Undergraduate Chemistry Courses Research Articles

Drawing Methods for Lowest Energy Boat and Pentane Conformations

Pentane and boat conformations help predict and understand the stereochemical outcome of several chemical reactions. This report presents two methods that teach the processes of drawing the lowest energy boat conformations and pentane conformations. Both techniques use cyclohexane drawings that students learn in undergraduate organic chemistry courses. We provide step-by-step instructions for both techniques and show that implementing these methods results in improved student performance in questions related to boat and pentane conformations.

Equitable and Inclusive Practices Designed to Reduce Equity Gaps in Undergraduate Chemistry Courses

The adoption of equitable and inclusive teaching strategies in the undergraduate chemistry classroom is essential if equity gaps are to be minimized. Reducing these gaps will foster a diverse talent pool of future chemists to propel creativity and innovation. To cultivate an equitable and inclusive environment, instructors must engage in ongoing critical self-reflection, focus on students’ assets rather than deficits, create a relationship with the student as an individual, use best practices for engaging a diverse student population, and affirm students’ potential as scientists. Evidence-based strategies for successfully implementing transformation in the chemistry classroom and examples used in introductory chemistry courses are provided and discussed.

Gamified-online-quizzes-pharmacy-student-perceptions-of-learning-in-an-undergraduate-medicinal-chemistry-course

Introduction: In the context of pharmacy education worldwide and in Malaysia, the use of digital technologies to promote higher level thinking and discussions is seen as preparing the millennials as pharmacists in the 21st century. Together with leveraging on millennials' penchant for mobile technology, gamified online quizzes as an assessment tool that help promote active and collaborative learning in a Medicinal Chemistry course have been used. Objectives: This study investigates students’ perception of the impact of gamified online quizzes on their learning in a Medicinal Chemistry course. Method: This study employs mix method research comprising descriptive analysis, content analysis from informal chats and researchers' observation to gather the findings for the study. Three gamified online quizzes using Quizizz, were implemented outside classroom time, in place of traditional quizzes. Multiple attempts were allowed within a stipulated time. As interventions, post-quiz discussions were conducted during class time. Students completed an end-of-the-course survey. Results: Out of 63 respondents, more than 96% felt that the gamified online quizzes enhanced their learning as they learned from the instant feedback, their mistakes and post-quiz discussions. Overall student performance based on the percentage and accuracy of answering the quiz improved with time. Student qualitative comments on the survey, the course social media (closed group) and informal chats supported the findings from the descriptive data analysis of the study. Conclusions: From students’ perception, the gamified online quizzes were found to be enjoyable and effective in enhancing active, peer learning in an undergraduate medicinal chemistry course outside class time. For instructors, the online quiz served as an efficient tool for formative assessment in a large classroom setting, and could replace traditional classroom quizzes.

Efficacy of an Asynchronous Online Preparatory Chemistry Course: An Observational Study

In an ongoing effort to increase student retention and success in the undergraduate general chemistry course sequence, a fully online preparatory chemistry course was developed and implemented at a large public research university. To gain insight about the efficacy of the online course, an observational study was carried out in which student performance on final exams and performance in the subsequent general chemistry course were compared between the online cohort and a previous student cohort which completed the preparatory chemistry course in a traditional lecture format. Multiple linear regression analyses were used to compare final exam scores and general chemistry course grades between the online and in-person student cohorts, while statistically controlling for incoming student academic achievement. Results from these analyses suggest the fully online course resulted in statistically significant increases in both the preparatory chemistry final exam scores and course grades in the subsequent general chemistry course. Because the retention of less academically prepared students in STEM majors is a historical problem at the institution in which the online preparatory chemistry course was implemented, the analyses also aimed to determine if this at-risk group demonstrated similar achievement relative to the population at large. Notably, it was determined that students with the lowest incoming Math SAT scores appeared to perform better in the online course relative to the analogous group of students in the in-person course. Though the observational nature of this study does not allow for the determination of causality, these results suggest a fully online course can result in improved performance for large populations of students, without resulting in a negative achievement gap for less academically prepared students. The structure and implementation of the online course and the results from the statistical analyses will be described herein.

When Chemical Bonding is Perceived Simple and Interesting: The Design and Development of a Learning Object

The concept of chemical bonding is abstract and perceived as difficult. While it is a fundamental concept required to comprehend other chemistry topics, the learning outcomes are not always attained. Addressing this issue, our challenge was to create a learning intervention regarding a common, fundamental chemistry concept for students in a variety of undergraduate chemistry courses. We envisioned a learning product that invites students’ interest yet is challenging. This design case discusses the process, the literature that informs our design decisions, and strategies incorporated into the design of a learning object entitled Making Molecules: Dot Structures and Ionic Compounds to mitigate the learning issue. Discussion on the context of the project, design and development strategies, evaluation, and project reflection is presented as well.

