In STEM courses at large universities, students learn foundational topics in a large-lecture format with in-class problem solving activities. Most instructors utilize in-class polling to monitor student progress during one or two example problems throughout lectures. However, due to limited examples and the large size of the lectures, students feel that they are not included in what topics need revisiting for more practice or reiteration during review sessions. Over the past two years, students in three sections of Organic Chemistry I were sent weekly Doodle polls listing topics and problem types pertaining to difficult material presented during lecture sessions. Using the results from the anonymous Doodle Polls, “Trouble Topic” online videos were filmed weekly over the material voted on by the class. With poll involvement ranging from 45-70% of the students, the instructor was able listen to the individual concerns of 150-200 students. The videos show them different problem types and examples during 8-10 minute videos, and build instructional assistant-led review sessions linking similar topics. These videos, viewable on the LMS and YouTube, allowed students the freedom to learn outside of the lecture hall using an online platform. The review sessions enabled instructional assistants to lead students in a small group setting while helping them with more detailed problems they might see on the online homework and in-class examinations. While most faculty believe they know the conceptual topics that most students struggle with during the course, this allowed for faculty members to gain valuable feedback from the students and have quicker impact within an academic week. Students who watched the Trouble Topic videos would usually watch it within days of uploading or a few days before the corresponding exams. Improvement on exam questions throughout the semester ranged from a 7-10% increase success rate when the topic was highlighted during a Trouble Topic video, and this has helped instructors increase long-term retention and lower the failure rate of the course.

Doodle polls and trouble topic videos: Listening to student concerns and the creation of online problem explanations

ACS Fall 2021

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.