1. Yakini Brandy, Shimelis Hailu, Pogisego Dinake, Folahan O. Ayorinde Howard University Presented at The 238 th American Chemical Society National Meeting Washington, DC August 16-20, 2009 Demonstration of Teaching-as-Research using Blackboard and Formative Surveys to improve academic performance in an Organic Chemistry Class

2. Cartoon Illustrating Today’s Students Adopted from: http://dragonlady328pt.blogspot.com/2006/09/technology-issues.html (Sept. 06, 2006) http://dragonlady328pt.blogspot.com/2006/09/technology-issues.html

3. The CIRTL Network Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning (CIRTL) Mission: To enhance the Professional Development of Graduate Students and develop a national STEM faculty committed to advancing effective teaching practice for diverse student audiences Howard University Michigan State University Texas A&M University University of Colorado at Boulder University of Wisconsin-Madison Vanderbilt University

4. Technology and Teaching The CIRTL Network Enhances the development of STEM graduate students and faculty by promoting 3 pillars : Teaching-as-Research (TAR) Learning Communities Learning-through-Diversity www.cirtl.net

5. Steps in the TAR Process Teaching foundational knowledge Creating objectives for students learning Developing hypothesis for practices that enable students to achieve the learning objectives Defining measures of success Developing and implementing teaching practices within an experimental design Collecting and analyzing data Using data to guide teaching practice Reflecting, evaluating, and iterating

6. Typical (Conventional) Organic Chemistry Classroom Setting Students attend class and are bombarded with new materials Students are expected to revise lecture notes and do additional reading Occasional post-lecture quizzes are given A few exams are given, lumping lecture materials Final exams are cumulative Students are given an overall class grade based on their quiz and exam performances About 50% of class earn F, D, W

7. Project Goals/Objectives To apply the TAR steps in generating a project that involves the use of technology to enhance teaching and learning To encourage pre-lecture reading via pre-lecture quizzes To conduct weekly surveys to integrate technology into pedagogy To collect evidence for the impact of pre-lecture quizzes on student performances To use the data obtained from the surveys as guidance in the re-lecture of a specific concept and to monitor students’/professor’s progress

8. Project Experimental Materials: Blackboard Survey Monkey Participants: Undergraduate Organic Chemistry Class of 60 students Out of Class Activities: Online pre-lecture quizzes were conducted using Blackboard Initial and Final Surveys were conducted on specific concepts using Survey Monkey In Class Activities: Based on survey responses, more attention is given to concepts that students find more difficult. Assessment Measurements: Formative Assessments: Online Pre-lecture quizzes Initial and Final Surveys Summative Assessments: Quizzes and Exams

9. Upon successful completion of this chapter, you should be able to:  Identify enolate anions  Know which compounds can form enolate anions  Know how to form enolate anions  Identify enols  Know how to use enolate anions as nucleophiles to form new carbon-carbon bonds  Know how to use enolate anions to synthesize alpha-bromo aldehydes, ketones, and esters  Know the relative acidity of organic compounds  Know factors that affect the relative acidity of organic compounds  Know the relationship between pka and acidity  Know what the Hell-Volhard-Zelinskii reaction is  Know what the malonic ester synthesis is  Know what the acetoacetic ester synthesis is An Example of a Chapter Objectives (Learning Outcomes) Outlined by the Professor

10. Hits Percent Up to exam 1211317 From exam 1 to exam 2399732 From exam 2 to exam 3625551 Results Comparison of Students’ Blackboard access prior to 1 st, 2 nd and 3 rd exams

11. Were pre-lecture documents and quizzes helpful? Average grade on the 1 st exam was 121.06 out of 200 grade point. number of quizzes taken no. of stud. greater than average 02 17 213 311

12. Class Participation

13. First Survey Responses

14. Second Survey Responses

15. Third Survey Responses

16. Were pre-lecture documents and quizzes helpful? number of quizzes taken no. of students greater than average 04 19 28 37 Average grade of 2 nd exam was 139.90 out of 200 points

17. Fourth Survey Responses

18. Fifth Survey Responses

19. Were pre-lecture documents and quizzes helpful? Number of quizzes taken No. of students greater than average 03 15 216 311 Average grade on the 3 rd exam was 146.25 out of 200 grade point About 65% earned A,B, or C at the end of the semester, as compared to about 50% in a typical organic chem class

20. Online pre-lecture quizzes are useful in forcing students to read the lecture material Pre-lecture posting, quizzing and post lecture surveys facilitate Teaching-As- Research as a result of proactive assessment and reiteration. Enable students to engage in active learning in the classroom Changes students’ studying behavior Give professor more time to cover course content Effort should be made to inform students of the importance of maintaining survey integrity. Learning outcome surveys would be skewed if different students take the initial and final surveys The survey project is still ongoing in the organic chemistry class to improve the teaching practices and learning experience of the students and professors. Conclusion

21. Dr. Folahan O. Ayorinde Dr. Jennifer Jones University of Wisconsin Shimelis Hailu Pogisego Dinake CIRTL Network CIRTL-at-Howard NSF Acknowledgments