ERIC Number: EJ1224934
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019-Aug
Pages: 6
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0021-9584
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Available Date: N/A
Using Retrosynthetic Graphic Organizers and Molecule of the Week Activities in Organic Chemistry Tutorials
Le, Christine M.; Morra, Barbora
Journal of Chemical Education, v96 n8 p1640-1645 Aug 2019
The tutorials of a second-year undergraduate organic chemistry course have been modified to include a retrosynthetic exercise in conjunction with a Molecule of the Week (MoW) challenge. In contrast to the original tutorial assignments in the course, which primarily focused on completing simple reaction roadmaps, the new tutorials place a heavier emphasis on retrosynthetic analysis and strategic synthetic design. MoW assignments are distributed to students prior to the tutorials, which progressively build on the course material and become more complex as the students' chemical toolboxes expand over the course of the semester. During each tutorial, students work with a teaching assistant to construct a retrosynthetic graphic organizer (RGO), which is then used to design an optimal synthetic route toward the weekly target molecule. Overall, RGO/MoW tutorials encouraged students to formulate meaningful connections between course concepts. In addition, students who regularly attended these tutorials applied their knowledge toward complex synthetic problems more effectively than students without RGO/MoW experience.
Descriptors: Organic Chemistry, Science Instruction, Teaching Methods, Molecular Structure, Scientific Concepts, Undergraduate Students, Assignments, Teaching Assistants, Concept Formation, Problem Solving, Decision Making, Student Centered Learning
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
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