Overcoming Barriers for Implementing International Online Collaborative Assignments in Chemistry

Abstract

Organic chemistry students at two universities, one in Canada and the other in the United States, connected using video conferencing software as learning partners for six online collaborative assignments. Mixed-methods analysis of interviews, surveys, and student-written reflections was used to identify barriers that students encountered during the international online collaborative assignments. Students described the barriers of their experience with online collaborative assignments in terms of course pedagogy or chemistry concepts, social interactions, and technology. Results were compared and supported by additional data sources. Students were successful at overcoming most barriers, demonstrating real-world problem-solving and a high degree of resiliency. Persistent barriers were identified and resolved by faculty through revisions to design and implementation.

An online international pharmacy summer course during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…However, such courses are expensive and may not be financially accessible to all students (Whatley, 2017). There are barriers to collaboration between students from different countries, even for students in relatively closely related countries such as the United States and Canada (McCollum et al, 2019). Such difficulties included different teaching styles and social interaction.…”

Emergence of Different Perspectives of Success in Collaborative Learning

“…Organic chemistry students at Sites 1 and 2 participated in a series of online collaborative assignments in an international partnership with a peer from the other university. While the collaborative experience for these two universities was designed to operate in the same way, the cultural backgrounds of the two populations was previously known to impact the international interactions (McCollum, Morsch, Shokoples & Skagen, 2019). Additionally, the disparate learning activities of their local classrooms shaped how team members experienced the collaborative learning, and hence influenced their reflections.…”

Chemistry Education Research in the Canadian Journal of Chemistry: expanded scope and guidelines for authors

“…2 Other educational research may be conducted in a chemistry course or setting for convenience but is not directly linked to the subject itself (i.e., collateral to CER); reports of these types of research are most suitable for general education research journals. 2,3 The areas of CER could include but are not limited to the following: laboratory learning, 4-7 pedagogy, 8 chemistry concepts and knowledge construction, [9][10][11][12] assessment, [13][14][15] technologies (broadly defined), [16][17][18] curriculum development, 19,20 emerging areas, 21,22 attitudes and beliefs (affect), [23][24][25][26] and equity, diversity, and inclusion. [27][28][29] Once an issue and research questions have been established, educational research is guided by one or more theoretical frameworks.…”