A Comparative Study of an Online and a Face-to-Face Chemistry Course
Ozcan Gulacar
Texas State University—San Marcos
Fehmi Damkaci
State University of New York at Oswego
Charles R. Bowman
Texas State University—San Marcos
Abstract
While online and face-to-face (F2F) courses have been compared in numerous studies, there has been a lack of focus on online chemistry courses. This study was conducted to compare the success of students instructed in an online or F2F general chemistry course for non-majors. One hundred forty six exam questions were categorized according to Bloom’s revised taxonomy and student success on each problem was analyzed. Comparison of online and F2F courses showed significant differences at the lowest order of thinking, “remember,” with online students performing better than F2F students. A similar result was seen with the next order of thinking, “understand,” but there were no significant differences observed between online and F2F students for exam questions at the “analyze” level. The observed advantage for online students may be because online instruction promotes better memorization of facts or because students good at memorization gravitate towards online courses. No significant differences were seen between online and F2F courses when comparing the various chemistry topics covered in the exams. Online instruction appears to be as effective as F2F instruction when teaching introductory chemistry topics.
About the Author(s)...
Ozcan Gulacar is an Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Science Education at Texas State University-San Marcos. His research interests include problem solving, conceptual change, educational technology, and exploring cognitive variables in knowledge storage and retrieval. He teaches introductory chemistry courses and undergraduate and graduate science teaching methods courses. Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Fehmi Damkaci is an Associate Professor of Organic Chemistry at State University of New York Oswego in NY, with research interests in synthesis of heterocyclic natural products, development of new synthetic organic reactions, and online education. He is mainly responsible for teaching organic chemistry and general chemistry courses. Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Charles Bowman is a post-doctoral researcher at Texas State University-San Marcos, with interests in chemical education and the effects of technology and student attitudes. He teaches as an adjunct professor in the Department of Chemistry at Drexel University. Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
