Nick wants all of his students to have fun while learning. To simultaneously feel that they have a high degree of agency and autonomy, while also feeling continuously supported. After some experimentation Nick found that a structured flipped classroom model works best for him in achieving these goals. He shifted and condensed all lecture content online, with contact hours now devoted to students working in small groups. This classroom model lets the student progress through the material at their own pace. Nick believes it promotes meaningful student-student and student-teacher partnerships, by allowing students to rapidly self-identify what they are having difficulty with, as opposed to whole topics or sections, making it easier for them to approach him or their peers with questions. It also frees up time for Nick to work individually with students, to better encourage and support their learning. 

The switch to online resources and learning has, in Nick’s opinion, many benefits. Modelling is now a fundamental part of all chemical disciplines and hands-on training on how to use common modelling software and interpret the results is essential for a 21st century chemical education. Nick tries to build in these skills (simple coding, data analysis and simulation) into his courses and assessment. 

As so much of chemistry is about what molecules look like, Nick has increasingly moved towards setting graphical assessment items, where students use software to visualise molecules in 3D and then use these visualisation tools to fill in diagrams. He found that these types of problems really help student engagement and peer-to-peer activity and they allow more advanced material to be covered – by providing a simple, self-evident framework in which the problem needs to be solved. Nick also developed novel teaching aids e.g. spectrometer simulators, which serve the same purpose and link lecture content to hands-on training in the laboratory.  

I really enjoyed the lectures as the content was really interesting. I massively appreciated being given the script for each video, because it meant I could focus on what was being said rather than on writing everything down. The shorter video length was good and I found the quizzes a super super helpful way to check I was understanding everything.

Student comment, SELT 2023

The lecture videos were short and packed with information, which made them easy to watch and engaging. I loved the quizzes at the end of each lecture, as they helped me practice my understanding before the workshop. Then, I loved the workshop quizzes and lab quizzes, as they were great lengths and helped me practice my skills regularly. They also helped my practice for the midsemester exam, and minimised the weighting of the midsemester exam, which was a huge relief!

Student comment