Is "Mere Understanding" Enough?
I have been writing about how my hope and expectation is that the iPad will bring "deeper understanding." I think that it does. I have seen it. I tell my students, "If you cannot explain it then you don't understand it." I still agree with this. I have seen the products of the student created screencasts. They marvelously explain difficult concepts like VSEPR theory. Yesterday we used iPads to create a screencast of three net ionic equations. When I asked my students if using the iPad helped them better understand the concepts they overwhelmingly say "Yes!" Only one student in my 1st semester General Chemistry class said no. When I asked them if they think that the iPad experience will help them on the next exam two said "I don't know" and the rest said "Yes." This is out of a total of 22 students. In my preparatory chemistry class we used iPads to create screencasts of students performing mole calculations and drawing a Lewis dot structure of an assigned molecule. I asked them if using the iPad helped them understand the chemistry better. Here are some of the students' comments:
"When you can explain something you learn it better."
"I was able to hear myself do equations step by step. "
"I'm a visual learner so seeing step by step of something really helps."
"This taught me that I must have all units and watch what I do. The slightest error can ruin the entire problem."
Even a student that was unsure if it helped commented:
"It wasn't that helpful to learn chemistry better, but on the other hand was helpful to learn how to explain my work"
And of course explaining the work was the point. In that class 23 out of 24 students completed their assigned screencast. When I asked them if it helped them learn chemistry better 12 said yes, 7 said they were not sure and 2 said no. The two that said no were two of the last students to complete their work in the three hour time given (actually they went over by a half hour). I think they were struggling with the technology as much as the chemistry.
But I think the data and comments overwhelmingly show that the students felt the iPad helps them understand better.
BUT!
But this just does not seem to be reflected in exam scores in the lower classes. In my higher level class, 2nd semester General Chemistry, I do think that the students understand VSEPR and Valence Bond Theory better after using the iPads and it does translate into better exam scores. But this just does not seem to be the case in lower level classes.
So here is my hypothesis.
