Share this article:
- Join our comunity:
One Professor’s Experience Using Reference Modules in the Classroom
In the case study below Professor Colin F. Poole, Subject Editor for the Reference Module in Chemistry, Molecular Sciences and Chemical Engineering shares his experiences using reference module content in his classroom over the past year.
What are Reference Modules? Trusted encyclopedia content covering a subject area in-depth, continuously edited and kept up-to-date by a team of editors well-respected in their fields of expertise. Available only on ScienceDirect—an online platform that offers DRM-free content, 24/7 access, and unlimited downloading and printing. Recommend Reference Modules to your librarian or click the link below to learn how you can win the Reference Module of your choice.
>>Win a free year of their choice of Reference Module for your institution.<<
Case Study: Using Reference Modules in the Classroom
Summary
Principles of Instrumental Analysis is an advanced undergraduate course taken by approximately 20 chemistry majors at Wayne State University during the Fall semester of each academic year. I piloted the CMSE reference module on ScienceDirect as the primary source of teaching and assigned reading materials for this class in Fall 2014 to gage student learning and outcomes with a view to adopting this source for future classes.
Challenges
I have taught this class for a number of years and have experienced difficulty in providing students with appropriate, up-to-date, and relevant information. Textbooks we have recommended in previous years are expensive (> $300), updated at infrequent intervals, and then only partially. At least half the course material covered in this class was out of date and presented a problem for both myself as the teacher as well as for my students.
Results
When I taught using the materials in the Reference Module instead of the traditional textbook, I was confident my students were accessing content that is in touch with contemporary practice. The module was able to provide comprehensive coverage of the course material with the flexibility to direct students to tutorials, targeted reviews, and specific applications at a level suitable for their needs.
I was able to select and recommend just the material that they were required to cover in the course and each article was time stamped and certified to be up-to-date. The experiment in using the CMSE modules to teach my instrumental analysis class was a success. The modules contain more information than the students sometimes require but this is easily handled by directing them to the sections they need to understand. The level seemed generally about right for advanced undergraduate courses. I will use the same approach for the Fall 2015 semester.
Professor Colin F. Poole
Wayne State University, USA
http://www.chem.wayne.edu/faculty/poole/
Subject Editor, Analytical Science and Chemometrics, for the Reference Module in Chemistry, Molecular Sciences and Chemical Engineering
Connect with us on social media and stay up to date on new articles
A field as broad as chemistry is cross-disciplinary by nature. Chemistry researchers, in their work or study, may encounter issues in materials science, biochemistry, chemical engineering, or a wide range of other disciplines. In addition to the major areas of organic and inorganic chemistry, Elsevier content covers advanced topics such as quantum chemistry, analytical chemistry, physical and theoretical chemistry, energy generation and storage, nano-chemistry, surface and interface chemistry, and environmental chemistry. This content is available over a spectrum of formats that includes journals, books, eBooks, undergraduate textbooks, multi-volume reference works, and innovative databases and online products like Reaxys. Learn more about our Chemistry books here.
