Reflections on QCY 520 instructional package

Reflections on QCY520 instructional package

Instructional approach chosen: Problem-solving approach

In this instructional package, the problem-solving approach is chosen in order to allow students to appreciate how their knowledge of qualitative analysis can have real-world implications. Instead of merely attending a lesson where the main mode of teaching is very didactic and detached, such a problem-solving approach allows students greater autonomy over their own learning. Students are able to be actively involved in the lesson as they have a hands-on experience. Instead of simply learning how a white precipitate looks like either through images or videos, they can actually this white precipitate by adding the appropriate reagents. This incorporation of the learning by doing dimension helps students to retain knowledge better. According to the learning pyramid, on average, students only retain 20% of what they see but 75% when they practice doing. Furthermore, by helping them link it to a real-world context by giving realistic scenarios, students are able to recognize the importance of learning qualitative analysis.

Ideally, students should be allowed to craft their own solutions to the problem since designing solutions is a higher-order skill in Bloom’s Taxonomy. Unfortunately, since it was only their second lecture, students might not have a good grasp on the topic yet and might not know how to approach the problem. Hence, sufficient scaffolding must be provided in the form of the practical guide as well as the worksheet to guide students along. Originally, the plan was to include 7 unknowns. However, due to time constraints, only 4 could be used. This seems to be short-changing the students as they are unable to experience the coloured precipitates which are more distinctive.  Unfortunately, due to the nature of this problem-solving approach using laboratory work, it is more time consuming than simply using a computer simulation. Nevertheless, it is more realistic and also serves to help students improve their laboratory techniques.

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