CHED 1535 |
| Morehouse College is a private four-year liberal arts college and primarily serves African-American males. The general and organic chemistry courses have been gatekeeper courses at the college for many years. Historic data indicates that the success rate in these courses has been 50-65%,which is well below the estimated national average. The authors implented PLTL for general chemistry in Fall 2004 and for organic chemistry in Fall 2005 to address the low success rate in these courses. The material utilized for PLTL was adopted from the avilable material and modified to be suitable for our courses.The modifications in general chemistry PLTL material were made to reflect the sequence of topics as covered in our course. The average success rate in first semester general chemistry has increased from 53 to 56% after the implementation of PLTL. The large decrease (18%) is observed in the number of Ws. The success rate in organic chemistry is between 68-74% which is approximately the same as before the implementation of PLTL.The uniqueness of general chemistry course at Morehouse,the profiles of students,the details of implementation,the results of student surveys, and the implications for the similar institutions will be discussed. |
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Introductory Chemistry - Research on Student Learning
8:30 AM-11:35 AM, Wednesday, April 9, 2008 Hilton New Orleans Riverside -- HEC B, Oral
Division of Chemical Education |