Professor Pines has been actively involved in the transition from the traditional classroom learning platform to the digital learning experience. The flagship course offered by UC Berkeley titled W1A presented by Dr. Mark Kubinec, with demos by Lonnie Martin, is an adaptation of Professor Pines' Chemistry 1A course.
A tradition classroom lecture showing a demo and related ChemQuiz from the Fall 2001 Chem1A course taught by Professor Pines:
Students responses for the above ChemQuiz are shown below with their first attempt on the left and their attempt after discussion on the right.
This course was later updated to use powerpoint and iclicker technology so that students could follow trends in their responses and facilitate more productive discussions during ChemQuizzes. Example of W1A Lecture give by Dr. Kubinec:
Example Demo from W1A:
The introduction of the ChemQuiz to the introductory chemistry curriculum has been instrumental in teaching students critical thinking and how to explain concepts to their peers. Students first attempt the quiz alone and then after viewing the distribution of answers for the whole class split up into groups to reach a consensus. Many times students will draw the wrong conclusion upon their first attempt and then after trying to explain their reasoning to their peers will realize their error and come to the correct conclusion on the second attempt. A significant amount of effort has gone into trying to preserve this peer learning environment in a digital setting.
Example ChemQuiz from W1A:
Professor Pines continues to investigate new techniques for administering ChemQuizzes on a digital platform, which takes advantage of the latest advancements in education technology including a dynamic and interactive online textbook, and group discussion forums for class assignments. Professor Pines has also included students interested in careers in academia to participate in the project as a means of developing both lecturing and course development skills.