Abstract:

Just in Time Teaching (JiTT) is a methodology that allows teachers to evaluate the students’ knowledge in the moment to initiate the teaching activities. This way, teachers can dedicate the class-time to the real necessities of the students, paying almost individual attention to them with a reasonable effort and cost[1]. On the other hand, this methodology promotes the continuous and autonomous work of the students, increasing also their interest and satisfaction[2].

The practical laboratory courses in most of engineering and science degrees are essential to enforce the concepts acquired during theoretical lessons. However, it is usually observed that the students start the laboratory activities without a good comprehension of the theoretical knowledge that they have to apply, hampering the development of the practices. Besides, some of the Chemical Engineering Degree (ChED) practical activities are semi-industrial scale, in which the students have to manage vapours, fuels distillation, large amounts of chemical reagents, etc. Thus, the knowledge of the laboratory safety norms, chemicals safety data sheets and set ups operating protocols is mandatory. However, up to know, it was difficult to ensure that the students were aware of all this information. In order to improve this situation in the ChED at the University of Castilla-La Mancha, JiTT questionnaires have been prepared, enhancing this way the safety and success of laboratory practices.

The questionnaires were prepared and launched as challenges in the Kahoot application, which had been previously used by some of the teachers with good results of students’ motivation. The participation in the questionnaires regarding to safety issues were mandatory in all the laboratory courses and those regarding the fundamental theoretical concepts were just recommended. However, high participation levels were achieved in both cases, confirming that all the students knew safety rules of laboratories and detecting the main problems in the acquisition of the theoretical concepts before starting the practical activities.

References:
[1] A. Perez-Poch and D. López, “Just-in-time teaching improves engagement and academic results among students at risk of failure in Computer Science Fundamentals,” in Proceedings - Frontiers in Education Conference, FIE, 2017, vol. 2017-Octob, pp. 1–7.
[2] E. Toriz, “Learning based on flipped classroom with just-in-time teaching, Unity3D, gamification and educational spaces,” Int. J. Interact. Des. Manuf., vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 1159–1173, 2019.

Keywords:

Just in Time Teaching, laboratory activities, Kahoot, safety, chemical engineering degree.