Interdisciplinary Course Design Opportunities for Chemical Engineers: A Material Balances Course with Integrated Concept-Based Active Learning Pedagogy: Comparison of Student Perception and Performance with their Attitudes and Approaches to Learning

It is well established that students have a diverse array of learning styles and take different approaches to learning. For example, approaches to learning have been classified as “surface”, “deep”, and “achievement”. Research has shown that there are several advantages to promoting and fostering a deep approach to learning. One method for encouraging a deep approach to learning is to utilize formative assessments that focus on conceptual understanding rather than recall or rote calculations. To that end, a Web-based Interactive Science and Engineering (WISE) Learning Tool that promotes concept-based learning has been incorporated into a multidisciplinary Material Balances and Stoichiometry course. In an effort to examine the efficacy of WISE in the context of student epistemologies and approaches to learning, students also completed an attitudinal survey focused on beliefs about chemistry (CLASS-Chem) and a learning approaches survey (R-SPQ-2F). Understanding students’ beliefs about conceptual learning and their approaches to learning is necessary to properly interpret student feedback and make appropriate adjustments to new teaching methods like WISE. A comparison of the two survey instruments is presented, along with an analysis of the extent to which students’ performance on conceptual exercises and perception of WISE as a useful learning tool correlate with their attitudes and approaches to learning. The results presented here serve as a baseline for a longitudinal study seeking to determine whether active, concept-based approaches can change students’ approaches to learning over time. Introduction Beginning with the pioneering work of Marton and Saljo , a large body of research has emerged regarding student approaches to learning, the concept that the way students approach a task is influenced by their view of knowledge (epistemology), previous experiences, perception of the task, attitudes, motivation, context, and learning environment. 4 Three different approaches to learning have been identified: a deep approach where students have an intrinsic motivation to learn and seek to maximize meaning; a surface approach where students rely on rote calculations and memorization and are typically motivated by external factors; and an strategic approach where students attempt to maximize grades using the most efficient method, and may take either deep or surface approaches, as appropriate. From a constructivist view, learning is the process of synthesizing new information with prior learning, making connections between fundamental concepts, and constructing a framework to be able to approach problems from different perspectives. Clearly, for effective learning a deep approach is preferred. Research has shown that students who adopt a deep approach are more likely to retain, integrate and transfer information at higher rates and more likely to enjoy learning. 4 As such, a primary aim of teaching should be to promote the value of deep learning and concept-based knowledge P ge 22942.2 structures and to facilitate the adoption of deep approaches to learning using appropriate teaching methods. Many instructional innovations have been developed with the aim of promoting deep approaches to learning. This study uses the Web-based Interactive Science and Engineering (WISE) Learning Tool developed at Oregon State University (OSU). WISE provides the technology to support a student-centered pedagogy that promotes active, concept-based learning in a multidisciplinary engineering curriculum. Briefly, the tool allows an instructor to pose conceptual questions in several formats (e.g., multiple choice, numerical, short answer, and ranking) during class that probe for conceptual understanding. Students answer the questions using wireless laptops and responses are immediately available to the instructor. After an initial deployment of a question, the instructor can proceed in several ways. Class responses can be displayed to the class and students can be asked to discuss the problem with a neighbor or group. Following the small group discussions, the question can be posed again; it has been shown that this type of peer-instruction can increase conceptual understanding. At any point, the instructor can interject with appropriate discussion or address misconceptions discovered when going through the written explanations to multiple choice questions, for example. WISE activities serve as formative assessments that focus on conceptual understanding and provide a rich environment for identifying and addressing misconceptions through immediate feedback. In addition, they are highly interactive and promote a learner-centered environment. These features of the WISE Tool are closely aligned with teaching and assessment methods known to promote deep approaches to learning. 13 Several survey instruments have been developed to measure student attitudes about and approaches to learning. In the 1970s and 1980s, surveys that were designed for general use in higher education included the Study Process Questionnaire (SPQ) and the Approaches to Study Inventory (ASI). Both surveys have been recently updated to revise wording, reduce items, and incorporate new research on learning. In the 1990s, domain-specific surveys were developed specifically for physics, including the Maryland Physics Expectations Survey (MPEX), the Epistemological Beliefs Assessment for Physical Science (EBAPS), and the Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey (CLASS). MPEX and CLASS have been modified for chemistry in the form of CHEMEX and CLASS-Chem, respectively. This study uses both the revised two-factor Study Process Questionnaire (R-SPQ-2F) and CLASS-Chem. Research has shown that learning approaches are not static, they are context specific and students may change their approaches to learning over time. 20 One of the primary uses of these survey instruments is to assess changes in students’ attitudes or approaches in response to various teaching methods and innovations. For example, the RSPQ-2F has been used to study the effect of memory games, different teaching methodologies, and on-line learning components in calculus and neuroanatomy courses. Kortemeyer found that students’ conceptual learning P ge 22942.3 (as measured by course grade and a concept inventory) in a first year physics course was correlated with student responses to the MPEX, but was even more highly correlated with demonstrated expert like behaviors as observed in discussion boards accompanying on-line homework assignments. In both cases, students who displayed more expert-like behavior demonstrated greater conceptual gains over the course of the semester. Interestingly, researchers in various fields commonly find declines in students’ beliefs and learning approaches as they progress through the curriculum. Using CLASS, Adams et al. found nearly universal deterioration in beliefs about physics and physics knowledge during a first semester physics course. Barbera et al. found similar results using the CLASS-Chem survey in first year general chemistry courses. Kember et al. summarize several studies using the SPQ and found that average deep approach scores declined over three years for students enrolled in a range of courses at a polytechnic campus in Hong Kong and in an accounting degree program. On the other hand, they report that innovative instruction can lead to improvements in student beliefs. A project based design (graphic, industrial, interior photographic and fashion) curriculum, and a business curriculum promoting self reflection both resulted in statistically significant increases in deep approach scores as measured by the SPQ. Although conventional lecture-based educational practices tend to reinforce more naive beliefs, innovative instruction can develop more expert-like beliefs, which in turn can promote learning. Over the last four years, the WISE Learning Tool has become an increasingly integral component of the Chemical, Biological and Environmental Engineering (CBEE) curriculum at OSU, and has been integrated into the three courses in the 2 year sequence. At this point, we are interested in investigating the extent to which the use of WISE in the curriculum influences students’ attitudes and approaches to learning over time. The objective of this study is to evaluate a chemistry specific attitudinal survey (CLASS-Chem) and a more general learning approaches survey (R-SPQ-2F) as means to characterize the students’ beliefs and learning approaches. Using these surveys, we aim to establish a baseline with respect to student attitudes and approaches that can be used in a longitudinal study centered on the effectiveness of WISE for promoting deeper, concept-based learning. Research Questions The following research questions are addressed in this study. As measured on a cohort of chemical, biological, and environmental engineers at the start of a sophomore level material balances class: 1. Are student responses to a content specific attitudinal survey (CLASS-Chem) consistent with responses to a general approaches to learning survey (R-SPQ-2F)? Is each survey consistent within itself?