(360e) Triggering Active and Cooperative Learning in a Web-Based Forum

Chemistry students at RWTH Aachen University are introduced to reaction engineering concepts as early as in their second year. While being well-trained in chemical synthesis, the students turn out to be ill-prepared for the math-based engineering approach. As an example, Fick' laws and mass balances are taught in the second year. The exam results are acceptable. However, re-testing the students' knowledge of these concepts two years later reveals that the subject matter was only memorized short-term but not really internalized. In order to avoid this learning-to-the-test, the effective use of problem-based assignments seems to be promising. When posted in a web-based forum, students can work on solving such assignments in an active and cooperative way. The positive influence of interactive discussions on reaction engineering problems has already been found highly motivating for more advanced students.

The students' attitude prior to the launch of the forum was rather positive (average 3.6 with a standard deviation of 0.81 on a Likert scale from 1 to 5, 40 students). This finding was not gender-specific. Passive participation (subscription) was strong from the start. Active participation (solving the problems) was initially started by just a few students. It is remarkable that despite the rather static character of a forum, a detectable degree of immersion was observed: students started to address avatars (virtual characters) in a direct manner, as if these were real characters. Reportedly, students continued discussing the problems in their spare time.