Teaching in context – EP Jacobs

Teaching Chemistry to Engineering Students (Engineering Chemistry 123 module)

Prof Jacobs is an associate professor within the Department of Chemistry and Polymer Science at the University of Stellenbosch.  In 2004 he was made convenor of Engineering Chemistry 123 and given the responsibility for teaching Engineering Chemistry to mainstream 1^st-year engineering students.  The Department of Chemistry and Polymer Science was the home Department for this module, which was shared 50:50 with the Department of Process Engineering.  In 2005 the intake was split according to language and Prof Jacobs was made responsible for the Afrikaans group, which became two Afrikaans groups in the following years.  Engineering Chemistry 123 is a 1^st semester course. Prof Jacobs’ involvement with Engineering Chemistry 123 ended in 2010 when that module was moved to the Process Engineering Department. The Engineering Chemistry 123 module offered a number of challenges. For one, it is shared between two departments form different Faculties, with its home department residing outside the faculty it is offered in, which makes the communication of goals and approaches difficult. Making changes to teaching methods or tutorial design in this kind of context is often problematic and viewed with suspicion due the more complex communication lines. Another challenge is the fact that it is a service course and engineering students, except for aspirant chemical engineers, seem to find it incomprehensible that they should be exposed to chemistry.  One of the values the subject holds for engineering students lies in the development of their metacognitive skills; they must learn to learn and to integrate concepts to solve problems.  For some indication of this – the extent to which concepts must have been mastered to solve what appears to be a simple problem, see the slide show: “What is the pH of a 250 mL aqueous solution containing 3.55 g of sodium sulfate?”  (In case the reader wondered, pH = 8.45.)  A further challenge in this context was the large class sizes and a shortage of tutors to help during tutorials.

Teaching Chemistry to Extended Degree Programme students (Chemistry 176 and Chemistry 199 modules)

In 2009, Prof Jacobs was approached to also lecture chemistry to the extended degree programme students of the Faculty of Engineering (Chemistry 199 module).  Since 2010 the extended degree programme students of the Faculty of Engineering was accommodated within the extended degree programme of the Faculty of Science.  In that year Prof Jacobs became convenor of the Chemistry 176 module and lectured the English engineering/physical and mathematical science student cohort.  In the second semester of 2010 he was also responsible for the tuition of the life sciences cohort. From 2011, he was made convenor of Chemistry 176.  He is currently responsible for teaching both the English groups. The challenges in this context differ markedly from those in the context described above. Classes are very diverse in terms of culture, language, exposure and academically – in terms of readiness) to name but a few. Many students do not see why they should be on this program. The focus of this program is not only on content, but on getting students ready to be independent learners who can succeed in their studies. This leads to questions about the most appropriate approach and the extent to which students in this programme can be trusted with their own learning. Coordination of the EDP programme resides within Dean’s office, which has been open to new ideas and supportive of justifiable changes.

Both these contexts provided Prof Jacobs with valuable opportunities to hone his skills, thinking as an educator, and to develop an understanding of the teaching and learning process. Whereas the logistical challenges in teaching Chemistry to engineers sowed the seeds for the later development of the Peer Assisted Group Learning (PAGL) method, the EDP context offered a small class environment with much simpler communication lines, within which he could refine this approach, with the help of the students and various colleagues.

The table below gives some indication of class sizes.  Prof Jacobs took personal responsibility to set all the tutorials, test and examination papers for courses he is involved in.  Prof Jacobs personally grade all summative tests and tutorial 4^th Questions.

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