Is Lecturing Enough? Leveraging Technology and low stake assignments to empower underprepared STEM students
Extended General Chemistry 1 & 2 at Rutgers University cater to a diverse student body, many of whom are under-prepared for university-level STEM courses. Our recent publicationi outlines initial efforts informed by Theobald and colleagues’ Heads and Hearts hypothesisii, leveraging an I Do, We Do, You Doiii active learning framework, frequent low-and-moderate-stakes assessments, and undergraduate Learning Assistant (LA) support during in-class activities. Through these methods, we have successfully implemented a highly structured course.
Despite these interventions, persistent DFW (D-F-Withdrawal) rates prompted the implementation of a partially flipped lecture format utilizing Playpositiv video quizzes to optimize the utilization of lecture time. A meta-analysis of flipped learningv suggested improved student outcomes when flipped instruction was complemented by traditional didactic lecturing. To address the diverse needs of our students, this talk will explore how we use technological tools such as PlayPosit and others to create a dynamic learning environment both in and out of the classroom.
Our discussion will focus on recent transformations to foster a student-centered learning environment by implementing low-stakes assignments that enhance metacognitive and planning skills alongside using PlayPosit to aid content mastery. We will discuss how we have integrated "We Do" and "You Do" activities into assessment item design. Additionally, we will present three low-stakes graded assignments incorporated into our Extended General Chemistry course sequence: Exam wrappers, Dated Achievable Personal Positive and Specific (DAPPS) goal-setting assignments, and Learning Objective Tracker (L.O.T.) surveys, which we believe enhance student planning. Overall, we will philosophically tackle the question: Can digital tools empower student engagement and help them build metacognitive skills, or is relying on didactic lecturing alone sufficient?
iMuñiz, M. N., Altinis-Kiraz, C., & Emenike, M. E. Extending Equity, Access, and Inclusion: An Evolving Multifaceted Approach to Transform a General Chemistry Course at a Large, Flagship, Research Institution. Journal of Chemical Education. 2022, 99(1), 227-238. doi:10.1021/acs.jchemed.1c00387
iiTheobald, E. J., Hill, M. J., Tran, E., Agrawal, S., Arroyo, E. N., Behling, S., Freeman, S. (2020). Active learning narrows achievement gaps for underrepresented students in undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and math. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(12), 6476. doi:10.1073/pnas.1916903117
iiiFisher, Douglas; Nancy Frey. Better Learning Through Structured Teaching: A Framework for the Gradual Release of Responsibility. ASCD, 2008.
ivZeidan, M; Huang, X; Xiao, L; Zhao, R. Improving student engagement using a video-enabled activity-based learning: an exploratory study to STEM preparatory education in UAE. Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education. 2022;(24). doi:10.47408/jldhe.vi24.888
vKapur M, Hattie J, Grossman I and Sinha T (2022) Fail, flip, fix, and feed –Rethinking flipped learning: A review of meta-analyses and a subsequent meta-analysis. Front. Educ. 7:956416. doi: 10.3389/feduc.2022.956416
Hosted by Professor Lu Wang