Tan, May Yi; Potts, Stephen E; Sella, Andrea; (2023) Collaborative Learning by Measuring Air Pollution: Student Perceptions and Confidence. Presented at: Variety in Chemistry Education / Physics Higher Education Conference (ViCEPHEC) 2023, Durham, UK.

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Abstract

One of the first major projects first-year undergraduate students undertake in the UCL Department of Chemistry is the Air Pollution Project (#UCLChemAirPoll). The project aims to wean students off seeking a “right answer” and enhance their transferrable skills via group work. The unique nature of this task sees teams of 3–4 students design lessons on air pollution and deliver them to primary school children, measure NOx using diffusion tubes around the school, quantify NOx and report back to the children. This type of research-outreach project has not been evaluated for pedagogical effectiveness. Here, we report the results of an MSci project aiming to answer the following research questions about students’ perceptions of and confidence towards collaborative learning, chemical outreach, and laboratory sessions in the project. The effect of gender, ethnicity and English fluency on students’ perceptions and confidence were also investigated. Surveys were conducted in 2022 before (n = 62) and after the project (n = 35), which comprised Likert-scale statements and open-ended questions. Comparisons were carried out using one-way ANOVA tests (Likert data) and thematic analysis (free-text responses). It was found male students felt more stressed than females during the primary school lessons and female students’ interest in a teaching career increased after the project. BAME students reported feeling less confident in the accuracy of their results than non-BAME students. Fluency in English also played a key role in students’ experience of the project, where native English speakers were more likely to report challenges communicating with their team and were more likely to disagree their team-mates on each other’s levels of contribution. In this presentation, the possible reasons for these results will be discussed and recommendations for others wishing to run similar projects will be made.

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