Notes

Outline

Just-in-Time Teaching: Technology in Service of Learning Colleen Fried May 23, 2003 NOCHE IT Committee

What is Just-in-Time Teaching? JiTT Developed at Air Force Academy, IUPUI, Davidson College for their Physics program http://webphysics.iupui.edu/jitt/jitt.html

Students in a JiTT Classroom will: Receive timely delivery of pertinent information Increase interactions with faculty Take control of their own learning Gain problem-solving skills and conceptual understanding Develop their: Critical thinking ability Ability to frame and solve problems Teamwork and communication skills

Disciplines that have used JiTT

Technology Components of JiTT Warm-up or Preflight Puzzles Java applets – concept tests, homework, prelabs, in-class demonstrations What’s x good for? This week in…

Warm-up Activities Pre-class assignment Three questions Explain Predict Multiple choice Graded on thought process

JiTT in the Organic Lab Typical Problems and Their Solutions Student Preparation Safety considerations What safety concerns are there in today’s lab, and how will you deal with them?  What will you do with the waste you generate? Being conversant with the full protocol Your lab procedure calls for you to monitor your reduction reaction using TLC.  Provide a description of how you intend to accomplish this.

JiTT in the Organic Lab Student Understanding Applying techniques to new situations After isolating the crude benzocaine, the lab procedure calls for you to recrystallize your product using an ethanol/water solution.  What is the purpose of recrystallization, and how much solvent will you need to use if you isolate 0.425 g of crude benzocaine? Analysis of data At the end of the lab, we will analyze the product composition by GC-MS (a mass spectroscopy technique).  Based on the minimal introduction to mass spectroscopy you've received, how might you tell the starting ketone from the product alcohol?

JiTT in the Organic Lab Student Understanding Insuring students obtain appropriate/sufficient data A pair of Chemistry 320 students ran a bromination reaction of diphenylether, and found that the bromine color had disappeared by the time they got the cuvet into the spectrophotometer. How should they proceed with the experiment? Move beyond cookbook The following is a table of Rf values for compounds A and B.  Which solvent would be the best solvent to use if you wished to separate these compounds using TLC or a related chromatography?  Explain.   A B Hexanes 0.15 0.22 Diethyl ether 0.28 0.46 Acetonitrile 0.58 0.69

JiTT in the Organic Classroom Typical Problems and Their Solutions Use of Symbols Use of symbols sometimes masks misunderstandings Students try to rely on memorization Students coast in the beginning Knowledge builds rapidly and is dependent on prior knowledge Ask students to translate the symbols into verbal explanations Ask students to apply knowledge Reinforce critical concepts early and often Insure students master concepts as they are covered

JiTT in the Organic Classroom Use of Symbols - Translation

JiTT in the Organic Classroom Stopping the Memorization

JiTT in the Organic Classroom Stopping the Memorization

JiTT in the Organic Classroom Jumpstarting and Reinforcement 8/30/00: Use a pen(cil) and paper to draw as many isomers of C5H12 as you can.  How many did you draw?  Describe each structure in your own words. 10/6/00: Use a pen(cil) and paper to draw all of the isomers of C4H10O. a.  Give the IUPAC name for each compound. b.  How many signals in the 13C NMR would you expect for each of these isomers?  What is the approximate location of each signal?

JiTT in the Organic Classroom Building on Knowledge One reaction we haven’t talked about yet is the Fischer esterification reaction.  In this sequence, a carboxylic acid is converted to an ester in the presence of an alcohol and an acid catalyst.  Propose a reasonable mechanism for the following transformation.  Remember the mechanism for acetal formation.

Mode of Delivery: Web: Student answers are compiled in one document for rapid assessment Student answers can be anonymous (or coded) Warm-ups for the semester can be posted in the beginning Responding to individual students is not easy

Mode of Delivery: E-mail Isn’t dependent on a web server. Easy to reply individually to students (a laptop is a big help here) Easy to save individual responses One folder for each warm-up One folder for each student Each e-mail must be opened individually

The Joys of Warm-ups Students were immediately comfortable approaching me  Student participation in class was overwhelming Students seemed to move beyond memorization There were fewer problems with fundamentals

Did Students Improve? ACS Organic final exam results year(s) 1998-2000 2001/2003 #tests     59   28/19 median     35   39/41 nat. rank     40%   54%/60% 36     43%