Transcript Why programming? - ChemEd X Data

Students designing online games for
active learning sessions in chemistry
courses
http://chemdata.r.umn.edu/edulearn14.pptx
Brandon P. Eklund, Dylan Gilbertson, Joseph W.
Inhofer, Jason D. Greenwood, Omar Mohamed,
Peter L. Larsen, Xavier Prat-Resina
Center for Learning Innovation
University of Minnesota - Rochester
Laptop Program
Edulearn 2014
Active Learning
Degree in Health Science
Prat-Resina. Univ. Minnesota Rochester
2nd year
Chem.
Students
Learn web programming
Create games
Teach chemistry
High level thinking
ChemEd X Data
Simple online activities
Navigate + Display
http://chemdata.r.umn.edu
1st year
Chem.
Students
Edulearn 2014
Memorize basic chemistry
Nomenclature
Acid/Base
Amino acids
Prat-Resina. Univ. Minnesota Rochester
Low-level thinking
Our needs:
First-year students in chemistry need basic skills such as chemistry
nomenclature, identifying the acid/basic character of compounds or, in
biochemistry, memorize amino acids:
low-order thinking (boring, repetitive… necessary)
Objectives:
Implementing online game-like activities for non-game tasks to
increase engagement and retention
Challenges:
The best game engages: it is not boring
and it is not frustrating.
Edulearn 2014
Prat-Resina. Univ. Minnesota Rochester
Why should everyone learn web programing?
Programming promotes the development of higher mental functions
It makes students create, pay attention to detail and work on problem solving
Understand the web!
privacy + security
data ownership
Quiz yourself on “how the web works”:
Does Facebook know if…
I close the window?
Click on a picture?
Scroll down
 When I erase a picture from Facebook. Does it disappear forever?
 When I navigate as “incognito” who knows what sites I visit.
Edulearn 2014
Prat-Resina. Univ. Minnesota Rochester
How?
Weekly seminar of 2nd year students: A project-based course
Each students ends the semester with at least one
fully functional online activity
They take online tutorials at home. Bring questions to class
http://www.codecademy.com/
We only use basic action elements:
http://jqueryui.com/demos/
Click on buttons
Drag and drop
Edulearn 2014
Prat-Resina. Univ. Minnesota Rochester
Edulearn 2014
Prat-Resina. Univ. Minnesota Rochester
Edulearn 2014
Prat-Resina. Univ. Minnesota Rochester
Achievement:
A leader
board
Timed multiple choice
Right choice and speed is rewarded
(Progress: scaffold difficulty)
Edulearn 2014
Prat-Resina. Univ. Minnesota Rochester
Scattered/Unstructured
open data
Chem Ed X Data
Unstructured but easy to represent, parse and sort data
To prove/disprove a chemical statement
http://chemdata.r.umn.edu/
Data aligned with topics and
compounds in undergraduate curriculum
Tagged with different levels of complexity
ChemEd X Data: Exposing Students to Open Scientific Data for Higher-Order Thinking and SelfRegulated Learning. B. Eklund and X. Prat-Resina. J. Chem. Educ. In press
Edulearn 2014
Prat-Resina. Univ. Minnesota Rochester
Static, “precooked”
data
Remember
1.
2.
3.
4.
Unstructured data
Non-linear
Non-sequential
Open-ended
 Analyze
Evaluate
The web

Understand

Look at this graph
See what I want you to see
Explain how everything perfectly fits
Believe me
Apply
1.
2.
3.
4.
Choose some data
Represent it
Analyze it
Interpret it
Skills required: Self-regulation
Self-evaluation
Where can Computer Based Learning Environments (CBLE) be most useful?
Edulearn 2014
Prat-Resina. Univ. Minnesota Rochester
Graphical representation
Selecting
molecular families
and
properties
Edulearn 2014
Sorting, filtering tables
Metadata for search
Prat-Resina. Univ. Minnesota Rochester
Explanatory questions (pre-selected sets of data.
One right answer).
“Why do these molecules show this trend for
property X?”
Problem solving questions:(pre-selected sets of data.
One right answer)
“If the heavier the molecule the larger the heat
capacity. Why does the heat capacity decrease in the
following set of data?”
Prove it: (open-ended)
Choose a set of molecules that prove that hydrogen bonds are stronger than dipoledipole interaction but much weaker than ionic bonds.
Building knowledge: (open-ended)
Choose a set of data to describe what molecular properties have an influence in
heat of combustion.
Edulearn 2014
Prat-Resina. Univ. Minnesota Rochester
The good:
A win-win situation:
An opportunity to include programming in any undergraduate major
We obtain game-like activities targeting specific needs for our courses
The bad:
It is hard to have students learn web design and develop in one semester a
platform that meets the quality to be used in class.
The ugly
Still, a very small portion of students (all male!) are interested in programming
Edulearn 2014
Prat-Resina. Univ. Minnesota Rochester
Brandon Eklund
Dylan Gilbertson
Peter Larsen
Jason
Greenwood
Omar
Mohamed
Edulearn 2014
Joe Inhofer
Prat-Resina. Univ. Minnesota Rochester