CHED 154 |
| Students in organic chemistry encounter problem types substantially different from those in general chemistry. Organic synthesis is particularly foreign because it requires students to apply detailed chemical knowledge within a logical framework. Undergraduate students often struggle with synthesis tasks, but the origins of their difficulties are not well characterized. Some difficulties likely occur as a result of inaccurate content knowledge, but students' problem-solving approaches may account for others. In this study, 12 undergraduate volunteers completed five syntheses while thinking aloud. Although specific solutions were idiosyncratic, participants tended to follow two routes to answers by forming and manipulating either 1) carbocations or 2) alkenes. Also, despite heavy emphasis and explicit instruction in retrosynthesis, nearly all students chose to work the problems in a forward manner, even when a starting material was not specified. This poster will provide specific examples and propose instructional approaches to address student difficulties in synthesis. |
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General Posters
7:30 PM-9:30 PM, Sunday, March 25, 2007 Hyatt Regency Chicago -- Riverside Center, Poster
Sci-Mix
Division of Chemical Education |