How to Succeed in College Chemistry

1. How to Succeed in College Chemistry

2. Student Statistics It wasn’t necessary to study in high school • 58.6% of 2013 entering first year students spent less than six hours per week doing homework in 12th grade • 96.8% of these students said they graduated from high school with an A or B average Students’ confidence level is high • 72.1 % believe their academic ability is above average or in the highest 10% among people their age *Eagan, Lozano, Hurtado, & Case, 2013

3. Making the Transition to College Chemistry Close“the gap” current behaviorcurrentgrades productive behaviordesired grades \

4. Why is College Level Chemistry Harder than High School Level Chemistry? • Course moves a lot faster • Material is conceptually more difficult and cumulative • Problems are more involved often involving multiple steps in order to find a solution • Tests are less straightforward and require you to apply several concepts at one time

5. Metacognition The ability to: • think about one’s own thinking • be consciously aware of oneself as a problem solver • monitor, plan, and control one’s mental processing • Am I understanding this material, or just memorizing it? • accurately judge one’s level of learning Flavell, J. H. (1976). Metacognitive aspects of problem solving. In L. B. Resnick (Ed.), The nature of intelligence (pp.231-236). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum

6. Reflection Questions • What’s the difference, if any, between studying chemistry and learning chemistry?

7. Reflection Questions • For which task would you work harder? A. Make an A on a test B. Teach the material to the class

8. What you need to do: • Stay in learn mode, not study mode • Study as if you have to teach the material, not just make an A on the test • Become a more efficient learner by studying smarter, not necessarily harder

9. What We Know About Learning • Active learning is more lasting than passive learning -- Passive learning is an oxymoron* • Thinking about thinking is important • Metacognition** • The level at which learning occurs is important • Bloom’s Taxonomy*** *Cross, Patricia, “Opening Windows on Learning” League for Innovation in the Community College, June 1998, p. 21. ** Flavell, John, “Metacognition and cognitive monitoring: A new area of cognitive–developmental inquiry.” American Psychologist, Vol 34(10), Oct 1979, 906-911. *** Bloom Benjamin. S. (1956). Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, Handbook I: The Cognitive Domain. New York: David McKay Co Inc.

10. Metacognitive Strategies The next few slides will specifically address strategies to use in the following areas: • Reading • Homework • Studying Finally, we’ll see how to evaluate at what level you are learning.

11. Reading Strategies Pre-Reading – • Before attending lecture (and always attend lecture!), spend 5-10 minutes scanning the material to be covered. • The objective is to see the major topic and how subtopics branch off from it. • Doing this gives structure to the concepts and prepares you better for learning. It primes the brain to receive information. • Use a textbook even if it is not required. Example of how this works In 30 seconds, attempt to memorize as many of the words as you can on the next slide.

12. Dollar Bill Dice Tricycle Four-leaf Clover Hand Six-Pack Seven-Up Octopus Cat Lives Bowling Pins Football Team Dozen Eggs Unlucky Friday Valentine’s Day Quarter Hour

13. How many words or phrases do you remember?Write them down

14. Let’s look at the words again… How are they arranged? Look for a pattern or structure.

15. Dollar Bill Dice Tricycle Four-leaf Clover Hand Six-Pack Seven-Up Octopus Cat Lives Bowling Pins Football Team Dozen Eggs Unlucky Friday Valentine’s Day Quarter Hour

16. Now how many words or phrases do you remember?Write them down

17. Example 2 • Memorize this narrative. First, arrange items into different groups. Of course, one pile may be sufficient depending on how much there is to do. It is important not to overdo things. It is better to do too few things at once than too many. In the short run this may not seem important, but complications may arise. At first, the procedure will seem complicated. Soon, however, it will become a natural part of life. It is difficult to foresee any end to the necessity for this task in the immediate future, but one can never tell. After the procedure is completed, one arranges the materials into different groups again. Then they can be put into their appropriate places. Eventually they will have to be used once more and the procedure will have to be repeated.

18. Example 2 • What do you remember about the previous narrative?

19. Example 2 • What do you remember about the previous narrative? • What if you were told ahead of time that this is about doing laundry?

20. Example 2 • Examine this narrative again. First, arrange items into different groups. Of course, one pile may be sufficient depending on how much there is to do. It is important not to overdo things. It is better to do too few things at once than too many. In the short run this may not seem important, but complications may arise. At first, the procedure will seem complicated. Soon, however, it will become a natural part of life. It is difficult to foresee any end to the necessity for this task in the immediate future, but one can never tell. After the procedure is completed, one arranges the materials into different groups again. Then they can be put into their appropriate places. Eventually they will have to be used once more and the procedure will have to be repeated.

21. Example 2 • Now what do you remember about the previous narrative?!

22. What were two major differencesbetween the 1st and 2nd attempts for each example?

23. 1. We knew what the task was2. Our brain was primed to receive information3. We knew how the information was organized If you can see the structure or organization of the material to be presented, it puts you in a better position to learn. Pre-reading serves this purpose.

