Online quizzes have been developed to help prepare first year undergraduate Chemical Engineering students for participating in group based assignments carried out in an inquiry-based learning (IBL) format. These online quizzes based within WebCT Vista allow the students to test their understanding of the fundamental chemical process principles required for the assignments before they participate in the IBL activity. Currently, the classes size is about 70 students therefore it is important to develop the students’ ability to carry out independent and self- directed learning to acquire these core skills. Using these online quizzes, the students are able to self-assess their strengths and weaknesses in the core chemical engineering principles and practice so that they come to the IBL group work more prepared. The effectiveness of the online quizzes has been evaluated, using a triangulation approach incorporating a student questionnaire, student focus group and project leaders’ interview. Preliminary analysis of the results suggests that the students have found the online quizzes beneficial for developing their core skills in chemical process principles. The presentation will provide: a showcase for the online quizzes created; feedback from the first cohort of students to use the resources; and lessons learned and future developments.

1. Use of online quizzes to support inquiry-based learning in chemical engineering Dr Diane Rossiter, CPE Dr Catherine Biggs, CPE Bob Petrulis, CiLASS

15. Figure 1 WORD file format for multiple choice style question Title: Mixer Flowsheet 2) Using the flowsheet for the mixer provided and assuming steady state conditions with no reaction occurring, determine the overall material balance and select the correct answer from the following options: @ For steady state conditions and no reaction, the overall material balance becomes: total mass flowrate IN = total mass flowrate OUT *a. A + B = P @ Correct. b. A - B = P @ Incorrect, B is an input stream. c. A + P = B @ Incorrect, P is an output stream. d. P + B = A @ Incorrect, B is an input stream. Not possible for calculated style questions! Mixer A (kg/h) B (kg/h) P (kg/h)

20. Other question style - matching

22. Key steps Step 1. Brainstorming core concepts and relevant Q’s Step 4. Type question directly into Respondus v3.5 e.g calculated Step 2. Type question into MS Word e.g. MCQ, T/F Step 3. & 5 Combine in Respondus & preview Step 6. Publish in WebCT & do settings Based on what students found hard in the past

25. Was it worth it? Student focus group Student questionnaires Project leaders’ interview

27. Student focus group 2 2. Eight students – Interviewer R. Petrulis (CiLASS) 3 rd March 2008 “ The homeworks made us work hard, but the quizzes really helped us learn how to do the homeworks.” Did everyone else do the quizzes and the homeworks as well? [Yes.] Did you find that one was more useful than the other? “ I tried the quizzes a couple times, and they weren’t very hard . The homeworks were more challenging, and you could talk to the teachers about them. That felt so much more helpful.” A couple of you said you didn’t use the quizzes at all. Could you say why? “ They were beneficial because of the immediate feedback . With the homework, it took a week or so. The online quizzes also referred you to the book and page for more information. If you just get a grade, that’s meaningless.” “ Because you could access the quiz more than once , that made it really helpful for revision.” How about the online quizzes? What worked?

28. Project leaders’ Interview 3 3. Interviewer – R. Petrulis (CiLASS), Interviewees – D. Rossiter and C. Biggs, 20 March 2008 DR: It reinforces that you could describe something in three different ways and it would have meaning to different people. It’s not that the quizzes, assignments and homework cover different things—they don’t. They make it accessible to different types of learners . I think that was highlighted by what you got in the focus group. CB: The point of the quizzes was to help those who needed the basics; not to challenge those who needed to be challenged, because the homework assignments were there to do that. I think this shows that we were right to set this up in the first place. BP: Those students said they preferred to do the homework. CB: That was quite interesting. BP: There were two responses (at focus group) that I got when I asked about the online quizzes. One was that the students found it helpful for learning the material and for revision. Another, smaller group, said they found them to be too basic.