What Is in a Prerequisite? An Observational Study on the Effect of General Chemistry on Organic Chemistry Performance

Abstract

This study explores the importance of general chemistry as a prerequisite for organic chemistry lecture courses. The students taking organic chemistry were categorized into three groups: (1) those who had finished the prerequisite before starting organic chemistry, (2) those who had not finished the prerequisite before starting organic chemistry, and (3) those who were repeating the course. Most students in group 2, however, took general chemistry during the same semester. The general chemistry prerequisite was found to have a positive but minimal impact on student performance, yielding a slightly improved average and pass rate. However, the difference between groups 1 and 2 was not statistically significant. These results raise the question of whether or not general chemistry should be viewed as a required prerequisite. A few more responses to the implications of these results are offered including using placement exams and AP/IB scores to evaluate whether students require the prerequisite and using intended learning outcomes strategically when designing curricula. Lastly, these results can remind us, as instructors, of being aware of the assumptions we make about our students' knowledge and academic preparedness.

Understanding and Learning of Ionic Organic Reactions in Organic Chemistry Based on Acid–Base Theory

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The Impact of Modality Choice on Final Exam Success and Retention in a Concurrent Preparatory Chemistry Course

“…For students entering college with a set of strengths that does not include specific required mathematical and scientific skills, these support systems have often taken the form of costly, time-consuming, yet ineffective remedial courses. Though intended to help students, these courses have frequently been shown to be less effective than allowing students to enter college-level courses directly − and significantly hamper student time to degree…”

Benefits of a Prerequisite Majors’ (General) Chemistry Course in STEM Retention and Graduation Rates As Measured through Success in a Biology CURE Course

“…When comparing student retention in bioscience majors and the BioCURE lab grades, a few trends were found: (1) students significantly performed better in the BioCURE course after taking a semester of majors’ chemistry rather than nonmajors’ chemistry; (2) students performed better in the BioCURE course with prerequisite rather than corequisite majors’ chemistry; and (3) success (defined as a grade of A, B, C) in early chemistry courses resulted in higher retention and graduation rates both in bioscience majors and in other STEM fields. While Shultz et al and Sveinbjornsson independently investigated the effects of introductory chemistry courses in retention and success in subsequent chemistry courses, , the study herein examines the effect of chemistry instruction timing and type for a CURE-based biosciences laboratory course and the subsequent retention effects. The data argue that majors’ prerequisite chemistry should be encouraged for best academic outcomes.…”