Tablet personal computers and a faster grading method will benefit chemistry students at Minnesota State University, Mankato, thanks to a grant from the National Science Foundation.
The $149,156 grant will provide tablet PCs for a new, “guided inquiry” learning approach to introductory chemistry courses beginning this fall. Students will use styluses to write data and draw diagrams directly on tablet PC screens, rather than using the cumbersome keyboarding process.
Drawing directly on the screen is especially valuable in chemistry, according to Jeff Pribyl, Chemistry & Geology faculty member and leader of the grant project, because students use so many symbols in chemistry.
“It’s of great benefit in chemistry where we use drawings, formulas and other figures that can't typically be done with a keyboard,” Pribyl said. “It’s a kind of paperless learning.”
The guided inquiry model involves limited lectures, with students working in groups of four on questions and discussions. Each group has one tablet PC.
Another key to the new learning model is use of a rapid feedback technology called FastGrade, developed Management faculty member John Kaliski.
“FastGrade gives more specific feedback on what was wrong and where further information can be found,” Pribyl said. “It goes beyond ‘yes-no, right-wrong’ to putting concepts together, with faster turnaround and less time for students to forget what they’ve learned.”
FastGrade may eventually be expanded to other university programs, Pribyl said.
Along with Pribyl and Kaliski, Chemistry & Geology faculty member Mary Hadley also is a member of the grant team.
The National Science Foundation grant process is highly competitive, with only one in nine such requests being awarded, according to the NSF Web site.
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