Collaborative Active Learning Activities Promote Deep Learning in a Chemistry-Biochemistry Course

Abstract

Currently in higher education, there is a move towards providing more student-centred learning experiences, where students are actively involved in the learning process. To promote learner engagement and communication between peers, many educators utilise collaborative active learning activities. This study aimed to demonstrate that an active learning curriculum developed for a Chemistry-Biochemistry unit, allowed students to gain a deep understanding of the content, while developing key academic skills. In each face-to-face session of the Chemistry-Biochemistry unit, students participated in collaborative active learning activities including Participation+ and a variety of Padlet activities. The students were also challenged to develop their written communication skills, by taking part in a formative In-Class Writing Task. Survey results indicated that the active learning curriculum provided an engaging, interactive environment that was conducive to the students developing an understanding of the course's underlying concepts and developing key academic skills. The students communicated their deep understanding of the content verbally during active learning activities and in writing during the In-Class Writing Task, written assignment and final exam. Students who consistently communicated deep knowledge of the content during the In-Class Writing Task achieved high marks on the summative written assignment, final exam and unit total. This study clearly demonstrates that the active learning curriculum employed in the Chemistry-Biochemistry unit provided a collaborative and engaging learning environment, where many students developed a deep understanding of the content and acquired the skills to communicate their knowledge both orally and through written communication.

Keywords: Active learning; Biochemistry; Chemistry; Collaborative learning.

Fig. 1

Components used to run Participation+ in a Chemistry-Biochemistry in-class session. a Sample three-tiered Participation+ question, highlighting the key concepts and posing three interrelated conceptual questions. b Sample conceptual MCQ, used in the last part of Participation+, which students attempted on Socrative (web platform)

Fig. 2

Summary of responses from the student survey to open-ended questions about the Chemistry-Biochemistry unit (n = 26) regarding a the most engaging aspect(s) of the course, b the most useful aspect(s) of the course for promoting peer interaction and c the most useful aspect(s) of the course for confirming understanding of the course content. The activities identified by students, in response to the central topic, are shown above the circles in each panel, with the numbers indicating the number of students who identified each activity. The grey hexagons correspond to frequently occurring themes identified from student explanations about why they had chosen the activities

Fig. 3

In-Class Writing Task analysis. a Percentage of students achieving writing levels 1 to 4 in the In-Class Writing Task in the pre-test control condition (n = 30), session 13 (n = 29) and session 23 (n = 23). b Percentage of students demonstrating surface knowledge (writing levels 1 and 2), deep knowledge (writing levels 4 and 5) and a combination of both surface and deep knowledge (writing level 3) in the In-Class Writing Task. c Change in the students’ writing level from the pre-test condition to their average writing level across the two In-Class Writing Tasks (n = 22). d Average writing level across the two In-Class Writing Tasks, comparing student groups who averaged 3.5 or more (average writing level (AWL) ≥ 3.5) (n = 12) and less than 3.5 (average writing level (AWL) < 3.5) (n = 10)

Fig. 4

Analysis of achievement for students who achieved an average writing level (AWL) of less than 3.5 (AWL < 3.5) (n = 10) versus those who averaged 3.5 or more (AWL ≥ 3.5) (n = 12) on the two In-Class Writing Tasks