The Science of Human Health—A Context-Based Chemistry Course for Non-Science Majors Incorporating Systems Thinking

The Science of Human Health is an undergraduate chemistry course for non-science majors. This course presents chemistry content following a systems thinking approach and was created with the goal o...

Integration of Laboratory Safety and Green Chemistry: Implementation in a Sophomore Seminar and an Advanced Organic Laboratory

Laboratory safety is a vital part of a chemical education and can be incorporated into courses throughout the chemistry curriculum. Discussions of laboratory safety can serve as an introduction to the important field of green chemistry. Exposure to this field can better prepare students for safer and more sustainable laboratory practices in research laboratories, graduate school, or careers in chemical industry. Activities integrating laboratory safety and green chemistry have been implemented in two undergraduate chemistry courses: a sophomore seminar and an advanced organic chemistry laboratory. Methods for introduction and assessment of these topics in both courses are described.

Distant learning challenges and solutions: Incorporation of 3D protein visualisation in an undergraduate pharmacy medicinal chemistry course


 
 
 
 The COVID-19 pandemic made distance learning an essential medium for teaching worldwide. The use of three-dimensional protein visualisation in teaching undergraduate medicinal chemistry courses was shown to be highly effective in increasing the students’ understanding and interest in the topic. The course was designed to use the visualisation tools in lectures, and students would then use them to study drug-target interactions and present their work as a part of the course assessment. With the pandemic induced-lockdown imposed early in the term, the faculty were faced with many challenges to keep the use of tools as part of the course. The lack of direct contact, differences in students’ computer literacy and availability of internet connections, in addition to the need for appropriate mediums for assignment presentations and assessment, were major concerns. In this case study the author presents the Faculty of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences at the University of Petra’s approaches to overcome the challenges faced in the course delivery and assessment.
 
 
 

A EXPERIMENTAÇÃO PELO OLHAR DE GRADUANDOS EM QUÍMICA: RELAÇÕES COM O CONTEXTO FORMATIVO

Esta comunicação apresenta um estudo com graduandos de dois cursos de Química, denominados curso de Química A e curso de Química B. Objetivou-se identificar as Representações Sociais (RS) desses dois grupos a respeito de “experimentação” e estabelecer relações entre essas representações e o contexto formativo desses graduandos. Para isso, utilizou-se a abordagem estrutural da Teoria das RS. Para a coleta de informações, que ocorreu com 117 sujeitos, empregou-se um questionário com 12 questões, das quais quatro referem-se à técnica de livre associação de palavras a partir do termo indutor “experimentação”, enquanto as demais são de categorização dos sujeitos de pesquisa. Para o tratamento das informações, e determinação das RS desses grupos, empregou-se a análise prototípica e a análise de similitude. Os resultados mostram RS diferentes para os dois grupos. Enquanto os termos do NC das RS acerca de “experimentação” para os graduandos do curso de Química A foram: laboratório, pesquisa e teste, para os licenciandos do curso de Química B foram laboratório, pesquisa e conhecimento. Identificou-se que ambos os grupos compreendem a “experimentação” como um aspecto inerente da Química como uma Ciência empírica. Porém, além disso, os graduandos em Química do curso de Química B concebem a experimentação como um processo no ensino da Química. Dois fatores podem ser indicados como contribuintes para a explicação dessa diferença: i) a estrutura curricular dos cursos; e ii) a participação em projetos de iniciação à docência.

A simple electrogravimetric experimental setup to determine Cu in alloy samples for teaching purposes

Electrogravimetry is a traditional analytical method for the determination of cations in aqueous solution, but the use of platinum as cathode and anode electrodes hinders its implementation in undergraduate chemistry courses with limited resources. This study proposes the replacement of expensive platinum electrodes by cheaper materials such as the dimensionally stable anode and Ni–Cr alloy as the cathode, which showed good performance in the determination of Cu by electrolysis at constant current (in galvanostatic mode). The proposed method achieved an electrogravimetric yield of 97.3 ± 0.9%, from a solution of CuSO4 during electrolysis carried out at 0.26 A for 60 min. The experimental setup was used to determine Cu in commercial scrap alloy waste samples containing Cu, Sn, Pb, and Zn, following a simple pretreatment employing ammonia solution. The Cu weight percentage obtained was 58.6 ± 0.5%, which was in agreement with a value of 59.4 ± 1.7% obtained using a comparative spectrophotometric method.

