Conversation among Physical Chemists: Strategies and Resources for Remote Teaching and Learning Catalyzed by a Global Pandemic

Abstract

In the midst of a global pandemic in spring 2020, physical chemistry faculty gathered to share strategies and resources for teaching remotely. During this conversation, instructors created a shared document compiling the challenges they faced in spring 2020 and ways to improve teaching and learning in the physical chemistry classroom and laboratory when institutions reopened in the fall. We present a content analysis of the shared document that provides a snapshot of physical chemists’ thoughts at that moment in June 2020. The themes that emerged from our analysis are assessment, choice of learning objectives, course management, opportunities, resources, student motivation, and wellbeing. We have summarized the numerous strategies, resources, and implementation ideas that were shared by participants, many of which we believe will remain in use when traditional in-person instruction resumes. Finally, the conversation connected physical chemists, strengthening our community. Continued community engagement has occurred through further synchronous conversations, asynchronous conversations on our Slack workspace, and the creation of the repository PChem Inspired Pedagogical Electronic Resource (PIPER).

The Challenges and Value of Undergraduate Oral Exams in the Physical Chemistry Classroom: A Useful Tool in the Assessment Toolbox

“…The physical chemistry community came together on June 18, 2020, to discuss the challenges facing faculty teaching in the Fall 2020 semester, with a large part of the discussion focusing on alternative assessment strategies that maintained academic integrity. 5 Additionally, the Journal of Chemical Education (JCE) published a Special Issue 6 that chronicles the creative ways faculty addressed the difficulties of remote instruction in chemistry. Faculty were seeking alternatives to traditional written assessments, as evidenced by the numerous articles published on alternative remote assessments in the Special Issue, including written exams administered through their Learning Management System (with and without proctoring), open-book exams, higher-order thinking questions, more frequent lowerstakes assessments, essays, and oral exams.…”

“…The COVID-19 pandemic forced higher education faculty to think about challenges of assessment, especially in the light of academic integrity issues with online exams. − While the pandemic revealed the challenges surrounding assessment, it also provided an opportunity to reflect on assessment goals as we searched for alternative assessments that fit our classroom needs. The physical chemistry community came together on June 18, 2020, to discuss the challenges facing faculty teaching in the Fall 2020 semester, with a large part of the discussion focusing on alternative assessment strategies that maintained academic integrity . Additionally, the Journal of Chemical Education (JCE) published a Special Issue that chronicles the creative ways faculty addressed the difficulties of remote instruction in chemistry.…”

Lowering Activation Barriers to Success in Physical Chemistry (LABSIP): A Community Project

“…The mathematical nature of aspects of physical chemistry is well-known and has to be considered in pedagogical innovations for the subdiscipline such as remote (synchronous and asynchronous) instruction or course-based undergraduate research experiences. − Many of the CILGs are motivated by the fact that physical chemistry courses are the most mathematical in the chemistry major, which gives them the clear responsibility to hone chemistry students’ quantitative reasoning skills. A theme that frequently arose in our discussions is the importance of imparting to students that mathematical models can make powerful predictions but can also be stringently tested.…”

Integration Construction of Teaching Resource Library for Art and Design Majors under Interactivity Orientation

“…This shared teaching resource base relies on the Internet and information technology, and it can design an integrated curriculum system and explore a new mode of Internet-based education [6]. Through this resource base, the school can promote the curriculum integration of information technology and art and design majors and enhance the innovation of higher vocational art and design majors' curricula [7][8].…”