Research: Science & Education

Integrating Multiple Teaching Methods into a General

Chemistry Classroom
Joseph S. Francisco and Gayle Nicoll
Department of Chemistry, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907

Marcella Trautmann
Department of Chemistry, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202

In many undergraduate general chemistry classrooms, Alternative methods of instruction have been success-
the lecture is the dominant teaching mode. It is character- fully implemented in science classrooms with successful re-
ized by the instructor speaking and writing at the front of sults, including increased student understanding of the ma-
the class while the students busily take notes at their desks. terial. Very few studies, however, have attempted to inte-
This teacher-centered mode of instruction has the advan- grate more than one teaching method into the course (11).
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tage of being able to cover large amounts of material, but it We found no published report that described application of
does not ensure that the students learn or understand the multiple teaching styles to college-level general chemistry
material (1). Indeed, studies of students’ misconceptions (2) courses. The purpose of this study, then, is to use four dif-
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have yielded insights into the ways students learn material. ferent methods of teaching in a freshman-level general
This, in turn, has led to the suggestion of several different chemistry course at Wayne State University. Cooperative
modes of teaching to address these chemical misconcep- learning, class discussions, concept maps, and lectures were
tions, including cooperative learning (3), classroom discus- integrated into the course to compare students’ levels of par-
sions (4), and concept maps (5). ticipation, as measured by a self-reported survey.
A number of studies have shown that expectations of the
faculty and the students are not in accord. Students do not Methodology
feel in charge of their own learning; instead, they feel that
their understanding and their grades are in the hands of The study involved 94 students enrolled in a freshman-
the professor (6). The professor, on the other hand, believes level second-semester general chemistry course at Wayne
that students should be in control of their learning, so that State University, a commuter campus in the heart of urban
any type of instruction should be as good as any other. How- Detroit, Michigan. The class met three times per week for
ever, research has shown that students learn by different 50 min per session. The class was used as a whole: sections
methods (7, 8), which must all be addressed if learning is to or subgroups did not exist. Therefore, every student was ex-
be successful and fruitful. posed to all of the teaching strategies at the same time. The
Conceived this way, the traditional lecture format ig- class was composed of approximately 69% men and 31%
nores educational theories that point out the advantages of women; 18% of the students were African-Americans.
actively involving students in the learning process and the For the entire semester, three interactive teaching for-
need for varying the means and taxonomic levels of the mats were meshed with the lecture format. Table 1 shows
teaching goals (9, 10). The lecture format does have useful how the teaching formats were integrated into the curricu-
purposes, and some students can be actively involved in lec- lum for two units of the semester. In each unit, all four types
ture. However, as it is often practiced, the lecture method of teaching were used, which minimized any effects due to
misses the opportunity to more immediately involve stu- the subject matter.
dents in learning the material during class and passes up The first format, class discussions, allowed the professor
the chance to show students how to engage in chemistry. to question students in the classroom in ways that probed

Table 1. Sample of Integrating Teaching Formats in General Chemistry

Session Teaching Format Topic To Be Covered
1 Lecture Introduction; Chemical equilibrium
2 Lecture Chemical equilibrium; Acid–base equilibrium
3 Cooperative learning Strong acids and bases
4 Class discussion Concepts of weak acids and bases
5 Lecture, Cooperative learning Solubility equilibria
6 Concept map Complex-ion equilibria
7 Exam ––
8 Class discussion Applications of solubility equilibria
9 Lecture Thermochemistry
10 Cooperative learning Thermochemistry
11 Lecture Thermodynamics (1st and 2nd laws)
12 Class discussion Thermodynamics (3rd law and free energy)
13 Concept map Thermodynamics (free energy and equilibrium constants)
14 Exam ––

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 Research: Science & Education