24. Example 3 • Michael Shermer on TED Talks demonstrating priming of the brain to receive

25. Chapter Map to Organize Patterns Title of Chapter Primary Headings Subheadings Secondary Subheadings

26. Reading Strategies • Pre-Reading – Discern pattern and organization. • Prepare for Active Reading – 10-20 min • Scan the chapter section headings. Look at highlighted words, figures, graphs, etc. • Come up with questions to yourself to answer from the material (ex. You see the heading “Acids and Bases” You ask yourself “What is an acid and a base?”) • Give yourself a purpose to read and learn

27. Reading Strategies • Pre-Reading – Discern pattern and organization. • Prepare for Active Reading – 10-20 min • Go to lecture. (Always!) • Active Reading – Quick Review after Lecture • As soon as possible, re-visit your pre-reading again, this time after lecture. • Cement the organization and structure. These three steps need not take a great deal of time. They show you the neighborhood and how it is laid out.

28. Reading Strategies • Pre-Reading – Discern Pattern and Organization. • Prepare for Active Reading – 10-20 min • Active Reading – Quick Review after Lecture • Active Reading when Studying Read a paragraph at a time. Then pause and try the following strategies: • Paraphrase what was read. Try to recite it in your words. • Try to teach the material to your cat. Do a mini lecture.

29. Homework Strategies Homework is a self-assessment. Use it as such. • Use text and lecture examples. See how they are done and then cover the book and practice them without looking until you can complete them. • Find a similar homework problem and use it as a self-quiz. Do NOT consult the solutions and work backwards. Try to do them with the book and notes closed. • You will fail often at first. Mistakes are okay. • You learn from mistakes..how not to do the problem. • You learn the concepts that lead to the correct answer. • You self-correct and, hopefully, learn to not repeat the mistake. • Mistakes when practicing costs you no points! • Don’t spend hours beating against a problem. Consult the text, the notes and then your professor if you are stuck.

30. Study Strategies Studying is NOT learning. They are different • Study to teach. Use the paraphrasing and teaching strategy discussed in the reading section. • Plan your sessions: • Decide what you will accomplish. • Read, consult notes, paraphrase, teach, practice • Take a break and then a short recap of your session. • Assess your progress: • Consult Bloom’s Taxonomy and ask yourself “At what level am I learning? Can I create from what I know or can I only recite what I memorized?” • The next slide introduces Bloom’s Taxonomy

31. Bloom’s Taxonomy Creating Graduate School Putting elements together to form a coherent or functional whole; reorganizing elements into a new pattern or structure through generating, planning, or producing. Evaluating Making judgments based on criteria and standards through checking and critiquing. Breaking material into constituent parts, determining how the parts relate to one another and to an overall structure . Analyzing Undergraduate Carrying out or using a procedure through executing, or implementing. Applying Constructing meaning from oral, written, and graphic messages through interpreting, exemplifying, classifying, summarizing, inferring, comparing, and explaining. Understanding High School Retrieving, recognizing, and recalling relevant knowledge from long-term memory. Remembering http://www.odu.edu/educ/llschult/blooms_taxonomy.htm

32. Reflection Questions • At what level of Bloom’s did you have to operate to make A’s or B’s in high school? • At what level of Bloom’s do you think you’ll need to be to make an A in CHEMISTRY?

33. At what level of Bloom’s did you have to operate to make A’s or B’s in high school? • Knowledge • Comprehension • Application • Analysis • Synthesis • Evaluation

34. At what level of Bloom’s do you think you’ll need to be to make an A in CHEMISTRY? • Knowledge • Comprehension • Application • Analysis • Synthesis • Evaluation

35. SUMMARY: The Study Cycle 4Reflect Preview Preview before class– Skim the chapter, note headings and boldface words, review summaries and chapter objectives, and come up with questions you’d like the lecture to answer for you. Attend Attendclass – GO TO CLASS! Answer and ask questions and take meaningful notes. Review Review after class– As soon after class as possible, read notes, fill in gaps and note any questions. Study • Study – Repetition is the key. Ask questions such as ‘why’, ‘how’, and ‘what if’. • Intense Study Sessions* - 3-5 short study sessions per day • Weekend Review – Read notes and material from the week to make connections Assess • Assess your Learning– Periodically perform reality checks • Am I using study methods that are effective? • Do I understand the material enough to teach it to others? Intense Study Sessions

36. Top 5 Reasons Students Reported as Why they Did Not Do Well 1. Didn’t spend enough time on the material 2. Started the homework too late 3. Didn’t memorize the information I needed to memorize 4. Did not use the book 5. Assumed I understood information that I had read and re-read, but had not applied

37. Top 5 Reasons Students Report as Why they Made an A 1. Did preview-review for every class period 2. Did a little of the homework at a time 3. Used the book and did the suggested problems 4. Made flashcards of the information to be memorized 5. Practiced explaining the information to others

38. What strategy will you use for the next 2 ½ weeks? • Do preview review • Do homework differently • Use the textbook more • Do problems intelligently • Practice teaching the material • Another metacognitive technique that works for you • None of the above If you don’t try it within the next 48 hours you probably never will!

39. Resources • Useful Websites • www.howtostudy.org • http://www.uco.edu/academic-affairs/students/tutoring-central/index.asp • Professor Office Hours • Classmates • Form study groups • UCO Tutoring Central (Supports and Assists with the Strategies Discussed here) • Web: TC.UCO.EDU • Email: TC@uco.edu • Phone: 974-2487