The aim of science education in the Atlantic provinces is to develop scientific literacy. Scientific literacy is an evolving combination of the science-related attitudes, skills, and knowledge students need to develop inquiry, problem-solving, and decision-making abilities; to become lifelong learners; and to maintain a sense of wonder about the world around them. To develop scientific literacy, students require diverse learning experiences which provide opportunity to explore, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, appreciate, and understand the interrelationships among science, technology, society, and the environment that will affect their personal lives, their careers, and their futures.

CDLI’s Chemistry program offers the following eLearning courses

• Chemistry 2202
• Chemistry 3202

Chemistry 2202

Description: Chemistry 2202 is an extension of the foundation chemistry topics of Science 1206. It consists of three major units of study: Stoichiometry, Bonding, and Organic Chemistry. Students are required to complete a minimum of eight laboratory activities that introduce, address, support, or extend key skills and knowledge outcomes. 80% of the evaluation items in Chemistry 2202 require use of problem solving skills. Science 1206 is a prerequisite for Chemistry 2202. An average grade of 65% or better in the chemistry unit of Science 1206 is a benchmark for students who plan to opt for Chemistry 2202.

Chemistry 3202

Description: Chemistry 3202 is an extension of Chemistry 2202. It consists of four major units of study: Reaction Kinetics and Chemical Equilibrium, Acids and Bases, Thermochemistry, and Electrochemistry. Students are required to complete a minimum of eight core laboratory activities that introduce, address, support, or extend key skills and knowledge outcomes. 80% of the evaluation items are problem solving oriented as per the public examination specifications for this course. An average grade of 65% or better in the chemistry unit of Chemistry 2202 is a benchmark for students who plan to opt for Chemistry 3202

Chemistry Courses at CDLI

During regularly scheduled chemistry classes, students log in to the learning management system, Desire to Learn (D2L). From this system students have access to learning content, the live classroom (Elive), email and discussion tools which allows interaction between their teacher and peers. It is also worthy to note that students have access to their D2L classroom and all its learning tools at any time of day from any location with an internet connection.

• Within the D2L Chemistry classroom student learning is organized by means of assignment drop boxes, calendars, online quizzes with automatic built in feedback, discussion postings and a multitude of learning materials and resources.
• Students attend regularly scheduled “live” class sessions with their chemistry teacher and classmates. In the E-live session students are engaged with course notes, animations, videos, and question strategies. Students are strongly encouraged to become active participants in their learning environment. Within the live session students are able to interact with their teacher and classmates with live chat and audio.
• Online “live” chemistry classes are recorded and posted for students to take advantage of in the event that they may need to review presented materials or if a class was missed. These recordings are available for the entire school year which can be a valuable tool for the end of the year study for final exams.

Required Lab Components:

• The core lab component of the chemistry courses are dealt with in a number of ways. Generally labs are done onsite with the supervision of an m-team member (in school teacher). If an m-team member is unavailable or equipment is unavailable at the school the science Lab itinerant is available to assist. A number of lab activities may also be handled virtually by means of EduWebLabs or prepared videos and presentations.

Evaluation:

Students enrolled in Chemistry by distance learning are evaluated using a variety of assessment instruments designed to assess achievement of the curriculum outcomes as described in the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador Chemistry Curriculum Guides.

Below is a description of the assessment instruments and information on how a student’s progress and final grades are calculated and reported.

Assessment Instruments

• Portfolio
  A portfolio is a collection of a student’s day to day work. Items that a teacher may require a student to submit include, but are not limited to, homework sheets, discussion postings, responses to textbook and other assigned practice items, and recorded contributions to in-class discussions.

• Assignments
  A typical assignment contains a variety of items such as multiple choice, completion, essay and problem solving items. The items are completed using available resources such as the textbook, web pages, and the on-line class notes. The e-teacher makes an assignment available to students as a section of work is being completed. Assignments are submitted to the e-teacher by electronic means for grading. The e-teacher provides feedback on submitted work and identifies the strengths and weaknesses of the student's responses to individual assignment items. Where appropriate the e-teacher offers remediation.

• Laboratory Reports
  Laboratory activities are a key component of Chemistry. Completion of laboratory activities by students is compulsory. The activities are designed to illustrate key chemical principles and theories and to build practical science skills.
  
  Laboratory activities tend to be group activities that require cooperation among the students enrolled in the course at a particular site. However, each student is expected to prepare a report independently that describes the activities carried out, the findings of the activity, and the interpretation, analysis and extension of the results.
  
  An e-teacher may require students to demonstrate specific laboratory skills and techniques. This can be accomplished by photographing or videotaping parts of an activity. In other cases, e-teachers and students may share control of electronic equipment that is used to carry out chemistry experiments.

• Tests
  A test generally consists of multiple choice and constructed response items. Test items are classified as knowledge, comprehension, application, or higher order items. Knowledge items require a student to provide definitions, lists, descriptions, labels and factual details. Comprehension items test a student’s ability to make comparisons, interpretations, translations or conversions, rankings, or predictions. Application items require a student to use information, methods, or techniques to solve word or mathematical problems. Higher order items involve critical thinking skills such as identification of patterns, formulating new ideas and making judgments. A typical test or exam may contain 30% knowledge/comprehension items, 50% application items, and 20% higher order items.

• Mid-Year Exam
  The mid-year exam is a comprehensive exam modeled on the Chemistry 3202 public exam. It will present items from the first two units of study in the course. It will be administered during the exam period in mid January.

• Final Exam
  The final exam in Chemistry 2202 is comprehensive - it covers all three units in the course. It is a provincial common exam that is developed on a rotational basis by one of the five school districts. CDLI teachers are generally involved in the development of the final exam. The exam is distributed by the school districts and returned to the specific e-teacher for correction.
  
  The final exam in Chemistry 3202 is comprehensive - it covers all four units in the course. It is developed and administered by the Division of Evaluation and Planning at the Department of Education. Additional information about the Chemistry 3202 Public exam may be found at http://www.ed.gov.nl.ca/edu/k12/evaluation/exams.html

• Supplementary Exam
  Any student of 2202 has the option of writing a supplementary exam in September of the following year. (see CDLI Policy book)
  
  Any student of 3202 has the option of writing a supplementary public exam in the summer following the June exam. Information on applying to write a supplementary exam is provided with the transcript issued by the Department of Education in July/August.