Effect of presentation method on understanding of organic chemistry in an undergraduate animal nutrition course

An educator's goal is to always explain classroom material to his or her students in the most efficient way possible. Chemistry is a fundamental foundation to the study of animal nutrition, but the concepts of organic chemistry are very difficult to relay to students of animal science, possibly...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of animal science 2020-11, Vol.98, p.186-186
Main Authors: Smith, William B, Thompson, Ashlie N, Hines, Abbigail R
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal nutrition
Animal sciences
Carbohydrates
Chemistry
Cluster analysis
Colleges & universities
Higher education
Molecular structure
Nutrition
Organic chemistry
Relaying
Students
Three dimensional models
Three dimensional printing
Two dimensional models
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Summary:An educator's goal is to always explain classroom material to his or her students in the most efficient way possible. Chemistry is a fundamental foundation to the study of animal nutrition, but the concepts of organic chemistry are very difficult to relay to students of animal science, possibly due to the different types of student learners. It could be that mode of presentation may aid in relaying this information to the students. The sample for this experiment included students enrolled in an animal nutrition course at Tarleton State University. Students were presented with five methods of presentation of carbohydrate molecular structure in a laboratory session, each with an increasingly tactile approach: written description, printed 2-dimensional model, printed 3-dimensional model, ball-and-stick model, and self-constructing molecular model kit. Students were then asked to complete a survey to address effectiveness of presentation method. Data were analyzed using SAS v. 9.4. When addressing effectiveness of presentation method, the written description and the printed 2-dimensional model were rated as slightly-to-moderately effective (48.4 and 67.8%, respectively), the printed 3-dimensional model was rated as moderately effective (58.1%), the ball-and-stick model was rated as very effective (48.4%), and the selfconstructing model was rated as very-to-extremely effective (80.6%). Cluster analysis revealed that students chose any of the presentation methods over the written description with preference for the self-constructing model. Results are interpreted to mean that presentation of organic chemistry concepts in animal nutrition are more effective when kinesthetic presentation methods are employed.
ISSN:0021-8812
1525-3163