Use of Mastering in Managing Large Classes David V. Dearden Brigham Young University Provo, Utah, USA 1

General Chemistry at BYU Typical enrollment 2500 students/year 250 students/lecture (3x/week) 25 students/recitation section (2x/week) Pre-professional (30%), engineering (40%), science majors (15%), others (15%) ~85% have had high school chemistry, but course is taught with no prerequisites Dropout/withdraw/fail typically ~ 10% 2

Challenges in a Large Course Large sections little personal interaction inability to give adequate, personal feedback diversity of student preparation/background struggling students difficult to identify and track course management and grading (volume!) Generally negative perception of the course 3

Words of Wisdom, Daily Universe, 8 Jan 07 Last semester, like many other fearful students, I enrolled in Chem 105. I had heard the horror stories, and I was not looking forward to the challenge. Unfortunately, the class held up to its reputation and has proven to be one of the hardest classes I have taken in my three years here at BYU. During the semester as I endured the pain of the heavy work load and four-hour tests, I continually asked myself, "Why does this class have to be so hard?" However, as I was walking out of my last lab, I had a realization that gave me the answer to my question. While I am not, most of the students taking Chem 105 are either pre-med or pre-dental; they are the future doctors and dentists of our world. But if the person next to me watching Strongbad on his laptop will one day be opening my chest cavity, he had better know his stuff. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't let some of these self-proclaimed "pre-med" students wash my car, let alone drill a hole in my tooth or give me a heart transplant. Though the class was grueling, I am now thankful Chem 105 was hard. It was a good learning experience, and, more importantly, the person in the back of the class yelling, "Blow something up!" will no longer be going to medical school. A Chem 105 Student, Colville, Wash. 4

What Mastering Does: Online Homework (among other things) Provides tutorial and end-of-chapter problems Allows you to modify or write your own problems Gives instant, graded feedback can be in form of “ hints ” or answer-based instruction Allows instructor to monitor individual and group performance Automates the grading 5

Using Mastering to Address Large Course Challenges Large sections little personal interaction Automated interaction for each individual inability to give adequate, personal feedback Feedback is immediate and personally tailored diversity of student preparation/background Students can move quickly through material they know, be tutored where they need help struggling students difficult to identify and track Color coded gradebook makes this easy course management and grading (volume!) Automated management and grading Generally negative perception of the course Students like using the system 6

Goals in Using Mastering in a Large Course Give individual feedback Improve student perceptions Do this without sacrificing content increasing instructor load I use technology primarily for pedagogical reasons; assessment is a distant secondary purpose this avoids potential concerns about security /cheating “I love technology” 7

Ways Mastering Has Helped in My Large Course Now all homework is graded: individual, immediate feedback for all students Difficult concepts are easily identified Struggling students are easily identified Technology facilitates individualized help (by showing the path the student takes in reaching an answer) Grading and course management is easier 8

Let’s Take a Look at Mastering Chemistry My General Chemistry Course, Winter 2010 ~250 students Individual help for students and instructor 9

Easy Identification of Struggling Students Real gradebook, but not live (names hidden) 10

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Help Individuals on Homework All of this can be done over the Internet 14

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Automated Grading Everything recorded on a central server Class results easily export back into my spreadsheet or for posting in Blackboard Students can see all their own work and scores any time, but no one else’s TA’s and I can focus our time on teaching, rather than grading 18

Splitting Large Classes Into Groups Our large sections are divided into smaller recitation sections managed by TAs Mastering allows easy division of class into groups 19

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Some Additional Tips First day handout to explain registration Available under “Tours & Training: Getting Started” PowerPoints also available 22

MasteringChemistry “ Best Practices ” Use the publisher-provided best practices Have students do introductory exercises Allow ample retries with small penalties for looking at hints points are like candy! give most of the credit for completing let this be worth a small but significant fraction of grade Allow ample “ drops ” Be flexible with due dates early on Leave problems available for review Check problems yourself before allowing student access 23

Outcomes: Is This Effective? Student surveys Students like using Mastering Exam scores A side benefit: my students are learning more effectively 24

How helpful to you is each of the following in learning general chemistry? Chemistry tutorial lab Chem Tutor iClicker quizzes Lectures MasteringChemistry Micro Exams Problems in the textbook (end-of-chapter, within chapters) Recitation section & DR problems Textbook VCL On a scale from 1 to 5, where 1 is not helpful, and 5 is extremely helpful. A=1 B=2 C=3 D=4 E=5 25

Student Perceptions-W ± ± ± ± ± ±

Exam Scores 54.5 ± 24.5% 60.6 ± 21.7% 27

Acknowledgments BYU Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry Chem 105 instructors National Science Foundation 28

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