Contextualizing Learning Chemistry in First-Year Undergraduate Programs: Engaging Industry-Based Videos with Real-Time Quizzing Sylvia Urban,* Robert Brkljac ̌ a, Russell Cockman, and Trevor Rook School of Science (Discipline of Applied Chemistry and Environmental Science), RMIT University, GPO Box 2476, Melbourne, Victoria 3001, Australia * S Supporting Information ABSTRACT: First-year undergraduate classes present chal- lenges in teaching as they usually have high student enrolment numbers and students studying across a range of higher education programs that require a fundamental understanding of knowledge that is not perceived in their area of study. This provides a challenge in terms of engaging and maintaining student interest, primarily because students do not recognize the application of knowledge to their field of study. The challenge is to contextualize the content for the range of student cohorts within the one course. This is a common issue within many of the programs offered at RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia. The teaching pedagogy and learning design pattern developed address the implementation of activities that incorporate the flexible delivery of content, including online media-rich interactive learning via the creation of short videos, to illustrate the direct application and relevance of the content and thereby capture student interest and increase their motivation to learn. It also includes formative feedback to students via real-time student quizzing. In this case study, seven YouTube chemistry videos were created for a first-year undergraduate chemistry course. The videos created needed to be short, sharp, and engaging and were based on relevant chemistry topics taught. Each video created also included at least one Australian- based industry to give real-life relevance and focus as well as tailor them to the local student cohort. KEYWORDS: First-Year Undergraduate/General, Curriculum, Multimedia-Based Learning, Applications of Chemistry, Bioinorganic Chemistry, Carbohydrates, Kinetics, Lipids, Proteins/Peptides, Stereochemistry ■ INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND Improving the learning experience and involving students in the learning process are critical for lifelong learning and in promoting a knowledge economy. Research has shown that students learn far more deeply from words and pictures than solely from words alone. 1 Active learning, through which students become active participants in the learning process, is an important means for the development of student skills in that it encourages talking, listening, writing, and reflecting. 2,3 These four elements involve cognitive activities that allow students to clarify, question, consolidate, and appropriate new knowledge. 3,4 Videos and games, in particular, provide a diverse approach to the learning process and outcomes. 3 They allow for peer feedback in collaborative learning, address learning issues, and foster active learning. 3,5 Use of videos in science education has been successful in overcoming problems that cannot be eliminated using tradi- tional teaching methods (e.g., understanding and conceptual- ization difficulties and misconceptions). 6-10 Videos facilitate learning by allowing students to animate abstract chemical concepts in their minds 6,11-18 and make it easier for students to remember the important points of the subject matter. 6,19 Videos have a positive impact on acquiring knowledge 6,20,21 and contribute to the development of a student’s cognitive capabilities including interpreting, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. 22,23 The use of videos as teaching material also has a positive impact on a student ’ s motivation. 6,19,22 It has become increasingly more common to find videos of chemistry experiments, animations and simulations that explain abstract chemistry concepts, especially on YouTube, 6,24-28 thus making students’ conceptual learning of chemistry much easier. 29 Making use of videos in a teaching environment has changed the styles of teaching. 6 Instead of remaining passive, students actively participate in the learning process (e.g., problem-solving, knowledge building) in the classroom. 6,30,31 In the video production process, consideration needs to be given to “the content of the video, the chemistry knowledge to be offered, the use of suitable and effective images, and the length of the video.” To this end, “the teacher needs to have technological pedagogic content knowledge.” 6 Student-cen- Received: January 29, 2017 Revised: May 1, 2017 Article pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc © XXXX American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc. A DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.7b00063 J. Chem. Educ. XXXX, XXX, XXX-XXX