ORCID Profile
0000-0002-2578-1187
Current Organisation
University of Sydney
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Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)
Date: 2019
DOI: 10.1039/C8RP90012D
Abstract: Correction for ‘Investigating student and staff perceptions of students' experiences in teaching laboratories through the lens of meaningful learning’ by Stephen R. George-Williams et al. , Chem. Educ. Res. Pract. , 2019, DOI: 10.1039/c8rp00188j.
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 07-02-2022
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 21-01-2020
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 27-12-2018
Publisher: The University of Sydney Library
Date: 30-08-2021
DOI: 10.30722/IJISME.29.03.004
Abstract: It is known that while students can be adept at recalling specific information, especially in end of semester summative exams, they can still often struggle to connect or link this information over different topic areas. In many cases, this issue is exacerbated by traditional assessments and teaching styles that focus on and reward students who have only interacted with the learning materials on a more surface level. Many attempts have been made over time to rectify this, with one such ex le shown in the use of Creative Exercises (CEs). CEs are open-ended tasks that allow students to connect as much prior knowledge as possible into one cohesive response, potentially developing a student’s ability to link and connect disparate topic areas and content. In this study, CEs were introduced into a large scale first-year course and focused on fundamental organic chemistry reactions for the first time (to the best of our knowledge). Students performed the CEs in groups, and the paper responses were collected over six weeks (N=945 in total). Analysis of these artefacts revealed that students did indeed struggle to connect information over subsequent teaching weeks. This inability to connect information was despite being encouraged to do so both by the tasks and the teaching staff. Additionally, while more ‘advanced’ students (as noted by prior performance) were noted to raise more topics in a given week, they were just as susceptible to ‘siloing’ the information as lower-performing students. Recommendations are made on the future use of CEs.
Publisher: The University of Sydney Library
Date: 27-10-2020
DOI: 10.30722/IJISME.28.02.002
Abstract: Virtual Reality (VR) has become a much more common household commodity thanks to the proliferation of more affordable VR devices. While its use in the gaming industry is becoming widespread, its application in pedagogical environments has only just started, particularly in chemistry. As such, whether VR will aid or hinder the teaching and learning of chemistry is currently a topic of research and debate. This project sought to generate VR materials designed to support students learning undergraduate chemistry, with the specific topics decided by undergraduate student researchers. This work was undertaken in the X-reality (i.e. VR and other forms of augmented realities) laboratories at the The University of Sydney. Preliminary materials were generated, and pilot tested with student volunteers who undertook pre- and post-questionnaires followed by an exit interview. The results of these trials showed that the VR experience did enhance student engagement and understanding, but only for more complex ex les. The trial volunteers felt that ball-and-stick models were adequate for simple molecular representations. Nausea was noted as a significant issue alongside concerns around the inadequate response of the hand-held controls. This same issue made movement throughout the virtual environment difficult for several students. Lastly, the student researchers found generating the VR lessons to be challenging, noting a steep learning curve with regards to creating the environments.
Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)
Date: 2018
DOI: 10.1039/C7RP00233E
Abstract: Many ex les exist in the chemical education literature of in idual experiments, whole courses or even entire year levels that have been completely renewed under the tenets of context-based, inquiry-based or problem-based learning. The benefits of these changes are well documented and include higher student engagement, broader skill development and better perceived preparation for the workforce. However, no ex les appear to have been reported in which an entire school's teaching laboratory programme has been significantly redesigned with these concepts in mind. Transforming Laboratory Learning (TLL) is a programme at Monash University that sought to incorporate industry inspired context-based, inquiry-based and problem-based learning into all the laboratory components of the School of Chemistry. One of the ways in which the effect of the programme was evaluated was through the use of an exit survey delivered to students at the completion of seven experiments that existed before the TLL programme as well as seven that were generated directly by the TLL programme. The survey consisted of 27 closed questions alongside three open questions. Overall, students found the new experiments more challenging but recognised that they were more contextualised and that they allowed students to make decisions. The students noted the lack of detailed guidance in the new laboratory manuals but raised the challenge, context and opportunity to undertake experimental design as reasons for enjoying the new experiments. Students' perceptions of their skill development shifted to reflect skills associated with experimental design when undertaking the more investigation driven experiments. These results are consistent with other literature and indicate the large scale potential success of the TLL programme, which is potentially developing graduates who are better prepared for the modern workforce.
Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)
Date: 2019
DOI: 10.1039/C8RP00188J
Abstract: How students behave and learn in the teaching laboratory is a topic of great interest in chemical education, partly in order to justify the great expense of teaching laboratories. Much effort has been put into investigating how students think, feel and physically act in these unique learning environments. One such attempt was made through the generation and utilisation of the Meaningful Learning in the Laboratory Instrument (MLLI). This 30 question survey utilised Novak's theory of Meaningful Learning to investigate the affective, cognitive and psychomotor domains of the student learning experience. To date, this survey has been used to great effect to measure how students’ perception of their own feelings and actions will change over the course of a semester. This study reports the use of a modified MLLI survey to probe how the expectations of students change over their undergraduate degree. To increase the generalisability of the outcomes of the study data was gathered from four universities from Australia (Monash University, the University of New South Wales and the University of Sydney) and the UK (the University of Warwick). Students were found to start their university careers with very positive expectations of their teaching laboratory experiences. Their outlook became somewhat more negative each year that they were enrolled in the program. A further modified MLLI survey was presented to teaching associates and academic staff. Teaching staff were shown to have far more negative expectations of the students’ feelings and actions, with academic staff more likely to believe that students do not undertake many items of positive meaningful learning. Overall, this study highlights the large gap between the expectations of teaching staff and students which, if left unaddressed, will likely continue to cause great frustration for both teaching staff and students.
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 17-08-2020
Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)
Date: 2018
DOI: 10.1039/C7RP00177K
Abstract: The aims of teaching laboratories is an important and ever-evolving topic of discussion amongst teaching staff at teaching institutions. It is often assumed that both teaching staff and students are implicitly aware of these aims, although this is rarely tested or measured. This assumption can lead to mismatched beliefs between students and teaching staff and, if not corrected for, could lead to negative learning gains for students and become a source of frustration for teaching staff. In order to measure and identify this gap in a manner that could be readily generalised to other institutions, a single open question – ‘What do you think the aims of doing a practical chemistry course are?’ – was distributed to students and teaching staff at two Australian universities and one UK university. Qualitative analysis of the responses revealed that students and teaching staff held relatively narrow views of teaching laboratories, particularly focusing on aims more in line with expository experiences ( e.g. development of practical skills or enhances understanding of theory). Whilst some differences were noted between students at the three institutions, the large amount of similarities in their responses indicated a fairly common perception of laboratory aims. Of the three groups, academics actually held the narrowest view of teaching laboratories, typically neglecting the preparation of students for the workforce or the simple increase in laboratory experience the students could gain. This study highlights gaps between the perceptions of students and teaching staff with regards to laboratory aims alongside revealing that all three groups held relatively simplified views of teaching laboratories.
No related grants have been discovered for Stephen George-Williams.