Where is technology most effective: inside or outside of the classroom?
Dan King, Drexel University

transcript

Philadelphia Area Educational Technology Conference Feb 23, 2007
At Drexel University, environmental chemistry is taught to a diverse group of students in a single class. The student population includes both upper level undergraduates and beginning graduate students from a variety of majors. The preparation level of these populations is quite variable, as many of the graduate students have not had a chemistry course in several years. Consequently, a significant amount of time must be spent reviewing fundamental chemical concepts. These general concepts are either incorporated into the lecture material or reviewed in group activities. Two forms of technology were used to improve student learning. In class, personal response systems (or “clickers”) were used to reinforce the lecture material. Outside of class, students use an online discussion board to post questions related to homework problems. The Student Assessment of Learning Gains (SALG) survey was used to help identify which components of the course helped the students learn the material. These results will be compared to end-of-term evaluations and measures of student performance during the term.

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