A Strategy to Enhance Conceptual Understanding Using Active Learning

Nimesh Mistry, School of Chemistry

Overview

The first stage of this project was to identify student’s conceptual understanding using concept inventories.

The context of this study was organic chemistry, the chemistry of carbon-based molecules.

Student responses were analysed to identify the common misconceptions related to this topic which were then used to form the basis and to develop novel active learning tasks.

We have developed tasks that can be used in a lecture, tutorial, and laboratory setting.

The active learning tasks were piloted with small groups of students with pre and post-intervention tests to measure learning gains. The success of both the overall strategy and individual learning tasks was analysed.

To read Nimesh's’s full report click here.

For more information contact Nimesh at: N.Mistry@leeds.ac.uk

Read Nimesh's first LITE blog: What can Higher Education Learn from Child's Play.