CHEMISTRY CROSSWORDS: LEARNING ACTIVITIES TO SUPPORT NON-TRADITIONAL STUDENTS IN

THIRD LEVEL Christine O’Connor, Claire Mc Donnell, Michael K Seery.

Chemistry Education Research Team, School of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Dublin Institute of Technology, Kevin St., Dublin 8

AimThe aim of this poster is to illustrate the ease of design of crosswords as a reusable learning object, to show examples of the chemistry crosswords that have been developed and to present student feedback on the use of the chemistry crosswords as a learning activity.

Advantages to Using the Crosswords

engages students in a “fun” learning activity

are designed to revise course work

help students with learning difficulties and students for whom English is not their first language to practice spelling chemistry terms correctly

can be designed to enhance the students’ cognitive skills

the crossword design software can be downloaded for free from the web and is extremely user friendly

may be printed as hard copies and/or may be posted as an interactive webpage in a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), e.g. WebCT, Blackboard or Moodle, for multiple attempts as part of the students’ formative assessment.

Why use chemistry crosswords?The increasing diversity of students entering third level science education has been widely discussed and it is attributed to the government policy on widening participation in higher education. This has led to a greater number of “non traditional” students entering third level courses in Ireland. The diversity of the current higher education student body may be attributed to the increased awareness of available options among students with learning difficulties and also to the growth in numbers of international students in Irish third level colleges. One learning strategy that has been introduced into the teaching practice for first year chemistry courses in the Dublin Institute of Technology to cater for the variety of learner types now enrolled has been the use of Chemistry Crosswords.

Example of an Interactive Crossword Incorporated in a WebCT Site

Preparing Your Crossword

Chemistry Crosswords Survey 2006

1. How do you feel about doing Chemistry Crosswords?

2. Do you find them useful for revision? If so why?

3. How does completing the crossword help you?

4. Do you find them too time consuming?

5. Do you keep the crosswords as part of your revision material?

6. Do you prefer doing the crosswords on handouts in class or on WebCT?

Incorporating Crosswords into Teaching Practice

AcknowledgementsThe DIT first year Chemistry teaching staff, the DT 212-1 Chemistry students (academic year 2005-2006), the DIT Learning and Teaching Centre.

Bibliography1. Gardner, H. (1993). "Frames of mind:

The theory of multiple intelligences" (10th Anniversary ed.). New York: Basic Books. 

2. Cooper, G. (1998). “Research into Cognitive Load Theory and Instructional Design at UNSW”, accessed at http://education.arts.unsw.edu.au/CLT_NET_Aug_97.HTML

Staff create crossword based on lecture material

VLE (WebCT) Class Handouts

Where to start1. Choose a topic you wish to revise.2. Access free crossword software on the internet at

http://www.greeneclipsesoftware.com/eclipsecrossword/

3. Under ‘Word’, enter the answer you wish to appear on the crossword.

4. Under ‘Clues for this word’ write a concise question to prompt for that answer.

NOTE: The answers need not always require definition-type questions. Answers to calculation questions or short problems can also be incorporated.

5. When finished, click on ‘Next’ and give the crossword a title.6. The software will generate the crossword design.7. Select the option to save the crossword as an interactive

webpage for use in a VLE or publish crossword and print as handout.

Summary of Survey continued:Q. 4 Do you find them too time consuming?

Result: 97% said they are not too time consuming.

Q. 5 Do you keep the crosswords as part of your revision material? Result: 32% do not keep them, 68% do use them for revision.

Q. 6 Do you prefer doing the crosswords on handouts in class or on WebCT? Result: 82% prefer handouts in class, 18% prefer WebCTComments: “In class so you can work it out with others”, “Handouts in class. On WebCT it is too easy to be lured to the internet and doss”, “Prefer in class from time to time as it is a nice change from taking notes. It is easier to concentrate on the information when not taking down notes”, “In class as doing them in pairs helps me learn more”

Evaluation of Crosswords and Student FeedbackThe Following is a summary of the first year Science students’ feedback.Q. 1 How do you feel about doing Chemistry Crosswords?

All responses were positiveComments: “Great, fun, helpful”, “ Challenged” ,“I feel they are very good at associating definitions with their titles and for prompting your memory”

Q. 2 Do you find them useful for revision? If so why?All responses were positiveComments: “Yes, they are more fun than looking over our notes,“ It’s a different way to revise”, “They help you remember what you already know and what you need to know”, “Yes, they get you thinking”

Q. 3 How does completing the crossword help you?Comments: “Jogs your memory and helps you learn”, “It shows that you are learning something”, “A sense of satisfaction that you know things”, “Gives me a sense of achievement”, “I feel it is not the most effective method of studying, but it is a good way of learning. It’s a change.”, “It’s a good study aid”

ConclusionThe results of the evaluation survey highlight that the crosswords :

are a ‘fun’ learning activity are a useful revision tool can be designed to enhance cognitive skills act as a formative assessment tool are not too time consuming are preferred as handouts in class rather than in an interactive format on the WebCT VLEAlso; encourage peer tutoring and group work create an interactive activity during the class help to highlight key terms assist students with spelling of chemical terms

(VLE is a Virtual Learning Environment)

Using the Software to Input the Clues and Answers