Subject: Chemistry
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Using Online Quiz Tools to Assess Prior Knowledge
Professor Kimberly Jackson uses Chem Quiz to assess how students are progressing and determine any gaps in instruction that she can address. Professors address specific learning needs, adjust pace, and provide supportive pathways when necessary. This knowledge informs the course content, helping professors address specific learning needs and and provide supportive pathways when necessary.
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Using Quiz Tools to Offer Frequent Opportunities for Practice
Professor Kimberly Jackson uses Canvas combined with Aktiv Chemistry to provide daily and pre-class quizzes for her students. Depending on the course, students can earn tokens by taking daily quizzes, which can be used to retake “Mastery Quizzes,” or can earn participation tickets.
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Using Digital Discussion Platforms to Enable Students to Problem Solve Together
Binoymin Abrams, a professor of chemistry, and Edray Goins, a professor of mathematics and statistics, use Piazza and Overleaf, which in particular, brings STEM-specific collaboration to a centralized digital space. Both professors utilize its LaTeX editor, anonymous posting, and customizable polls to encourage peer collaboration.
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Question Embedded Videos with Low- to No-Stakes Assessment
Professor Binyomin Abrams started the Abrams Research Group, which provides question-embedded videos for K-12 and college-level science education. Questions on foundational concepts are embedded at key points throughout Abrams Research Group videos for students to informally assess their understanding of the material.
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Proactive Interventions and Adjustments Based on Student Performance in Courseware
Kimberly Jackson, a professor of biochemistry, uses Aktiv Learning for Chemistry, which provides real-time results from students’ submitted answers and the top three most common mistakes on each problem, allowing instructors to immediately address challenges students are encountering.
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Initial Knowledge Checks in Courseware
Kimberly Jackson, a professor of biochemistry, uses ALEKS in her general chemistry courses, which includes an initial knowledge check for students to complete. Based on how much students know and remember from high school, she can adjust how she covers certain chemistry and mathematics concepts, and ALEKS will use that same data to generate a personalized…
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Engaging Students Through Gamified Digital Learning Curriculum
Neil Garg, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry, and a group of UCLA students developed the app, Backside Attack, to help students learn the SN2 mechanism, a key concept for organic chemistry. The app mixes both games alongside assessment pieces to ensure that students can translate what they are learning to how they may be…
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Digital Assignments and Tools that Foster Inclusive Practices and Norms
One of Professor Neil Garg’s assignments asks students to identify a problem in STEM education to solve through a digital solution. QR Chem, a mobile-device compatible digital molecular model tool, was created through this assignment to provide a free, more accessible alternative to physical molecular model kits, which are required for many chemistry courses.
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Culturally and Socially Relevant Virtual Labs
Kimberly Jackson, a professor of biochemistry, has developed culturally and socially relevant labs that create opportunities for students to share and draw from their cultural identities. She sets the cultural context for their organic chemistry lab, for example by having students read Audrey Lorde’s book Journey, about her struggle as a queer black woman dealing…
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Creative Assignments that Leverage Technology for Peer Collaboration
Neil Garg, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry, assigns projects that ask students to translate chemistry concepts into creative exercises. In his organic chemistry music video assignment, he has students form groups to create music videos illustrating chemistry concepts that in turn teach their peers. More than 1200 students in Neil’s Chem 14D course have…