Solving organic chemistry reactions requires reasoning with multiple concepts and data (i.e., multivariate reasoning). However, studies have reported that organic chemistry students typically demonstrate univariate reasoning. Case comparisons, where students compare two or more tasks, have been reported to support students' multivariate reasoning.…

Solving problems in organic chemistry often requires the consideration of reaction mechanisms. As such, much research has been devoted to the examination of how students consider mechanisms when solving various types of organic chemistry problems, such as predicting the products of a reaction or proposing a synthesis. This article provides a…

Organic chemistry reaction mechanisms are central to the discipline of organic chemistry but challenging for students to learn and for instructors to teach. Due to the unique challenges surrounding the topic, reaction mechanisms have been the focal point of many studies within organic chemistry education research. This article provides a scoping…

Generating a testable hypothesis is a necessary skill for engaging in science, requiring both general reasoning skills and specific content knowledge of the phenomenon being investigated. While many students have the reasoning skills necessary for developing testable hypotheses in a general science context, it can be challenging for students to…

Research on student learning in organic chemistry indicates that students tend to focus on surface level features of molecules with less consideration of implicit properties when engaging in mechanistic reasoning. Writing-to-learn (WTL) is one approach for supporting students' mechanistic reasoning. A variation of WTL incorporates peer review and…

Chemistry education research demonstrates the value of open-ended writing tasks, such as writing-to-learn (WTL) assignments, for supporting students' learning with topics including reasoning about reaction mechanisms. The emergence of generative artificial intelligence (AI)technology, such as chatbots ChatGPT and Bard, raises concerns regarding…

Recent efforts in organic chemistry education research focus on investigating activities and strategies designed to elicit students' mechanistic reasoning. This study investigates how a scaffolded case comparison activity implemented in an introductory organic chemistry course elicits and supports students' mechanistic reasoning in an authentic…