Structured study groups empower student learning. I cannot write my final until my class finishes creating its multimedia text

"Structure and Reactivity" is the first-year chemistry course at The University of Michigan. Each Fall, 160 students in the 1200-student course earn Honors credit by participating in weekly 2-hour supplemental instruction sessions we call Structured Study Groups (SSGs). Students bring written assignments to the sessions and engage in structured peer group critiques facilitated by upper-level undergraduate leaders. Projects broaden and deepen the students\´ learning of associated course topics. In the second term, there is a separate section of the course where all of students are in SSGs. In these sessions, students represent their ideas in writing, orally, and through computational tools. Since 1996-97, one of the term-long projects requires all of the students contribute to the construction of a written and HTML literature-driven resource. Creating animations of reaction mechanisms and interactive correlation of spectroscopic assignments causes students to consider the subject matter in ways more aligned with an instructor\´s work. Ultimately, the multimedia text (print, CD, and web site) is fully owned by the students, and they must seek out each other\´s expertise in order to examine their understanding. The final examination in the course is based completely an the student-generated text.