Improving student success in chemistry through cognitive science

“…Additionally, acid-base chemistry is ubiquitous throughout the undergraduate chemistry curriculum (van Kesteren et al, 2018), while conformations, which are essential to understanding the antiperiplanar relationship, are only introduced in organic chemistry. The chemical education literature (Hartman et al, 2022) and our theoretical framework support the fact that students are more likely to utilize cognitive resources that have been repeatedly activated over time. To complement the deficit-oriented deductive codes, we also employed an inductive coding strategy in which we generated codes based on the trends observed in the student responses to the survey assessment questions (Table 3).…”

Section: Q1: E2 Eliminationmentioning

confidence: 53%

Analysis of Resources Applied to Rationalize Elimination Mechanisms

Gao

Outlaw

Liang-Lin

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Acid-base chemistry, an essential component of the undergraduate chemistry curriculum, is introduced in general chemistry and expanded on in organic chemistry. Previous research has linked student understanding of acid-base chemistry to success in organic chemistry. However, there remains a paucity of information regarding how students apply acid-base chemistry concepts in the context of organic reaction mechanisms. The purpose of this study was to analyze the resources activated in second-semester organic chemistry students understanding while solving problems on E1, E2, and E1cB elimination reactions. The resources activated were probed using a mixed-methods approach comprising survey assessments and think-aloud interviews, and the data were analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively following a validated set of scoring criteria. The results align with existing findings that students focus upon surface level structural information and use more familiar resources when solving organic problems. Acid-base resources were activated more often than reaction-specific resources such as conformational analyses or carbocation rearrangements. Acid-base resources aid students in successfully analyzing reaction mechanisms, but in general, additional resources must be activated to rationalize specific mechanisms and explain the products formed. The implications for teaching, assessment, and future research are discussed.

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“…In future iterations of the bootcamp, periodic review sessions on the bootcamp content throughout the first semester may strengthen the impact on mathematics competence. The bootcamp approach is most appropriate for students who have learned the bootcamp topics in previous courses . While students without this prerequisite knowledge may be best served by enrolling in the appropriate math coursework before enrolling in graduate physical chemistry coursework, these review sessions may facilitate the learning curve for all students.…”

Section: Future Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Incoming graduate students have diverse backgrounds and hence could be impacted differently in the short- and long-term by a peer-led problem-solving practice. Recent work in the cognitive sciences has shown that general chemistry students solve chemistry problems by recalling facts and algorithms from long-term memory and applying them to the problem at hand . If students have not previously learned these algorithms, problem-solving sessions may not have an immediate positive impact.…”

Section: Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of a Week-Long Mathematics Intervention for Incoming Chemistry Graduate Students

Clune,

Das,

Jasrasaria

et al. 2023

J. Chem. Educ.

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A student-led mathematics bootcamp has been designed and implemented to help foster community building, improve confidence in mathematical skills, and provide mathematical resources for incoming physical chemistry doctoral students. The bootcamp is held immediately before the start of the first semester of graduate school and uses an active learning approach to review and practice undergraduate-level mathematics problems over 5 days in small student groups. This work includes the development and presentation of a new, publicly available mathematics curriculum for the bootcamp on select mathematics topics, including calculus, linear algebra, functions, differential equations, statistics, and coding in Python, aiming at improving students' confidence and learning experiences in graduate quantum mechanics and statistical physics courses. Surveys before and after the bootcamp showed an increase in students' confidence in problem-solving in key mathematical areas and social aspects of peer-led group learning. Qualitative and quantitative analyses demonstrate that the bootcamp reduced prior inequities in students' confidence metrics based on gender and mathematical background.

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Improving student success in chemistry through cognitive science

Cited by 15 publications

References 47 publications

Analysis of resources applied to rationalize elimination mechanisms

Analysis of resources applied to rationalize elimination mechanisms

Analysis of Resources Applied to Rationalize Elimination Mechanisms

Development of a Week-Long Mathematics Intervention for Incoming Chemistry Graduate Students

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