Abstract:

With the emergence of distance learning, hybrid courses and web-enhanced course delivery, a number of institutions of higher learning are dealing with the pressures to compete in a “new academic marketplace”. Faculty are simultaneously dealing with their concerns to manage the fragile balance of addressing coverage of course content and the assessment of student learning, of effectively communicating and engaging the learning community, of facilitating the development of their students and of efficiently using technological teaching tools. Ineffective integrations of technology can either halt the process to conceptual understanding of course material or remove the “tool” from its proper place “as a means to” rather than “a focus of” the learning. One effective way to balance these faculty concerns is to use the “technological tools” to empower the learner with outside-of-class self-pacing and self-assessment activities, and to provide a means to supplement in-class instructional activities in an asynchronous manner that reaches a greater breadth of the class. Learning Management Systems (LMS) can substantially enhance any course when they are used as a medium for "digital office hours". As part of the ongoing development of the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education model, TIME (Thematic, Inquiry-Based, Mentorship with Enhancements), LMS has been incorporated in the introductory level courses in chemistry as a means to enhance entry to what have been traditionally the “gatekeeper courses” in chemistry. The digital office hour approach: (1) permits greater synergy between conceptual knowledge and contextual knowledge (thematic applications of chemical concepts), (2) provides a platform to address commonly shared misconceptions, and, (3) provides a means for peer-peer and faculty-student mentorship.

Keywords:

Learning Management Systems, Web-enhanced, hybrid courses, STEM education.