for understanding and required the use of higher-level cogni- the laws of thermodynamics, presenting fundamental relation-
tive functioning. This was distinctly different from the tradi- ships from the laws, and working simple problems in the
tional lecture format, in that students were actively engaged. lecture, the professor held a class discussion during the next
In the lecture format, simple problems were presented and session. The following questions were posed to the students.
solved to illustrate how the concepts were used, what the It’s a very hot day in Texas, and the air conditioner in
results looked like, and what the results meant. There is a your house has broken! A member of your family sug-
difference, however, between how the professor solved these gests that you open up the refrigerator to cool the house.
problems and how students solved the same problems. Do you agree with your family member or not? Would
Instead of lecturing for the entire session, the professor this work? Why or why not?
used leading questions in class discussions not only to get The professor then directed the discussion by allowing
students involved, but also to guide their thinking about the students to reflect on the laws of thermodynamics and how
pertinent chemistry concepts. In addition, the professor they relate to heat flow. During the discussion, the profes-
roamed through the lecture hall asking and directing ques- sor challenged the students’ assumptions, directing them to
tions. Although the professor was still the center of the examine the inconsistencies in their reasoning. This allowed
classroom, students immediately influenced the direction them to evaluate and correct their own cognitive structures.
and content of the lecture. Class discussions related the ma- The second method, cooperative learning, engaged stu-
terial to other issues in chemistry, modeled more integra- dents in solving problems as a group during the class hour.
tive and creative ways of looking at the material, and pro- During the hour, students arranged themselves into infor-
moted the active working and reworking of the learned ma- mal groups usually consisting of five or six students seated
terial by students. near each other. Students took turns playing the role of in-
The dialogue between students and professor has sev- structor in their groups and taught others how to complete
eral other merits. It allows students to think about concepts derivations and problems. Most students could replicate a cal-
and make sense of the material. The professor begins to culation similar to one solved in the previous lecture period,
model how students conceptualize the material. This re- provided that the new problem explicitly used the same con-
minds the professor that students’ chemical knowledge is a cept and formulas. However, more challenging problems
product of their thought patterns. The end result is a concept were presented, which required students to disembed infor-
meaningful to the students, and the whole class is engaged mation from the problem. These problems used concepts
in the construction of a significant concept. and formulas from the lecture, but were presented in novel
To illustrate how the professor engaged students in ways that were not obviously algorithmic.
class discussions, we present the following example, which The following is a typical problem posed for students
was used during the unit on thermodynamics. After covering to work on in their groups. It requires application of chemical

Figure 1. A modified concept map presented to students for the unit on thermochemistry. Students were encouraged to study the map
and integrate it with key words from the concept map on equilibria, to obtain a larger picture of how chemical concepts are interrelated.

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Research: Science & Education

principles and conceptual problem-solving skills. Students Table 2. Student Involvement for Each
were encouraged to add to, correct, or extend the work of their Type of Teaching
classmates by offering alternatives. By working actively and Perceived level
collaboratively with problems, students came to realize that Format
of involvement
they could reason, evaluate solutions, and develop self-con-
Lecture 2.5
fidence to take greater responsibility for their education.
Concept mapping 3.3
The chief chemist of Trautmann Chemical Works, Ltd.,
interviews two chemistry majors for employment. The Class discussion 4.1
chief chemist states, “Quality control requires that the Cooperative learning 3.3
pH of a solution of potassium cyanide, KCN, is main-
Note: An ANOVA found a significant difference
tained at pH = 11.2.” The pKa = 9.40. The chief chemist
between the lecture and nontraditional teaching
asks the two interviewees what must be done to ensure
methods, but not between the nontraditional
that the company meets this specification.
methods themselves: N = 94; F = 4.25, p < .01.
Mr. Max Smart says, “I would just add 0.10 moles of po-
tassium cyanide to 1 liter of water and use a pH meter
to determine the pH to ± 0.01 pH units and interface it Results and Discussion
with the IBM computer to print out the pH digitally.”
Mr. Joe Wise says, “I would titrate the KCN with a 0.10 M At the end of the semester, students were asked to
solution of HCl and use phenolphthalein to detect the specify how directly involved they felt in all of the segments.
equivalence point.” This was done to assess their reception to and perceived in-
Which candidate did the chief chemist hire? Why? volvement in the various teaching strategies. In order for a
teaching strategy to be effective, as a first step it must be
The third teaching format, concept maps, drew stu-
well received. Therefore, it was important to determine
dents’ attention to the hierarchical nature of chemistry and
what the students perceived as the utility of the strategy.
the need to pull together material from individual chapters
This can be broken down into two components: how engaged
and lecture series. Concept map sessions were held as re-
students perceived themselves to be in the strategies, and
view sessions before exams. During these review sessions,
what they perceived to be the functions of each method.
students were asked to identify relationships, compare and
Should student engagement or the perceived functions be
contrast topics, and integrate information into larger con-
the same for all teaching strategies, then the effectiveness
ceptual maps. Figure 1 shows a typical concept map used
of these strategies would be extremely suspect.
in these sessions. This helped students see how topics relate
A 7-point modified Likert scale was used to assess stu-
to, or develop from, each other to produce chemistry’s cu-
dent involvement, where 1 represented no involvement at
mulative nature. For example, during the unit on equilib-
all and 7 represented extreme involvement. The average
rium chemistry, students first constructed a map using
involvement levels of the students for each teaching
some basic principles of equilibrium such as the definition
method, shown in Figure 2, were then compared using an
of equilibrium, the equilibrium expression, the equilibrium
ANOVA to determine if there was a significantly different
constant, and heterogeneous and homogeneous equilibrium.
level of involvement for the methods. The students reported
Later, a concept map was constructed using acid–base equi-
a significantly higher involvement in each of the three new
librium and was connected to the original concept map of
types of teaching (Table 2) than in the traditional lecture
basic principles. By using this building process, students
format. However, a follow up showed no significant differ-
constructed one large concept map by the end of the semes-
ence in the perceived levels of involvement between the
ter, showing the interconnectedness among topics.

