The International Network for Chemistry Language Development is a community of faculty and students that employ video conferencing technologies in collaborative learning experiences. Learners partner with an international peer at another university to complete online collaborative assignments (OCAs). OCAs focus on shared learning and professional…

Organic chemistry students at two universities, one in Canada and the other in the United States, connected using video conferencing software as learning partners for six online collaborative assignments. Mixed-methods analysis of interviews, surveys, and student-written reflections was used to identify barriers that students encountered during…

The use of online collaborative assignments (OCAs) between two flipped organic chemistry classrooms, one in Canada and the other in the United States, was examined for impact on learners. The intervention was designed to support content mastery, aid in increasing students' communication skills through chemistry drawing and verbalization,…

This article documents the experiences of two American professors who have taught in China and describes the similarities and differences between their students at home and abroad. Brian Coppola, who taught organic chemistry at Peking University (PKU), observes how the strengths in science preparation that Chinese students achieve in their…

A survey was conducted of four-year institutions that teach undergraduate organic chemistry laboratories in the United States. The data include results from over 130 schools, describes the current practices at these institutions, and discusses the statistical results such as the scale of the laboratories performed, the chemical techniques applied,…

The use of in-class stories is an excellent way to keep a class interested in subject matter. Many organic chemistry classes are populated by nonchemistry majors, such as pre-med, pre-pharm, and biology students. Trivia questions are presented that are designed to show how organic chemistry is an important subject to students regardless of their…

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education has become a key focus in the U.S. government's public education agenda. Many STEM degrees require the successful completion of undergraduate introductory organic chemistry (O-Chem), which is notorious for its difficulty and high attrition rate. Concept Maps (CM) have been used as…

We have investigated student difficulties with the learning of organic chemistry. Using Perry's Model of Intellectual Development as a framework revealed that organic chemistry students who function as dualistic thinkers struggle with the complexity of the subject matter. Understanding substitution/elimination reactions and multi-step syntheses is…

Undergraduate retention and eventual graduation is of paramount importance to universities globally. Approximately 58% of students who began their college career at a four-year institution with the intention of receiving a bachelor's degree actually received that degree in a 6-year timeframe, according to the National Center for Education…

This interrupted case study, developed for an honors seminar and a nonmajors chemistry course, is based on data taken from a series of published research articles. The case explores the unintended side effects of chemicals introduced into the environment, specifically organic compounds that can act as environmental estrogens. Students examine the…

The approaches of teaching organic (full year) and biochemistry courses in the United States colleges and universities are described. The revised courses are probably more useful and relevant for the students as they maintain and improve the education of chemistry majors.