Collaborative Problem Solving: Using Clickers and Cloud Folders to Enhance Student Learning in Organic Chemistry

This study compares active learning with traditional chalkboard lecturing in first semester organic chemistry. In the active learning format, students were assigned to read the text and complete a homework assignment before the relevant problems were discussed in class. They were provided with a few "how-to" videos for each chapter, about 30 minutes per chapter, but most of the course content was only available via the textbook. Classroom time was spent working in small teams on problems similar to exam and textbook questions. Students were sorted into four person teams to work together during the problem sessions in class. In-class questions were answered using the iClicker classroom response system and cloud folders where students would upload images of their pen and paper answers. Observations and data were acquired from two semesters of first semester organic chemistry from 2014-15 using traditional chalkboard lecturing and from six semesters of first semester organic chemistry from 2015-2018 using active learning. Student responses to exit surveys at the end of the active learning semesters show that the majority of students felt they learned more about organic chemistry than they anticipated at the beginning of the semester and the majority preferred the active learning format to a traditional chalkboard lecture. There was a statistically significant decrease in the failure and withdrawal rate in the active learning semesters compared to the traditional chalkboard lecture semesters. © 2019 American Chemical Society.