Table 3. Student Perception of Primary Function of

Teaching Methods
Teaching Method Functiona
Concept map Provided new information
Mean level of involvement

Assessed readiness for the next topic

Assessed readiness for the next exam
Organized material in meaningful ways
Class discussion Identified a lack of understanding
Answered questions about the material
Organized material in meaningful ways
Made the material more interesting
Relearn concepts
Cooperative learning Made the material more interesting
Lecture Pin-pointed concepts
Concept Class Cooperative Clarified important or difficult points
Lecture discussions
map learning Organized material in meaningful ways

Figure 2. Student perception of involvement for various teaching Modeled ways to look at the material
methods. Involvement was self-estimated on a 1–7 Likert scale; Relearn concepts
1 = no involvement and 7 = extreme involvement. a The functions are listed in no particular order.

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 Research: Science & Education

nontraditional teaching methods. Figure 2 shows the aver- mastery of general chemistry. Further, all of the teaching
age level of reported involvement for each teaching method. methods do not serve the same learning functions. Thus, the
From these data, it is evident that the method which en- data suggest that instructors’ use of only one mode of class-
couraged the most class participation was the class discus- room presentation could restrict students by limiting their
sion. All three methods, however, had a significantly greater exposure to diverse learning situations that would help
level of student involvement than the traditional lecture. them identify topics that they don’t understand.
Students were also given a survey in which they were Bodner (12) pointed out that very little mention is
asked to identify the functions that each teaching format made of the role teachers play in the learning of chemistry
served for them. They were allowed to list more than one by students. This criticism points to the need for use of more
function for each method. The functions listed were (i) pro- effective and interactive teaching methods. Our finding is
vided new information, (ii) pinpointed important or difficult consistent with this point, but we also find that the instructor
concepts, (iii) identified a lack of understanding of certain should attempt to use or introduce interactive methods that
points, (iv) clarified important or difficult points, (v) an- provide cognitive balance for students.
swered questions regarding the material, (vi) organized ma-
terial in meaningful ways, (vii) modeled ways to look at the Conclusions
material, (viii) made the material more interesting, (ix) pro-
vided the opportunity to relearn concepts, (x) assessed your Despite claims that student quality has decreased in
readiness for the next topic, and (xi) assessed your readi- the past few years, the data presented here indicate that
ness for the next exam. the integration of multiple methods of teaching can enhance
It was found that each teaching format served a differ- student participation. The data support the idea that mul-
ent purpose for the students. Table 3 shows which functions tiple modes of learning foster meta-cognitive skills neces-
were perceived as most important for each format. It is evi- sary for mastering general chemistry. In this way students
dent that students found the concept map review format are presented with material in different ways, which rein-
helpful in preparing them for the exam. Oddly, however, the forces the concepts and aids mastery of the material. The
concept map reviews were also useful for providing them classroom today is more diverse, and as a result there is
with new information. This is another piece of evidence diversity in the cognitive skills that students bring into it.
showing that students do not necessarily learn information Our data indicate that a mono-modal method of teaching is
the first time through and that multiple, varied presenta- insufficient to meet all the learning needs of students as
tions are necessary before they can form their own more in- they attempt to master general chemistry. This is consis-
tegrated cognitive structures. The lecture format, on the tent with the findings of Birk and Foster (13) who found
other hand, was helpful to students in pinpointing important that little substantial learning occurs as a result of students
concepts. However, it was through the class discussions that attending chemistry lectures. Although students in our
they identified their lack of understanding of certain points. study stated that the lecture format was useful for commu-
Cooperative learning helped them clarify important points. nicating some information, it was not the preferred mode
From the student data on formats versus functions, re- of learning. However, we found that the use of multiple
sponses were condensed into three categories, depending on teaching strategies in the classroom improved the chances
whether the functions were to (i) present facts, (ii) aid in meta- for the instructor to tap into the cognitive strengths of a
cognitive (thinking) processes, or (iii) create interest. To de- diverse student population.
termine if there was any difference between the methods
in addressing each of these types of learning, a chi-square Literature Cited
analysis was done. Comparing the methods individually, in
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However, compared with the traditional lecture, the other 3. Lazarowitz, R. Sci. Ed. 1988, 72, 475–487.
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9. Champagne, A. B.; Bunce, D. M. In The Psychology of Learning
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As these are only means, the numbers do not state 10. Roth, K. J. In Dimensions of Thinking and Cognitive Instruction;
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Hillsdale, NJ, 1990; pp 157–175.
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