Interdisciplinary, Application-Oriented Tutorials: Design, Implementation, and Evaluation

Abstract

At Washington University, fifteen Web-based tutorials were developed for our general chemistry laboratory curriculum. Each tutorial accompanies an experiment, wherein the key concepts of each tutorial complement the key concepts in the corresponding experiment. These tutorials are interdisciplinary applications that help make connections between the students' science courses and their everyday experience. In fall 2000 we performed an assessment to gauge the impact of the integration of these tutorials into the laboratory curriculum on students' attitudes about chemistry and their performance on a chemistry proficiency exam. The study used a pretest–posttest format with a control-group comparison. Washington University students had significantly more positive attitudes about chemistry than did the control students. Evidence is also presented that suggests that this curriculum or the measures used in evaluating student performance therein are beneficial to the performance of female students. These online tutorials are freely available for use by instructors at other institutions.