Abstract:

Learning Pills (LPs) are short-term training units dedicated to specific topics, presenting information in a dynamic and interactive way. The student can use them autonomously, put into practice what they have learned easily and quickly, and their multimedia version facilitate learning in a very attractive way. They are independent units on specific aspects that can be integrated into a more general theme, but that have meaning on their own. They are learning objects (LOs), defined as “any digital resource that can be used as a support for learning” [Willey, 2001], which can additionally be reproduced in an unlimited way and are useful in different contexts and for different purposes.LPs are made as multimedia material, where videos, audios, graphics, etc., can be showed with a short duration (5-15 minutes). The learning process becomes more fluid and dynamic, interactivity being possible, the student being able to focus on those concepts that have a greater difficulty, training as many times as they wish.

Chemometrics can be defined as the application of mathematical, statistical and logical methods in understanding and solving chemical problems. Therefore, a significant symbiosis among these sciences can be considered. The study of chemometrics and its application in chemical analysis is very difficult for the student, since it requires knowledge of mathematical models and statistical techniques, which the student left behind in the first year of the degree or even did not have to study. It also requires the management of various software for its application. Therefore, the student does not see the usefulness of acquiring the knowledge of this subject, he does not believe that it is easy and he does not know how to apply it in a practical and correct way, so he does not feel encouraged during his learning.

For this reason, designing and making LPs that allow a concrete, direct and rapid approach to some of the most important and useful chemometric techniques in Chemistry, for the treatment of specific data applied to chemical analysis problems, can be very useful in the student learning process.

In these times of pandemic by Covid-19, the difficulty of learning Chemometrics has been added the difficulty of being able to have face-to-face classes, with the student in the classroom. This lack of face-to-face contact has made learning difficult.

This work presents the teaching experience of implementing the use of these LPs for Chemometrics applied to Chemical Analysis at the most necessary moment. Its effectiveness for this topic has been very successful and the students have been able to approach the learning of Chemometrics despite the difficulties of isolation at home.

Different LPs have been designed, such as, for example:
1. Univariate calibration in fluorescence measurements.
2. Study of the uncertainty of volumetric and gravimetric measurements in the laboratory.
3. Dixon contrast for detecting anomalous data of the hardness of tap water.
4. T-test comparing a certified value with an experimental value, applied to the analysis of aluminium in oral antacids.
5. T-test comparing the experimental metal biosorption capacity of defatted and non-defatted biomass.

Acknowledgement:
This work has been supported by Proyectos de Innovación y Mejora Docente-INNOVA, UCA 2019/20 ref. sol-201900138697-tra

References:
[1] Wiley, D.,2001. Learning objects need instructional design theory. In A. Rossett (Ed.), The ASTD e-learning handbook (pp 115-126). NY: McGraw-Hill.

Keywords:

Learning pills, Chemometrics, Chemical Analysis.