Advancedplacement chemistry teacher development through an online course CHED 1221

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Advanced-placement chemistry teacher development
through an online courseCHED 1221
225th ACS National Meeting, New Orleans, LA,
March 23-27, 2003
MikeReadnour
Michael L. Rodgers
Department of Chemistry Southeast Missouri State
University Cape Girardeau, MO 63701
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Southeast Missouri State University

• Regional, comprehensive, Masters granting
• 9,000 Students
• 380 Full and Term Faculty
• Strong commitment to
• Teaching/Learning
• Use of Instructional Technology in Teaching
• Faculty Development
• Advanced Placement Teacher Development

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About Advanced Placement
Each year the College Board sponsors Institutes
designed to train high school teachers to teach
Advanced Placement (AP) courses. The first
totally online AP Chemistry Teacher Training
Institute was developed and taught for UCLA
Extension on the World-Wide-Web in Summer 2002
(http//cstl-csm.semo.edu/APCHEM/). Our
presentation addresses some of the special
challenges and opportunities associated with
developing and teaching an online AP Chemistry
training course that included a lab component. We
also present survey data showing that lack of
geographic access to a face-to-face Institute was
the primary reason students chose the online
environment, but the students nevertheless found
the online experience to be valuable preparation
to teach AP Chemistry.
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Advanced Placement (AP) Chemistry

• One year high school course
• Sponsored by the College Board
• Usually the 2nd chemistry course
• Equivalent to college general chemistry
• AP Chemistry Exam
• National exam prepared by Educational Testing
  Service
• Taken at the end of the AP course
• College credit received by students who score well

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Traditional Teacher Development Course

• Prepares HS teachers to teach AP Chemistry
• Face-to-Face (F2F)
• Activities
• Review Exam content
• Perform lab experiments appropriate for AP
  Chemistry
• Acquaint teachers with the AP Chemistry Exam,
  including
• Exam composition
• Working problems from released Exams
• Grading the Exam

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F2F Teacher Development Course

• Assumes good background in first-year HS
  Chemistry content
• Chemistry content pretest and posttest
• Emphasis on topics not covered in first-year HS
  Chemistry

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F2F Teacher Development Course
AP Chemistry course topics published in Advanced
Placement Program Course Description for
Chemistry
Acorn Book
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F2F Teacher Development Course

• Strong emphasis on laboratory
• Lab experience should be equivalent to that of
  college general chemistry
• Thirteen lab experiments appropriate for AP
  Chemistry conducted

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Web-Based (Online) Development Course
Modular Approach

• AP Chemistry Course and Exam
• Classifying Chemical Reactions and Predicting
  Their Products
• Chemical Kinetics
• Chemical Equilibrium
• Thermochemistry Thermodynamics
• Electrochemistry
• Course Syllabus

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Web-Based (Online) Development Course
Modular Approach (Contd)

• Most modules include
• Multiple choice questions
• Free response problems
• Lesson plans
• Labs directed to topics or built on iron (III)
  oxalate chemistry
• Course Syllabus Capstone

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Web-Based (Online) Development Course

• Module One AP Chemistry Course and Exam
• Personal Information Quiz
• Registering with AP Central (College Board Web
  Page)
• Topical outline and recommended labs
• Scoring student responses to exam questions
• Calculating a students composite AP exam score
• Multiple choice questions on general topics
• Laboratory- Green Crystalline Compound Synthesis
  

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Web-Based (Online) Development Course

• Module Two Classifying Chemical Reactions and
  Predicting Their Products
• Free response problems
• Lesson Plan
• Laboratory- Green Crystalline Compound Water
• Laboratory- Classifying Chemical Reactions and
  Predicting Their Products

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Web-Based (Online) Development Course

• Module Three Chemical Kinetics
• Multiple choice questions
• Free response problems
• Lesson plan
• Laboratory- Kinetics of the Reaction of
  Thiosulfate with Hydronium Ion
• Module Four Chemical Equilibrium
• Multiple choice questions
• Free response problems
• Lesson plan
• Laboratory- Antacids Experiment

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Web-Based (Online) Development Course

• Module Five Thermochemistry and Thermodynamics
• Multiple choice questions
• Free response problems
• Lesson plan
• Laboratory- Heats of Reaction and Hesss Law

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Web-Based (Online) Development Course

• Module Six Electrochemistry
• Multiple choice questions
• Free response problems
• Lesson plan
• Laboratory- Voltaic Cells
• Laboratory- Green Crystalline Compound K and
  Fe
• Module Seven Course Syllabus
• Syllabus
• Laboratory- Green Crystalline Compound C2O42-,
  Empirical Formula and Yield

