Chemistry conceptions and misconceptions of undergraduate organic chemistry students

CHED 361

Jennifer M. Duis, duis3531@unco.edu, Chemistry and Biochemistry Program, University of Northern Colorado, Campus Box 98, Ross Hall North, Greeley, CO 80639 and Loretta L. Jones, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Northern Colorado, 510 20th St., Campus Box 98, Greeley, CO 80639.
As a student, Emil Fischer, one of the greatest organic chemists, despaired of mastering organic chemistry. It is not surprising to anyone who teaches or takes the course that organic chemistry is considered to be one of the most difficult chemistry courses undergraduate students from a variety of majors will face. Despite a number of efforts to improve the rate of student success in undergraduate organic chemistry, organic chemistry students' misconceptions, a factor that could have considerable impact on student achievement, has not been examined to any large extent. In order to add to the small pool of research on organic chemistry students' misconceptions, preliminary results from the development of a two-tiered diagnostic test of undergraduate organic chemistry students' conceptions of acid/base chemistry and related organic chemistry concepts will be presented.
 

Research in Chemical Education
8:30 AM-12:15 PM, Tuesday, August 21, 2007 Seaport -- Constitution Room, Oral

Division of Chemical Education

The 234th ACS National Meeting, Boston, MA, August 19-23, 2007