Students' understanding of acids/bases in organic chemistry contexts

Cartrette, David P.; Mayo, Provi M

doi:10.1039/c1rp90005f

Cited by 91 publications

(131 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Rather than making a priori assumptions regarding the students' experiences (Marton, ), this approach allowed the researchers to learn from the participants about issues that were most pertinent to them. Our research, therefore, adds to the expanding list of qualitative studies on the learning of organic chemistry at the university level (Anderson & Bodner, ; Bhattacharyya, ; Bhattacharyya & Bodner, ; Bowen, ; Bowen & Bodner, ; Cartrette & Bodner, ; Cartrette & Mayo, ; Christian & Talanquer, ; Ferguson & Bodner, ; Grove & Bretz, 2010, 2012; Grove, Hershbarger, & Bretz, ; Henderleiter, Smart, Anderson, & Elian, ; Kraft, Strickland, & Bhattacharyya, ; McClary & Talanquer, ; Raker & Towns, ; Rushton, Hardy, Gwaltney, & Lewis, ; Strickland, Kraft, & Bhattacharyya, ).…”

Section: Guiding Research Questionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Culturing reality: How organic chemistry graduate students develop into practitioners

Bhattacharyya

Bodner

2014

J Res Sci Teach

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Although one of the presumed aims of graduate training programs is to help students develop into practitioners of their chosen fields, very little is known about how this transition occurs. In the course of studying how graduate students learn to solve organic synthesis problems, we were able to identify some of the key factors in the epistemic development from student to practitioner. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with four first-year organic chemistry graduate students enrolled in a course on organic synthesis and two third-year organic chemistry graduate students who were in the process of preparing an original research proposal in organic synthesis as a component of their Ph.D. oral qualifying exams. Three interconnected factors that fostered the students' development into practicing organic chemists were identified: (1) the students needed to perceive the material they were asked to learn in the course lectures and in other interactions with the professor as "real;" (2) they needed to work on authentic activities that provided concrete instruments for knowledge construction; and (3) the students needed scaffolding with a moreknowledgeable other in the form of feedback on the authentic activity. #

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Section: Guiding Research Questionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Culturing reality: How organic chemistry graduate students develop into practitioners

Bhattacharyya

Bodner

2014

J Res Sci Teach

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“…Among the conceptual prerequisites identified were electronegativity, bond polarity, Lewis acid-base theory, and identification of nucleophilic and electrophilic sites or functional groups in organic molecules. Cartrette and Mayo (2011) previously discovered that students often considered the relationships between nucleophiles/electrophiles and bases/acids only when explicitly prompted to do so. Cartrette and Mayo (2011) previously discovered that students often considered the relationships between nucleophiles/electrophiles and bases/acids only when explicitly prompted to do so.…”

Section: Reaction Mechanisms and Related Conceptsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Organic chemistry students' ideas about nucleophiles and electrophiles: the role of charges and mechanisms

Anzovino

Bretz

2015

Chem. Educ. Res. Pract.

103

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Organic chemistry students struggle with reaction mechanisms and the electron-pushing formalism (EPF) used by practicing organic chemists. Faculty have identified an understanding of nucleophiles and electrophiles as one conceptual prerequisite to mastery of the EPF, but little is known about organic chemistry students' knowledge of nucleophiles and electrophiles. This research explored the ideas held by second-semester organic chemistry students about nucleophiles and electrophiles, finding that these students prioritize structure over function, relying primarily on charges to define and identify such species, both in general and in the context of specific chemical reactions. Contrary to faculty who view knowledge of nucleophiles and electrophiles as prerequisite to learning mechanisms and EPF, students demonstrated that they needed to know the mechanism of a reaction before they were able to assess whether the reaction involved nucleophiles and electrophiles or not.

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“…For the topic of acids and bases in an organic chemistry context, it has been found that students correctly define, give examples, and employ acids and bases according to the Brønsted-Lowry definition, but that they struggle with defining and employing acids and bases according to the Lewis definition, which is the most prevalent one in organic chemistry (Cartrette and Dobberpuhl, 2009;Cartrette and Mayo, 2011). In addition, it has been found that students' mental models of acids and acid strength often rely on heuristic decision-making and superficial characteristics of the molecules as opposed to relying on coherent cognitive constructions of molecular acidity (Bhattacharyya, 2006;McClary and Talanquer, 2011).…”

Section: Student Understanding Of Fundamental Organic Chemistry Conceptsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Students' understanding of alkyl halide reactions in undergraduate organic chemistry

Arellano

Towns

2014

Chem. Educ. Res. Pract.

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Organic chemistry is an essential subject for many undergraduate students completing degrees in science, engineering, and pre-professional programs. However, students often struggle with the concepts and skills required to successfully solve organic chemistry exercises. Since alkyl halides are traditionally the first functional group that is studied in undergraduate organic chemistry courses, establishing a robust understanding of the concepts and reactions related to them can be beneficial in assuring students' success in organic chemistry courses. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to elucidate and describe students' understanding of alkyl halide reactions in an undergraduate organic chemistry course. Participants were interviewed using a thinkaloud protocol in which they were given a set of questions dealing with reactions and mechanisms of alkyl halide molecules in order to shed light on the students' understanding of these reactions and elucidate any gaps in understanding and incorrect warrants that may be present. These interviews were transcribed and analyzed using a qualitative inquiry approach and a modified Toulmin scheme. In general, the findings from this study show that the students exhibited gaps in understanding and incorrect warrants dealing with: (1) classifying substances as bases and/or nucleophiles, (2) assessing the basic or nucleophilic strength of substances, and(3) accurately describing the steps that take place and reactive intermediates that form during alkyl halide reaction mechanisms. In addition, implications for teaching and future research are discussed.

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Students' understanding of acids/bases in organic chemistry contexts

Cited by 91 publications

References 30 publications

Culturing reality: How organic chemistry graduate students develop into practitioners

Culturing reality: How organic chemistry graduate students develop into practitioners

Organic chemistry students' ideas about nucleophiles and electrophiles: the role of charges and mechanisms

Students' understanding of alkyl halide reactions in undergraduate organic chemistry

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