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Comparing Face-to-Face Online Courses
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TEACHING ADVANCED PLACEMENT (AP) CHEMISTRY
Education X 394.12
4.5 units      Fee 500 This 45-hour equivalent
intensive online course is intended for teachers
who are designing an Advanced Placement (AP) high
school chemistry course or teaching existing
courses. Initially, participants are introduced
to the AP chemistry course requirements and the
format of the AP chemistry exam through The
College Board materials. Modules on five
different chemical topics are covered, and
participants develop lesson plans on these
topics. Problems and questions from previously
released AP exams are used to relate the course
content to the concepts and principles addressed
by the exams. The heart of the course focuses on
the development of nine laboratory experiments by
the participants that meet The College Board
requirements for recommended laboratories.
Participants are required to perform two of the
developed experiments in laboratories at their
schools. Five of the laboratory experiments are
tied to the topical modules. Finally, the
teachers are required to develop an AP course
syllabus.
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TEACHING ADVANCED PLACEMENT (AP) CHEMISTRY
Education X 394.12

• 4.5 units     
• Fee 500
• 45-hour equivalent
• For teachers designing an AP high school
  chemistry course or teaching existing courses.
• Content, assignments similar to F2F course
• Blackboard online environment
• College Board endorsed observed
• 7/3/02 to 8/7/02

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TEACHING ADVANCED PLACEMENT (AP) CHEMISTRY
Education X 394.12

• Participant requirements
• A computer with Internet access
• Access to high schools lab
• Valid e-mail address to assign user name and
  password

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The Online Learning Environment

• Password-protected
• Asynchronous, no geographical boundaries
• lt24-hour turnaround
• Modular approach to content
• Time chunking (5-day)
• E-mail interaction with participants
• Assignments via two systems
• Online testing MC/short answer
• E-mail attachments for longer or formatted work

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TEACHING ADVANCED PLACEMENT (AP) CHEMISTRY
Education X 394.12
UCLA EXTENSION
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How did we do? - Satisfaction surveys

• Very preliminary
• UCLA Extension
• Response rate 7 of 11
• 16 questions opportunity for comments
• Demographics
• Instructor
• Course organization execution
• Expectations
• About UCLA Extension
• Homegrown
• Response rate 9 of 11
• 30 questions opportunity for comments
• Questions about you
• Questions about the instructors
• Questions about the course

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How did we do? - Satisfaction surveys
UCLA Homegrown

• Small sample size comments most important
• 6. Why did you take this on-line course? Check
  all that apply.
• The instructor's reputation 1
• Fit my time schedule 3
• Reduces the need to travel to campus 4
• Pace of course 1
• The course was only offered on-line 6
• I believe on-line courses are better quality
  than face-to-face courses
• I learn better in on-line courses
• Other reason 3
• Students took course online for access, not
  quality

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How did we do? - Satisfaction surveys
UCLA Homegrown
BUT, participants found quality

• Participants perceived course as effective
• 10. Expectations. c.  The course fulfilled my
  career educational needs.
• 8.1/9
• 29. This course prepared you to teach AP
  Chemistry.
• 5 Agree strongly 4 Agree 0 Neutral 0 Disagree
  0 Disagree strongly
• Both surveys suggest high satisfaction
• 12. Overall Evaluation of the Course.
• 7.3/9
• 30. Rate the overall quality of the course.
• 6 Excellent 3 Good 0 Fair 0 Poor

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How did we do? - Satisfaction surveys
UCLA Homegrown

• Strengths
• 1.  Knowledge/Expertise. The instructor was
  knowledgeable about the material.
• 8.1/9
• 22. The academic quality was on par with
  face-to-face courses you've taken.
• 3 Agree strongly 5 Agree 0 Neutral 1 Disagree
  0 Disagree strongly
• Conclude Website effective vehicle for
  instructors content

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How did we do? - Satisfaction surveys
UCLA Homegrown

• Weaknesses
• 6.  Interaction. The instructor fostered active
  student participation.
• 6.3/9
• I would have liked more on-line discussions
  about the material. Was I the only one that was
  rusty on some of the topics? .
• The content instruction was well presented.  I
  was hoping more for an exchange of ideas on how
  to teach this content.  Since I have taught this
  course for 3 years, I have a pretty firm grasp on
  the content, but am always looking for a new
  approach.
• I felt that the course was more geared towards
  teachers who have not yet taught AP Chemistry.
• Conclude that we need more debate of approaches,
  discussion of problems and experiences, community
  building

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Online in Summer 2003

• Southeast Mo State, Jun. 9 to Jul. 14
• http//cstl.semo.edu/aptd/
• UCLA Extension, Jul. 10 to Aug. 14
• http//www.uclaextension.org/ap
• Implement DropBox
• Guest Speaker 2002 participant
• Substitute individual lesson plans for
  collaborative projects in Discussion Forums
• Add .pdf format

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for further information
Thank you for your interest!

• Session Website
• http//cstl-csm.semo.edu/APCHEM/ACS225th/
• E-mail
• Mike Rodgers mrodgers_at_semo.edu
• Mike Readnour mreadnour_at_semo.edu

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GI604 AP Institute Chemistry
Catalog description An institute designed to
prepare high school teachers to teach AP
Chemistry in their schools and to review and
reinforce basic concepts and principles in
chemistry, including the structure of matter,
state of matter, reactions, descriptive
chemistry, and chemical calculations.  (3)
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Lets Look at the Course

• GI604