Information overload and limited laboratory time usually result in students focusing mostly on procedural tasks to get the results, rather than being engaged with what they are doing. Moreover, traditional laboratory curricula rarely provide students opportunities to repeat experiments. This study presents the design of a web-based application…

Organic reaction mechanisms are one of the most challenging question types in introductory organic chemistry subjects. We identified that the students within our health-based programs had traditionally performed poorly with these question types. With the aim to increase student engagement, we have developed a series of lightboard videos…

As a result of the COVID-19 disruption experienced in Spring 2020 many institutions had to close their doors and move their courses online. Our team used an existing set of virtual reality (VR) organic chemistry laboratory experiences developed for students with accessibility challenges as an online replacement for the face-to-face Organic…

Student learning and course performance are often improved when students actively engage with content. However, pedagogical practices that foster active engagement often rely on student-student and student-instructor interactions that may be difficult to adapt to an online environment. Here we describe a Collaborative Learning program that…

Our first-semester organic chemistry class focused on structured group work to enable active learning in class. When Smith College switched to online learning after spring break, the class was adapted to fit into an online learning model while retaining active learning. Using feedback from students, we implemented two tracks, one focused on…

A systems thinking approach to incorporating green chemistry and safety into laboratory culture is vital, as chemists will be at the molecular level of the innovative solutions to our global challenges. Training chemists to have the skills and culture to accomplish this feat in the safest way possible is pivotal to safe working conditions within…

Undergraduate research is well recognized as an effective high-impact educational practice associated with student success in higher education. Actively engaging students in research experiences is considered as one of the several high-impact practices by many agencies including the American Chemical Society. Developing and maintaining an active…

Most of the available information on studying under the challenging conditions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic emphasizes a variety of aspects on how to digitalize the whole teaching process. Thus, several useful and potentially game-changing strategies have been reported recently. In contrast to the digitalization of teaching, in this…

The purpose of the study was to determine the perceptions that senior high school (SHS) chemistry students, and teachers have about organic chemistry as well as to compare organic chemistry topics that are difficult for students and teachers. Simple random sampling (lottery) and purposive sampling methods were used to select a sample of 100 SHS…

The widespread transition to online teaching as a result of the global pandemic moved chemistry laboratory experiences online. At UBC's Okanagan campus, organic chemistry laboratory instruction was delivered synchronously to maximize student interactions with their teaching assistants. Two methods of online delivery were employed: (1) students…

Although experimental design is important in many fields and industries, most undergraduate students do not get exposure to this in a standard lab curriculum. This work describes a student-designed, multiple-week, flexible chemistry experiment with environmental applications that include factorial experimental design and analysis of variance…

An advanced undergraduate organic chemistry laboratory experiment involving a rhodium-catalyzed intermolecular hydrocarbon C-H oxidation reaction is described. In the initial phase of this lab, students conduct a C-H amination reaction of ethylbenzene and isolate a benzylic amine product. In the second part of the lab, competition experiments are…

Green chemistry and sustainable development have become increasingly important topics for the education of future chemists. The cross-disciplinary nature of green chemistry and sustainable development often means these subjects are taught in conjunction with other subjects, such as organic chemistry and chemical engineering. Herein, a…

Rapid development in the field of reticular chemistry has allowed scientists ever-increasing control over the design and synthesis of crystalline porous materials. The promise that this field has in the development of next-generation materials for numerous applications (gas storage and separation, catalysis, chemical sensing, electronics) relies…

In this organic chemistry laboratory experiment, students are guided through a series of exercises to understand the behavior of compounds during liquid-liquid extraction. Aspects of density, structure, solubility, acid-base theory, and pK[subscript a] are all incorporated into activities that students complete in groups. After using their initial…