Changing Courses in Midstream: COVID-19 and the Transition to Online Delivery in Two Undergraduate Chemistry Courses

Following the declaration of COVID-19 as a pandemic by the World Health Organization, The University of British Columbia shifted their instruction to online delivery. This communication describes the foundational principles used in two courses: first-year Introductory Chemistry and upper-year Materials Chemistry, to navigate this transition. The authors outline their efforts to apply these principles effectively in the context of the differing logistical needs. Throughout this work, student perceptions obtained from course-specific survey data collected at the end of the January–April 2020 term are underlined. Lastly, this work summarizes our plans for remote content delivery in the fall of 2020.

Impact of the Emergency Transition to Remote Teaching on Student Engagement in a Non-STEM Undergraduate Chemistry Course in the Time of COVID-19

In Spring 2020, we began a study focused on the development of inclusive teaching practices in an undergraduate chemistry lecture course for non-STEM students. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing educational disruptions, we changed the design of our study to focus on the learning and teaching experiences of students and instructors. Here, we conducted student surveys before and after the emergency transition to remote teaching and analyzed data on student participation in the online setting. We observed that student engagement was likely negatively impacted by the emergency transition. We also found that lectures engaged students less after the transition. By contrast, course activities that did not heavily rely on a physical classroom, such as students blogging about their research of chemistry literature and crafting an independent research paper about a chemical question, were more effective in retaining student engagement after the transition. We also analyze student utilization of synchronous and asynchronous learning opportunities (for example, recorded lectures). We contextualize student engagement in the course relative to policies adopted by the educational institution, notably a mandatory universal pass/fail grading policy. Finally, we communicate thematic reflections from students, undergraduate peer tutors, graduate student teaching fellows, and the course instructor about learning chemistry and teaching non-STEM undergraduates in the time of COVID-19. On the basis of these studies, we recommend seven instructional strategies for teaching chemistry during sustained educational disruptions.

How do students become experts? An in-depth study on the development of domain-specific awareness in a materials chemistry course

ABSTRACT The need to develop clean-energy storage systems, harvesting technologies, and new functional materials are but a few of the many contemporary challenges in the domain of science today. To address these challenges, problem solving has become a key skill of the 21st century. It is generally documented, however, that experts and students differ in terms of their problem-solving skills. Experts in a domain are fluent in the use of different resources to solve domain-specific problems, whereas students stumble when using formulas, devices, or measurement methods. In most cases, the students are not aware if and why the resources are appropriate to solve the given problem. To acquire expertise in a domain, it is necessary to become fluent in the domain-specific resources. This means being aware of various resources and how they can be used reflectively in problem solving. In this study, we investigated how students’ awareness of various domain-specific resources developed within minimally guided, authentic research projects in an undergraduate materials chemistry course that focuses on crystal structures and its characterisation. By monitoring participants’ problem solving through audio-diaries and in-depth qualitative interview data, we examined to what extent their awareness of domain-specific resources developed. We further characterised productive moments of failure and uncertainty during students’ problem-solving processes that influenced their awareness. Thick descriptions of these moments facilitate understanding of how students’ awareness develops in a minimally guided, authentic learning environment and how students can become fluent in a given domain.

Students’ Responses to Emergency Remote Online Teaching Reveal Critical Factors for All Teaching

Our goal was to understand how students’ chemistry learning environments changed and how students responded to the wholesale transition to online learning. We deployed surveys to students enrolled in nine undergraduate chemistry courses at all levels. Survey 1 was deployed 2 weeks post-transition (N = 208); Survey 2, a week before semester’s end (N = 124, 1/3 new responders). Survey 1 asked students to describe pre/post-transition class and laboratory; to report extra-class resource use; and to write about their engagement, emotions, and motivation for learning online. Survey 2 asked students to estimate pre/post-transition verbal exchanges on a typical day; to respond to Likert-style questions constructed from Survey 1 comments; and to describe challenges of learning chemistry online including what they missed about laboratory. Results show classes changed little from a traditional lecture while laboratories changed dramatically from decision-rich first-person experiences to suboptimal passive observation. Students were sorted into profiles, according to described challenges and their adaptive behaviors. Written comments and verbal exchange data show students lost rich peer communication networks which was deleterious to understanding and motivation to engage and persist. Unexpectedly, this study pointed out more clearly the importance of cognitive processing limitations, social dynamics, peer interaction, real-time discourse, and hands-on manipulation in any educational setting (in-person or online).

