A Comparison of the Effects of Two Different Online Homework Systems on Levels of Knowledge Retention in General Chemist
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A Comparison of the Effects of Two Different Online Homework Systems on Levels of Knowledge Retention in General Chemistry Students Leena Nabulsi1 · Amy Nguyen1 · Oluwatobi Odeleye1 Accepted: 1 October 2020 © Springer Nature B.V. 2020
Abstract Online homework systems have been shown to help student achievement in chemistry courses. This study sought to compare the levels of knowledge retention in students over the course of a semester, using two different types of homework systems—the adaptive-responsive system and the traditional-responsive system. Two sections of a first semester general chemistry course were investigated, with one section using the adaptive-responsive system and the other using the traditionalresponsive system. Students’ grades on cumulative exams were compared across both sections, and it was found that students using the adaptive-responsive system scored significantly higher on the exams and retained significantly more information than the students in the other section. The results of this study should help inform the choices educators make regarding the homework system they choose to use, or even which parts of the different systems they choose to use or not to use based on the outcomes they would like for their student population. Keywords First-year undergraduate · High school/general chemistry · Knowledge retention · Online homework systems · Student-centered learning · Testing/assessment
Introduction Student success in STEM fields, particularly chemistry, has been declining over the past years due to a poor perception of the fields by students, and their lack of engagement in these fields (Turner and Peck 2010; Gill 2011). Due to this decline, educational institutions have been looking for ways to improve engagement and retention of concepts. Many factors can influence retention and learning of concepts by students in a course. One of such factors is the use of technology (Butler et al. 2014; Revell 2013). This includes a vast array of applications including flipped classrooms that utilize class time for worked problems and provide online resources (that replace the traditional lecture) for students to access prior to (and even after) coming in to the classroom (Hibbard et al. 2015; Herreid and Schiller 2013). Other uses of technology to aid the learning process include using * Oluwatobi Odeleye [email protected] 1
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019, USA
smartphones to answer questions in-class, which can help the instructor measure content knowledge and understanding (Heflin et al. 2017), and using online homework systems to increase engagement and understanding outside of the classroom over the traditional pen and paper homework (Richards-Babb et al. 2011; Roschelle et al. 2016). Revell (2013) compared the use of different types of technology (online homework, using tablet PC and lecture capture/recording), in an introductory chemistry classroom and found that these technologies, particularly online homework (Sapling Learning) and t
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