This study investigated the strategies students in general chemistry and analytical chemistry courses used before and after instruction to solve a volumetric analysis problem in which the molar ratio was not 1:1. Questions like this have historically been very challenging for high school and undergraduate students. Student writing on open-response…

Global challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic highlight the need for visionary innovations in chemical education. We recently deigned a new learning environment called "ZuKon 2030", which addresses sustainability from a chemical perspective while simultaneously introducing students to the sustainable development goals (SDGs) of the…

Introductory chemistry courses tend to suffer from high failure rates. Success in an introductory course has been linked to how students approach learning. The aim of this study was to explore how students' learning approach was related to their success in the introductory chemistry courses measured by the ACS exam and the final course grade.…

In 1996, the Chemistry Department at Norwich University converted its two-semester General Chemistry course from a traditional lecture to a Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) classroom. The change to POGIL teaching in Norwich General Chemistry classes was brought about by a steady decline in student performance, as demonstrated by…

As the conversation in higher education shifts from diversity to inclusion, the attrition rates of students in the STEM fields continue to be a point of discussion. Combined with the demand for expansion in the STEM workforce, various retention reforms have been proposed, implemented, and in some cases integrated into policy following evidence of…

This work is focused on upper-secondary school students' ability to use the periodic table of elements to solve problem tasks. Eye-tracking and retrospective think-aloud methods were used to evaluate the reasoning behind the students' (N = 8) performance, i.e., to map the strategies they used and problems they faced when solving the tasks. The…

Can online learning strategies in general chemistry work as well as learning in an on-site classroom? As the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions eased in 2022, a cohort of first-year Chemistry majors took a general chemistry lecture course in hybrid mode: learning activities were undertaken online using a flipped classroom approach, while formal…

With the rapidly growing field of nanotechnology, there has been a pressing need to teach non-science undergraduate majors how to critically interpret science in popular media and news sources. The present work introduces students to chemistry concepts through the lens of relatable nanotechnology applications, including electronics, medicine,…

This article reports the results of a curriculum survey of 322 analytical chemistry instructors (92% U.S.-based) conducted during Spring 2021. This snapshot of current course formats, topics, and pedagogical methods will be useful to both seasoned and novice teachers of analytical chemistry. The majority of respondents reported that their major…

This study examined similarities and differences in study approaches reported by general chemistry students performing at different achievement levels. The study population consisted of freshmen enrolled in a required year-long general chemistry course at the U.S. Naval Academy. Students in the first and second semesters of the course were…

In this paper, we report on the implementation of a novel compute-to-learn pedagogy, which is based upon the theories of situated cognition and meaningful learning. The "compute-to-learn" pedagogy is designed to simulate an authentic research experience as part of the undergraduate curriculum, including project development, teamwork,…

A continuous effort within an undergraduate university setting is to improve students' learning outcomes and thus improve students' attitudes about a particular field of study. This is undoubtedly relevant within a chemistry laboratory. This paper reports the results of an effort to introduce a problem-based learning strategy into the analytical…

The research-based pedagogical strategy of flipped classes has been shown to be effective for increasing student achievement and retention in postsecondary chemistry classes. The purpose of flipped classes is to move content delivery (e.g., lecture) outside of the classroom, freeing more face-to-face time for active learning strategies. The…

A group theory course for chemists was taught entirely with process oriented guided inquiry learning (POGIL) to facilitate alternative strategies for learning. Students completed a test of one aspect of visuospatial aptitude to determine their individual approaches to solving spatial tasks, and were sorted into groups for analysis on the basis of…

College students often find general chemistry to be a very challenging rite of passage on their way to degrees in various science, technology, and mathematics disciplines. As teachers, we make efforts to simultaneously patch gaps in students' prior knowledge and instill valuable learning strategies and sound study habits. In this paper, we…