Evaluation of a Keller type course in organic chemistry

Abstract

Evaluation of a Keller Type Course in Organic ChemistryA modified Keller course has been developed and used since 1972 to teach organic chemistry to first year undergraduates in the Chemistry Department at Surrey University. The need for innovation in teaching arose initially as a result of service teaching to biochemists. These students did consistently badly and worse then chemists, who followed the same lecture course, in the final examinations. This was due not to the biochemists' lower ability but to their lower motivation.The Keller Plan was imported into England in 1971 by physicists and was believed to be particularly suitable for conceptual subjects and not factual ones.1 Keller Plan is valuable for learning in discrete steps which take place in a prescribed order. Concepts in science are developed from experimental facts and facts must be considered as essential steps in the learning of systematic organic chemistry based on modern electronic theory. One doubts whether heterocyclic

A self-study, one-paced basic organic chemistry course

“…Which is true for students and teachers? "The organic chemistry course continues to be a traumatic experience for a large number of students" (7) or "Undergraduate organic chemistry education is in an excellent state of health" (2). Our own experience during the last ten years1 has shown that regular lectures were less effective than our approach for teaching the basic course in organic chemistry to chemistry majors.…”

Evaluation of a modified Keller method in a biochemistry laboratory course

“…From these evaluations the overall impression is that most students learn chemistry by the Keller plan at least as well as by traditional methods of instruction. Some reports even conclude increased learning as a result of Keller plan teaching (1,6,(13)(14)(15).…”