As part of the debate on throughput rates in the science faculty, an investigation was carried out into aspects of the adjustment of chemistry students from first to second year.  An intervention, in the form of a tutorial scheme, was implemented for CEM2008S and resulted in an increase in the percentage of students who passed as well as an improvement in the performance of the students.  The focus of this project has since shifted to the role of the teacher.  The majority of the people who teach at tertiary level are not qualified as educators, thus most of their knowledge is gained through apprenticeship.  Although tertiary educators have adequate content knowledge, they generally have no training in teaching, and may lack the ability to transform their content knowledge into teachable form.

Writing across the curriculum

The broad context of this research is the ongoing debate concerning the role of language in science education. The chemistry department introduced a writing component into the second year course in 1995. Writing tasks are carefully selected in such a way as to give the students some practice in the type of writing they might be called on to undertake in their future careers as well as to illustrate some of the chemical concepts covered in the curriculum. Workshops are held to scaffold the writing task and there are opportunities for one-on-one consultations with staff members.

Chemical Concepts Inventory

The implementation of outcomes-based education in South Africa is likely to significantly alter the proficiencies and attitudes of first-year students, and it behooves universities to anticipate and accommodate these changes.  In order to ensure a smooth transition from secondary to tertiary education, university lecturers should be well-informed about the content knowledge, conceptual understanding and skills development of prospective first-year students.  This objective of this study at the University of Pretoria and the University of Cape Town is to draw up a Chemical Concepts Inventory for first-year chemistry students upon entry to tertiary education.  The test instrument will be implemented unchanged over a period of five years in order to monitor the changing profiles of students during the transition period when students with different extents of exposure to outcomes-based education at secondary level enter South African universities.  During this transition period a new syllabus for physical science will also be implemented in the FET (further education and training) phase of secondary schools.  The results of the study will be used to inform teaching practice in chemistry at tertiary level.  

Skills for Success in Science

Several studies have emphasised the importance of addressing social and emotional factors in facilitating adjustment to tertiary education.  This paper describes the Skills for Success in Science, S³, programme for students registered in the Academic Development Programme at the University of Cape Town.  The broad aims were life skills development and improved adjustment which are assumed to underpin academic performance.  Weekly small group sessions were held which addressed several areas namely adjustment, group work and co-operative learning, coping and stress management, resources on campus, assertiveness and communications, time management, study skills and examination competence.  While not compulsory, attendance was very good.  Evaluation via questionnaires and focus groups provided positive feedback from students.  They valued the programme and described it as a ‘must’ for all first year science students.  Students noted the benefit of being in a group and the normalisation of their experience during their first year.  They spoke about the improvement they experienced in coping with the new demands of being at university and the sense of mastery they derived from the benefits of the programme.  The paper supports the notion that development of students’ needs should be located within their daily experience of themselves at universities.

REPRESENTATIVE PUBLICATIONS

Journal articles

Undergraduate Science and Engineering Students'  Understanding of the Reliability of Chemical Data. Davidowitz, B., Lubben, F. & Rollnick, M.S. Journal of Chemical Education, 78 (2), 247-252, 2001.