An effective blended online teaching and learning strategy during the COVID-19 pandemic – University of Santo Tomas, US

The shift to distance teaching and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic brought about a real challenge for both instructors and students. To face these difficulties in teaching undergraduate Chemistry courses at the University of Santo Tomas, a blended learning strategy in the context of teaching and learning of Physical Chemistry 1 and Analytical Chemistry for Chemical Engineering students were employed. This is an online strategy that facilitated the transition from traditional face-to-face learning to full online instruction. This is a five-component blended learning strategy referred to as Discover, Learn, Practice, Collaborate and Assess (DLPCA). In DLPCA, the asynchronous part of the teaching was achieved through broadcast of pre-recorded lecture videos on YouTube to allow students to study and progress with learning at their own pace. The synchronous part of the teaching was conducted using video conferencing platforms, such as Zoom or Google Meet. The DLPCA strategy was presented and discussed to the students prior to its implementation. The analysis of the teaching and learning experience based on three indicators (i) student’s learning experience, (ii) student’s academic performance and (iii) instructor observations, showed that DLPCA had a positive impact on students and instructors. The identified challenges were stability of internet connection and instructor’s familiarity with readily available internet-based teaching tools, such as video conferencing software. Instructors must also find means to improve their interaction with students and maintain student interest and engagement during online classes. The survey also indicated that most of the students are satisfied with the DLCPA strategy. Hence, this strategy is considered a manageable and effective alternative that can be adapted to full online instruction to other undergraduate Chemistry lecture courses.

English

Small to medium-sized groups

Blended online teaching and learning strategy

5 components/phases strategy (synchronous and a-synchronous sessions/lessons/exercises)

1 Semester

Chemistry professors and students at chemical engineering faculties, university principals and course coordinators

Pedagogical/teaching competence in higher education sector, IT skills, computational skills, physical chemistry and analytical chemistry competences

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7847201/

Very detailed study and report of the methodology and results of learning, instruction for replication, infographics and data are detailed and exhaustive, easy to replicate for chemistry professor at university in an online environment.