An introductory normal phase column chromatography experiment is described and evaluated for second year undergraduate chemistry laboratory class. The experiment involves a nucleophilic substitution yielding a crude mixture of reactant and one product, both of which are brightly colored and contrasting, creating a clearly visual separation when…

A flipped classroom describes a class where students complete readings and watch lectures outside of class, while in-class time is spent on activities to practice content learned. The implementation of a flipped classroom approach has been shown to increase student learning and student enjoyment of courses. This paper describes using the flipped…

This project introduces green chemistry to the undergraduate laboratory through two pedagogical techniques: undergraduate research and guided-inquiry. Through these two learning activities, an efficient synthetic procedure for the PRINS cyclization of citronellal into isopulegol, focused on minimizing negative environmental impact, was developed.…

Catalysis and catalytic cycles are widely used in both research and industry. The addition of a catalysis experiment into the undergraduate laboratory curriculum is important and necessary training to expand student learning. Here, an experiment demonstrating iron-based tandem catalysis was developed and implemented in an organic chemistry course…

To remain globally competitive, education in the United States must focus on retaining students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). As laboratory courses have the potential to be powerful attractors or deterrents to a field, developing effective laboratory pedagogies is important to retain students in STEM. A course-based…

A drug discovery project has been successfully implemented in an advanced undergraduate organic chemistry laboratory. In the laboratory, a five-step synthetic sequence is used to prepare five analogues of 13-phenyl-1-tridecanol. These compounds are key precursors in the synthesis of 2-oxo-14-phenyltetradecanes. This class of compounds, isolated…

Asking students to explain why phenomena occur at a molecular level is vital to increasing their understanding of chemistry concepts. One way to elicit students' mechanistic reasoning and guide construction of knowledge is through Writing-to-Learn (WTL), which is a promising approach for students in organic chemistry courses. In the design of WTL…

A national survey on chemistry instructional laboratories was administered to faculty members at four-year postsecondary institutions in the United States for the purpose of exploring levels of inquiry-based instruction implemented in laboratory courses. Respondents were asked to rate the level of choice their students had in deciding six key…

Spaced practice is a recognized effective study approach that fosters mastery of learning and retention of information. In this paper, we share one instructor's experience in introducing a spaced practice intervention in a large general chemistry course and in encouraging students to continue the strategy in the next semester organic chemistry…

Understanding reaction mechanisms is integral to success in organic chemistry; however, prior research suggests that learners struggle with recognizing the importance of underlying implicit features in reaction mechanisms. Because of this struggle, understanding how learners' reason about reaction mechanisms and developing assessments to elicit…

This paper describes the design, implementation, and evaluation of an inquiry-based laboratory for sophomore-level organic chemistry into a mostly cookbook, existing laboratory curriculum. For the laboratory, students were required to generate their own procedures and use their own recorded data from prior laboratory assignments to identify an…

Organic Chemistry I presents challenges to many students pursuing diverse fields of study, oftentimes curtailing further progress in those fields. The ability to identify students at risk of unsuccessful course outcomes may lead to improved success rates by offering tailored resources to those students. Previously identified predictors include…

Molecules and Computer: Chemistry Calculations in Class (MC[superscript 4]) is a computational laboratory intended for final-year high school or undergraduate students. The topic is the antioxidant potential of anthocyanidins, which is chemically related to their radical scavenging action via the mechanism of hydrogen atom transfer (HAT). This…

An inquiry-based learning approach was implemented into comprehensive organic chemistry experiments focusing on the formation process of N-phenylbenzamide from the reaction between N-benzylideneaniline and benzoyl peroxide in commercial dimethyl sulfoxide. Students conducted comparative experiments using alternative reagents or reaction conditions…

The perception of 3D features from 2D representations depend on their number of salient features, recognizable canonical axes, and orientations. Informed by form-perception literature, we proposed a hexagonal prism as an external reference frame to identify positions of elements in relation to each other and the observer when studying Diels-Alder…