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Creative exercises (CEs) consist of open-ended prompts to which students provide a series of relevant, distinct, and accurate statements, thus requiring that students make connections between concepts. In this study, CEs were incorporated into a one-semesterSurvey of Organic Chemistrycourse to identify what connections between chemistry concepts students made and what incorrect conceptions or misconceptions about chemistry students held. Students (N= 79) enrolled in the course first completed a practice CE as an in-class group activity followed by individually responding to a CE bonus problem on each of their four course exams. The number of different concepts students addressed for each CE increased over the semester, indicating that students made increasing content connections about course material; however, misconceptions about early concepts, such as nomenclature and assigning configurations, remained consistent throughout the semester. Furthermore, the CEs were found to be instrumental in shedding light on misconceptions and knowledge structures of students across varying performance levels. Overall, students reported that they viewed the CEs favorably and would like to see CEs incorporated in future courses.
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Capturing students' identification of the relevance of organic chemistry in writing
Appealing to students' affect in academic settings, such as demonstrating chemistry's relevance to their life, is one strategy instructors may use to support students’ in learning. This study investigates the types of connections that students make to organic chemistry when responding to an open-ended writing assignment. Students enrolled in an introductory level organic chemistry course were asked to choose and write about an organic molecule they felt was important to their life, in doing so students wrote about the molecule's relevance to their life. Analysis of the writing was supported by semi-structured interviews with a subset of the students in which they discussed their approach to completing the assigment. Conclusions from this study suggest that students successfully made connections between their chosen moleucle and their life. Considered through the lens of relevance, students can both seek and find relevance in organic chemistry topics on a personal, societal, or vocational level; and therefore may reinforce their comprehension and appreciation of chemistry.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1709718
- PAR ID:
- 10544599
- Publisher / Repository:
- The Royal Society of Chemistry
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Chemistry Education Research and Practice
- Volume:
- 25
- Issue:
- 2
- ISSN:
- 1109-4028
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 403-416
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1039/d3rp00161j
