with meaningful, hands-on experience with chemistry. Technological approaches to learning include the use of LUCID to provide interactive models, virtual instruments, and tool kits, and a WWW discussion board to promote student-teacher and student-student interaction. Sparky IntroChem is being evaluated on the basis of participant perceptions, performance, grade distribution, and impact in subsequent science courses using classroom observation, surveys, and interviews adapted from the literature. Our findings are being disseminated through conference presentations, pedagogical journals, and our web site. In addition, our results are being sent to the consortia that developed the initiatives for dissemination through their mechanisms.