The collaborative method as an alternative for experimental work in Organic Chemistry

Abstract

The Higher Education shows an increasing tendency to constructivism, innovation and active learning.At the Department of Chemical Biological Sciences (DCBS) of the University of Sonora, the facultyof the Organic Chemistry Laboratory applied the Collaborative Method (CM) based on leadership,since 2007. To evaluate the perception of students towards the effectiveness of CM, three testswere applied to 810 students enrolled on Organic Chemistry on the school years between 2007/1–2011/1. Results showed that more than 80% of team members got a grade of 90/100 or higher(Chart 1). The reliability of the tests was 0.993 and 0.953 for the Chart 2 and 3, respectively, accordingto the Cronbach’s alpha using the SPSS 19.0. The performance of the leader (Chart 2) was evaluatedthrough Likert’s Scale, obtaining an arithmetic mean of 4.6810±0.6826 based on a 0–5 scale. Besides,practice performance was positive with an arithmetic mean of 2.7887±0.4805 based on a 0–3 scale(Chart 3). According to perceptions of DCBS students, CM based on leadership was an effective alternativebecause it promoted satisfaction with laboratory practices results and team work dynamics.