Abstract:

In many cases, it is observed that in the practical sessions of subjects with a high experimental part, it is the teachers who take on the leading role, exceeding the role of guiding the students and turning them into an expository and non-inclusive activity. In this way, the process of acquiring knowledge implies a low level of interaction between the students themselves, as well as an impoverishment of the student-teacher relationship, leading to a loss of interest among students and a decrease in their ability to solve practical problems. This methodology, common in many practical subjects in the bachelor’s degree in Chemistry, contradicts the recommended role of university lecturers, since, as different authors have reported, "the task of the lecturer is no longer to deliver knowledge, but rather to teach how to acquire, process and update this knowledge effectively". This problem is particularly relevant in the practical subjects in the final years of the degree, which is precisely when students require practical work experience with a sufficient degree of autonomy to be able to face their integration into the labor market with guarantees. For all these reasons, this research project proposes the hybridization of different inclusive teaching methodologies so that students take the lead role in practical sessions, with teachers acting as advisors and guides for students, who must be able to develop their own ideas in response to the problems posed by the teaching staff. The aim of this study is to improve the quality of teaching in subjects with a high practical load in the bachelor’s degree in Chemistry, which will be applied to students in advanced courses. A total of 32 students participated in this project by solving a case study and simulating a crime scene. The students developed an initial hypothesis about the proposed case, which was validated and/or refuted after the analyses carried out in the laboratory. Following the concepts of the Flipped Classroom and Peer Instruction strategies, the teachers, developed a video so that the students could preview the proposed case, providing as many details as possible, so that the students could establish in pairs some initial hypotheses and identify the different analytical techniques to be developed during the 6 practical sessions. These hypotheses were shared with the rest of the students in the group (8-9 participants) and were the common thread throughout the project. After, they could work on the same case to recover all evidence that they considered. It is important to note that each practical group had a different case whose resolution depended on the results obtained after the application of the different analytical techniques (types of fibers, heavy metal positives, ...) with the aim of highlighting the importance of the role of the forensic chemist since from the same crime scene the resolution was different after the analysis of the evidence found.

Keywords:

Student role, Teacher role, Learning by doing, Peer instruction, Flipped classroom.