Development of Instructional Videos to Improve Students’ Techniques and Use of Equipment in Chemistry Laboratory Courses

Grant program: Teaching and Learning Development Grant (TLDG)

Grant recipient: Sophie Lavieri, Department of Chemistry

Project team: Dev Sharma, Department of Chemistry, Gilberto Martinez, Teresita Barbou, Rachel Wagner and Suraaj Aulakh, research assistants

Timeframe: April 2012 to April 2013

Funding: $10,000

Courses addressed:

• CHEM 111 – Introductory Chemistry and Laboratory
• CHEM 121 – General Chemistry and Laboratory I
• CHEM 126 – General Chemistry Laboratory II
• CHEM 215 – Introduction to Analytical Chemistry

Poster presentation: View a poster (PDF) describing this project from the 2013 Symposium on Teaching and Learning.

Description: This project is an extension of an earlier Teaching and Learning Grant titled: Development of instructional videos to improve students’ techniques in general chemistry laboratory courses. In this previous project while we noticed most students did not read the instructions regarding the operation of the instruments, students did watch the videos. Based on the excellent feedback we received on the first set of videos, we will develop more audiovisual learning resources for further chemistry laboratories (i.e. general chemistry and analytical chemistry). We will continue to develop videos that provide concise and uniform instructions to the students, and therefore the videos will familiarize the students with an instrument before doing an experiment. We will develop videos on the following:

• Use of disposable pipette
• Use of the volumetric flasks
• Use of the Thermogravimetric Analyzer STA 6000
• Use of the Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer AI 1200
• Use of the Gas Chromatography and Mass Spectrometry: Agilent 6890 GC/MS
• Flotation Technique

The videos developed in the previous grant were:

• How to use a burette
• Pipetting Technique
• Weighing Technique

Questions addressed:

• Do video help students to make the connection between the same techniques used in different experiments?
• How do videos improve students’ performance and learning in chemistry laboratories?
• Do videos help the understanding of the use of equipment in chemistry laboratories?
  

Knowledge sharing:

Lavieri, S., & Sharma, D. (2013, May). Development of instructional videos for instruments used in introduction to analytical chemistry. Poster session presented at the Symposium on Teaching and Learning: Embracing Change @SFU, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC.