Gibbs Free Energy Equation As effective educators, it is the professors’ responsibility to help students become engaged in the materials presented, no matter how boring or dry the topic might be on any particular occasion. Yes, I am saying that sometimes, even my own area of interest can be less than riveting when presented in the classroom. And, as hard as I try to make understanding the Gibbs Free Energy Equation inviting and exciting, students are not always caught up in my fervor for the material. In order to make such information more digestible and in fact, to get your students really engaged, there is a multitude of resources available to mobilize your students’ enthusiasm.
An active classroom is an engaging classroom. Here at CSUN in the biology department, many of our faculty have introduced competitive games into the students’ classroom experience. Using freely available web-based apps and programs such as Kahoot.it, PollEverywhere.com or Socrative (to name only a few), faculty tap into the natural desire to WIN that students (and everyone else, including department chairs, deans, and provosts) display when presented with a game. Unbeknownst to the students, grappling with real issues of biological importance during a game provides time for practicing and using biological concepts and ideas that reinforce learning. Students compete in real time for “real” prizes (nerdy science shirts or other swag usually received free from vendors, candy donated by faculty, and even money!).
An active classroom is an engaging classroom. Here at CSUN in the biology department, many of our faculty have introduced competitive games into the students’ classroom experience. Using freely available web-based apps and programs such as Kahoot.it, PollEverywhere.com or Socrative (to name only a few), faculty tap into the natural desire to WIN that students (and everyone else, including department chairs, deans, and provosts) display when presented with a game. Unbeknownst to the students, grappling with real issues of biological importance during a game provides time for practicing and using biological concepts and ideas that reinforce learning. Students compete in real time for “real” prizes (nerdy science shirts or other swag usually received free from vendors, candy donated by faculty, and even money!).
View of a Kahoot Quiz.
What do you need to get started? Not much! I recommend trying Kahoot.it for the easiest learning experience. Make a short set of questions (3-5) and launch the game in the classroom. Students can use their cell phones to play. As the game proceeds, once a question is presented and answered, a bar chart showing all the responses is displayed, providing the perfect opportunity to discuss common misconceptions that might have lead to a large percentage of students picking the incorrect answer. Students are awarded some crazy number of points based on how quickly they picked the correct answer. And when the game is over, you can download an excel spreadsheet showing how each person responded to each question. Give everyone in class credit for being there and making an honest attempt at answering or use this as a quiz (be careful here since students are trying to be the fastest to get the correct answer). Your class will be fun and interactive, and students will learn without ever knowing it. Happy Kahooting!
Blog post by Mary Pat Stein, PhD. Professor Stein is an Associate Chair, Biology and Academic Technology Fellow at California State University, Northridge.
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