Improving Large Lecture Gateway Chemistry Courses through Flipped Classes with Peer-Led Team Learning

普通化学和有机化学课程是许多STEM专业本科生学术追求的关键节点，往往是减员点。研究和开发教学改革和教学干预措施，提高学生在这些课程中的学习和成功，有助于增加对国家经济健康和安全重要领域的STEM毕业生人数。该项目将建立在先前在普通化学I中使用同伴领导的团队学习（PLTL）已经证明成功的工作基础上，并将开发、实施和评估一种将PLTL与所谓的“翻转”课堂结构相结合的普通化学II和有机化学I教学改革教学法。在翻转课堂的安排中，课程内容是通过相对简短的在线视频提供的，学生可以在课外观看。通过减少讲课时间，课堂上可用的时间可以用于实施积极的学习活动，如小组问题解决和PLTL。由于普通化学II和有机化学I在南佛罗里达大学招收了大量的学生，这个项目的研究成果将为其他提供本科STEM课程的机构的类似努力提供有价值的信息。该项目的主要内容包括发展混合式教学方法、制作视频讲座、培训同行领导和教师专业发展。由于该项目将把普通化学I的工作扩展到普通化学II和有机化学I的后续课程，研究人员将研究改革教学法对学科课程序列的持久性、课程之间的可转移技能以及最终对STEM学科学位获得的影响。对干预效果的研究将涉及对实施了新教学策略的班级的学生和未采用改革教学策略的班级的学生进行比较。将用于衡量项目成果的特定工具和数据来源包括管理美国化学学会考试协会普通化学II和有机化学I的标准化期末考试，进行学生访谈以引出他们解决问题的方法，以及学生在目标课程中的表现和毕业率的机构记录。

General Chemistry and Organic Chemistry courses are critical junctures and often are points of attrition in the academic pursuits for many undergraduate STEM majors. Research and development of pedagogical reforms and instructional interventions that improve student learning and success in these courses can contribute to increasing the number of STEM graduates in fields important to the economic health and security of the nation. This project will build upon prior work that has demonstrated success by utilizing Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL) in General Chemistry I and will develop, implement and evaluate a reform pedagogy for instruction in General Chemistry II and Organic Chemistry I that blends PLTL with a so-called "flipped" classroom structure. In a flipped classroom arrangement, lecture content is provided via relatively brief online videos that students watch outside of class. The time made available during class by diminishing the time devoted to lecturing can be used for implementing active learning activities such as small group problem-solving and PLTL. As General Chemistry II and Organic Chemistry I enroll large numbers of students at the University of South Florida, research outcomes from this project will be of value to inform similar endeavors at other institutions that also offer undergraduate STEM courses with large enrollments.The chief elements of this project entail the development of the blended pedagogical approach, creation of video lectures, training of peer leaders and faculty professional development. As this project will extend work begun in General Chemistry I to the subsequent courses of General Chemistry II and Organic Chemistry I, the investigators will study the impact of the reform pedagogy on persistence in a disciplinary course sequence, on transferrable skills between courses, and ultimately on degree attainment in STEM disciplines. Research on the effectiveness of the intervention will involve comparisons of students in classes in which the novel pedagogical strategy has been implemented and those students in classes receiving instruction without the reform pedagogy. Specific instruments and data sources that will be utilized to measure project outcomes include administering standardized final examinations from the American Chemical Society Examinations Institute in General Chemistry II and Organic Chemistry I, conducting student interviews to elicit their approaches to problem-solving and institutional records of student performance in the targeted courses and graduation rates.