Skills taxonomy driver for designing an independent learning course in environmental chemistry

Abstract

Most chemistry courses at secondary or tertiary level are still content-driven being delineated to a large extent by the answer to the question ‘what does the student need to know?’. A different question is ‘what should the student able to do?’ and it is toward this outcome-orientation that we have designed a skills driven, environment focused, independent learning, course at an introductory tertiary level. We have developed a taxonomy of problem-centred skills and used this as the driver in the construction of a context departure point, multiple media course. Inevitably the philosophy has led to a non-traditional structure. The most significant feature is a top down approach starting with the familiar, introducing ideas on a ‘need to know basis’ and developing concepts on a spiral curriculum. The result is that students with no, or very limited prior experience, can competently deal with, for example, problems relating to molecular architecture of drugs and receptor sites. The outcomes are deined in terms of behavioural objectives involving such skills as molecular representation and modelling, problem solving, team work, literature analysis and communication. A vital (but oft neglected) feature of educational innovation is an evaluation of effectiveness. Our investigation covers a wide range (background, age, gender, social class) of students, a significant number of whom lack previous experience of chemistry. Data indicate that prior experience/knowledge does not map directly to exit behaviour and that skills acquisition may be hampered by content loading. © 1999, Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston. All rights reserved.