Practical approaches aimed at freeing up precious lecture time

1. Practical approaches aimed at freeing up precious lecture time David Read

2. Alternative title… “Adventures in pursuit of the ‘Flipped Classroom’” My frustration and my philosophy Getting lectures online Some flipped teaching Student engagement with online resources What to do with freed up lecture time… Final thought: Socratic lectures

3. Context of my role at Southampton • Appointed as School Teacher Fellow in May 2007 with funding from Chemistry for our Future (RSC). • Part of role was to work with academics to support students in transition/ acclimatisation. • Academics (and recently TFs) are in charge of courses and teaching approaches. = Frustration!

4. Moving lecture content online Recap of course/module Worked examples Didactic lecturing “Anything that can go online should go online!” Generic feedback on assessments Outline of course/module Tutorial on using Blackboard Introduction to exam system Safety lecture

5. Baby steps: Recorded lectures Andrews, C. J., Brown, R. C., Harrison, C. K., Read, D. and Roach, P. L., New Directions in the Teaching of Physical Sciences, 2010, 6, p.56.

6. Baby steps: Recorded lectures

7. What we did in 2009/10 • 18 Organic chemistry lectures were recorded in Semester 1. • 5 students were unable to attend lectures full stop. • All students were given access for revision. ~ 20 lectures received >2000 hits from ~100 students

8. Do recorded lectures foster independent learning? vs

9. What we did in 2009/10 • 18 Organic chemistry lectures were recorded in Semester 1. • 5 students were unable to attend lectures full stop. • All students were given access for revision. • Conclusion: “recorded lectures are a viable substitute for the real thing” • Excellent! Let’s start flipping… ~ 20 lectures received >2000 hits from ~100 students Panopto system now adopted by the university

10. Is lecture capture software used at your institution? • I use it • Yes – in my dept • Yes – in other depts • No

11. Are you flippin’ mad? You can’t do that! “I spent the whole summer preparing my lecture slides!” “The students are too lazy!” “They won’t turn up to classes.” “I haven’t got time to plan anything new.” “How do you know they’ll look at it?” “I’m not confident enough to do ‘just in time’ teaching.” “Students can’t learn independently!” “I’m too much of a control freak.” “What do you do if they don’t understand the work?” 2-11

12. The flipped classroom needs to be populated by independent learners

13. If you flipped your teaching, what % of students do you think would engage effectively? • ~100% • >75% • >50% • >25% • <25% Actually, evidence from local schools and colleges suggests that engagement levels are very high when teaching is flipped.

14. A case study in flipped teaching • Prof Phil Gale found that his 3rd year lecture course was not popular in 11/12 (students didn’t engage with the research element). • Phil recorded his lectures for 12/13 and made them available prior to the timetabled slots. • The timetabled slots were then used as workshop sessions (class of ~40). • ~50% of students watched the videos the night before or earlier.

15. Do students really engage with online material?

16. A case study: Turning worked examples into self-assessment exercises • Worked example videos produced as part of an initiative aimed at boosting performance in organic chem. • To ensure activeengagement by students, the videos were produced as video mark schemes for a vacation ‘homework’ exercise. • Students completed self-assessment of their own work, and reported feedback and reflections back to us.

17. This part of the display is captured from the screen of a Tablet PC An index aids navigation The tutor models the process of constructing an answer to the problem, explaining the key concepts along the way. The tutor is captured using a camcorder or webcam. Students manage the pace of delivery using these controls

18. Semi-quantitative analysis Question 1: “How useful were the resources that we made available over the Easter? We need your feedback to help us decide if we should produce more of these resources.” Question 2: “Has this been a useful exercise for you? Please explain why you think this (whether you have a positive view or a negative one). We need your feedback so we can decide if we should do more of this sort of thing.”

19. Evidence of success, and of reflection “…it is good to be able to think about where the electrons are going rather than just trying to memorise arrow positions.” “…explanation of the mechanisms…is invaluable in that we can also see the ’train of thought’ we should practise in approaching mechanisms.” “Learning the method of approaching the mechanism is just as valuable as knowing the chemistry outright.” “…the reasons why (the mechanism) happened a certain way were explained so I understood more clearly what my mistakes were.”

20. Some positive feedback “A brilliant exercise in covering things I had already understood, whilst simultaneously highlighting things I'd clearly managed to remember or even learn wrong in the first place.” “This has been a brilliant exercise, if I’m honest…a good insight into how exams will be marked.” “I wholeheartedly look forward to doing more of these sorts of exercises.” “I believe that this type of exercise will make a significant difference to the overall score of the class.”

21. Impact on attainment

22. Read, D. and Lancaster, S. J., Education in Chemistry, 2012, 49, p.13. http://www.chemistryvignettes.net/

23. What could you do with the time you’ve freed up?

24. Making better use of precious contact time Voting pads Debates PBL/CBL activities Demonstrations Presentations Peer assessment activities Open Q & A

25. Which of the following are used in timetabled teaching slots in your department? • Voting pads • PBL/CBL activities • Debates • Demonstrations • Student Presentations • Open Q&A • Peer assessment activities

26. The biofuels debate • I’ve been giving talks on biofuels in local schools and colleges since 2007. • At Farnborough College, they got the students to watch a video I’d produced for homework prior to the session. • I then introduced an element of debate into the talk. • Plus a few demos...

29. And finally… The Socratic Method .. a form of inquiry and debate between individuals with opposing viewpoints based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to illuminate ideas. Obenland, C. A., Munson, A. H. and Hutchinson, J. S., Chem. Educ. Res. Pract., 2012, 33, DOI10.1039/c2rp20055d

30. Active learning in the lecture hall • There’s plenty in the literature on active learning • In this study, students were given reading assignments prior to lectures. • In a 50 min lecture, ~40 questions were posed to students. • Students verbally express logic and reasoning. • Concepts and models are built via reasoning and discussion. Obenland, C. A., Munson, A. H. and Hutchinson, J. S., Chem. Educ. Res. Pract., 2012, 33, DOI10.1039/c2rp20055d

31. Electrophilic substitution of phenol The …………………… group strongly activates the benzene ring, as one of the ……….. pairs of electrons on the oxygen atom can be donated into the delocalised p electron system. This makes the benzene ring more susceptible to attack by ………………………….. . Bromination of phenol Benzene will not undergo electrophilic substitution reactions with halogens in the absence of a …………………………… . However, the ……………………… effect of the O-H group means that phenol will undergo such reactions e.g. with bromine: The use of phenol as a precursor in synthetic chemistry: Video Sulphonation: Chlorination: Nitration:

32. a) Cyclohexene reacts readily with bromine, but benzene will only undergo reaction with bromine in the presence of a catalyst. Explain why this is the case. (3)b) Under what conditions will benzene react with bromine? Write a mechanism to show the different steps of the reaction, including the generation of the electrophile. (4)

33. Thanks for your attention! “Adventures in pursuit of the ‘Flipped Classroom’” My frustration and my philosophy Getting lectures online Some flipped teaching Student engagement with online resources What to do with freed up lecture time… Final thought: Socratic lectures