Soliciting information from students on what they understood or did not understand is essential for achieving meaningful learning. Using muddiest point activities, allowing students opportunities to identify areas of confusion, can alleviate learning barriers, or areas of struggle in real-time, especially students who may lack social capital or are uncomfortable to ask questions.  Unfortunately, very few studies have investigated the influence of muddiest point activities on student learning in chemistry. Using a mixed-methods approach, and the Top Hat teaching technology, we investigated: 1) how writing down perceived muddy points on specific chapter units in a general chemistry lecture course influenced students’ understanding of chemistry concepts, 2) how viewing peer responses on muddy points impacted, if at all, individual students in the course, and 3) how student buy-in in the muddiest point activities influenced their performance in the final exam. Findings showed that identifying and addressing learning gaps was the most frequently reported benefit of writing down muddy points. Additionally, a majority of participants reported the benefits of seeing their peers’ responses such as potentially overlooked areas of struggle, decreased anxiety, and increased confidence and persistence in the course. Findings also indicated that 52% of the participants reported a positive influence of the muddiest point activities and scored 24.4% more ABC letter grades and 24.4% lower DF letter grades in the final cumulative exam compared to those who reported ‘no influence’. Findings imply the need for instructors to intentionally incorporate opportunities for real-time student reflections on learning in chemistry classrooms.

Real-time feedback: the impact of muddiest point activities on learning outcomes of general chemistry students

Where thousands of chemistry professionals meet to share ideas and advance scientific and technical knowledge. Spring 2023 abstracts, posters, and presentations will launch at the end of March.

ACS Spring 2023

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