The approach

It is common to find students neglecting the significance of taking time to reflect and assimilate knowledge acquired in a module. Possible reasons are poor thinking and working habits, lack of time and postponing efforts to latter periods closer to evaluation exercises such as term tests and examinations. It is therefore desirable to include reflective exercises in order to encourage active thinking during the course, as well as reinforcing the significance of assimilating and processing knowledge acquired from different sub-topics and learning experiences. Reflective and contemplative exercises are methods of recording one's thinking activities and these have been frequently used as a tool to teach higher-order thinking skills (Paul & Elder, 2001). Such reflective exercises are not new to researchers. For example, keeping logs, notes, journals, or diaries are commonly practised by active researchers including prominent scientists like Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison and Charles Darwin. Similarly, writing papers and reporting research results require intensive reflective efforts, without which it would be difficult putting together a congruent and concerted piece of work. Herein, a project to introduce reflective exercises in a laboratory-based undergraduate level analytical chemistry course is described. Besides the usual module activities including lectures, classroom tutorials and discussions, assignments and laboratory works, reflective exercises were included in the forms of thinking logs and laboratory reflective writings.

Figure 1. Thinking students, good experimentalists

Thinking logs

Previously, thinking logs have been introduced in a non-laboratory-based graduate level course (Toh, 2007). In CM2142 "Analytical Chemistry", students were asked to record at least one thought after each lecture session and enter these thoughts into the module's IVLE page. Students were not permitted to view one another's contribution so as to encourage originality of ideas and thoughts. The lecturer, who was able to assess these logs, provided comments and feedback to each student. Initially, questions were posed to help provide a framework for students to exercise their thinking on a given topic. After the initial first two lectures, samples of thinking logs with desirable traits were shared with students.

Laboratory reflective writing

Practical hands-on experience using analytical instruments is important in complementing both the lecture and tutorial sessions. However, conducting the experiments with focused attention and efforts on instrumentations can sometimes take students away from understanding and appreciating the theories behind these instrumentations and techniques. Therefore, there is a need for students to reflect on what they have accomplished during laboratory sessions. Reflection will help students make links between theory and practice, integrate knowledge learnt during lectures and tutorials, as well as deepen their understanding in analytical chemistry.

For the laboratory reflective writing, students were asked to write an essay containing not more than 2000 words and to discuss at least three or more experiments carried out during the assigned six laboratory sessions. The laboratory reflective writing focused on what they have learnt during the laboratory sessions, with emphasis on correlating their learning with knowledge learnt during lectures, tutorials, term tests and discussions. In addition, students were strongly encouraged to explain unusual observations and those which had deviated from theoretical expectations. In order to discuss discrepancies between theory and practice and to provide possible reasons for the differences, students needed to 'dig into' books in order to make sense of their laboratory experiences. Therefore, students were asked to record these observed discrepancies in their laboratory reports during each laboratory session and whenever possible, record their thoughts and queries as they carried out experiments. It was envisaged that these fine points would encourage students assume the role of a thinking experimentalist during their laboratory works.

To encourage active participation by students, the reflective exercises were incorporated as formal activities and student participation counted towards their academic assessment during the course. It was envisaged that these reflecting writings in the form of thinking logs and laboratory reflective writing would help student upkeep active learning during the module and integrate knowledge learnt in lectures, tutorials and laboratory works and demonstrate higher-order thinking skills in their reflective exercises.

References

Paul, R & Elder, L. (2001). The Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking: Concepts & Tools. Foundation for Critical Thinking: Dillon Beach, CA.

Toh, C.S. (2007). 'An Experiential Research Focused Approach: Implementation in a Non-Laboratory Based Graduate-Level Analytical Chemistry Course'. J. Chem. Educ., Vol. 84, pp. 639-642.