Collaborative Group Learning in Remotely Taught Analytical Chemistry Courses

The use of synchronous remote teaching methods in two undergraduate analytical chemistry courses during the COVID-19 pandemic is described. Classes were convened using cloud-based video conferencing software, and the majority of class time involved students working in small groups on worksheets. All group activities were followed by a whole-class session in which students reported out and discussed the answers. Discussions allowed us to resolve differences in answers among the different groups, discuss interesting questions that arose in some of the groups during their discussion, and summarize the expected answers for questions on the worksheets. The incorporation of a group component into the final exam in one of the courses is described. Students indicated that they preferred the use of synchronous instruction to the asynchronous instruction that occurred in other courses. They also preferred having the opportunity to work in small groups. The active learning materials used in the two courses are available to instructors and students for free through the Analytical Sciences Digital Library. While class sizes in this report were small, the potential for using collaborative groups in larger classes is described.

Percepções de formadores de professores sobre as suas práticas pedagógicas

Ao longo dos últimos anos, têm ocorrido mudanças significativas no que se refere ao âmbito das instituições de ensino superior no país, e isto tem provocado discussões acerca da busca por atender as novas necessidades formativas e os desafios apresentados neste nível de ensino. Assim, cabe ressaltar a importância da compreensão do papel do professor universitário e a necessidade que este possui de modificar suas ações docentes em tempos de constantes avanços sociais e tecnológicos. Nesse sentido, o objetivo deste estudo foi analisar as percepções desses formadores de professores acerca de suas práticas pedagógicas. Neste estudo, serão apresentados os resultados provenientes de um questionário semiestruturado com seis questões, respondido por quatorze formadores de professores dos cursos de licenciatura em Química, Física e Biologia de uma universidade pública do país, sendo a análise dos dados realizada através da Análise Textual Discursiva. Os resultados indicam que os formadores de professores que conseguem fazer relação direta entre a teoria e as práticas pedagógicas possuem comprometimento com a profissão docente e buscam novas estratégias para utilizar em suas aulas, o que visa facilitar e incentivar o processo de ensino e aprendizagem dos licenciandos. Para isso, acreditamos que são necessários os esforços e compromissos tanto dos formadores de professores quanto das instituições de ensino superior, numa integração em busca da melhoria do ensino universitário.

Preliminary Evidence on the Effect of an Open-Source Textbook in Second-Year Undergraduate Analytical Chemistry Courses

The use of open-source materials is growing in popularity throughout higher education. This Communication investigates the impact on student performance in a second-year undergraduate analytical ch...

Periodic Trends in a Simulated Water Treatment Station: A Methodology to Engage Students in the Lower Levels of Inorganic Chemistry Learning

The comprehension of the reactivity of the elements is an important goal to be achieved in undergraduate courses in inorganic chemistry. Therefore, at Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCar), the B.Sc. in chemistry has a laboratory course dedicated to the chemistry of the elements. However, we have noticed a decrease in students’ interest in this discipline over the years. Hence, we decided to use inquiry-based methodology in a full semester of an experimental laboratory of “chemistry of the elements” in an attempt to increase their interest. As a guideline, we used the theme of water treatment to engage them in solving problems related to inorganic chemistry reactivity and noticed greater enthusiasm toward the curriculum and research methodologies. Furthermore, at the end of the course, both methodologies (traditional and inquiry-based) were evaluated by an anonymous questionnaire. By using a rating from 0 to 5 (ranging from worst to best), it was evident that the mean rate for the new methodology (4.2) was significantly higher than the rate given to the traditional methodology (2.3). The improvement in the overall performance of the report grades in comparison to the traditional methodology over the inquiry-guided one was complementary to the questionnaire, indicating that poor performance was diminished or even depleted. We believe that this methodology improved the students’ level of confidence and knowledge, indicating that it could be applied to any other laboratory course.

The Effects of Concept Map Teaching Strategy in Undergraduate Organic Chemistry Course

The Effects of Concept Map Teaching Strategy in Undergraduate Organic Chemistry Course

Das concepções de Ciência à disponibilização de produtos educacionais: uma possibilidade para aprimorar práticas pedagógicas no Ensino de Ciências

O presente estudo apresenta os resultados de uma pesquisa que objetivou conhecer as concepções de Ciência de futuros professores da Educação Básica e, depois, refletir sobre como tais concepções podem interferir nas práticas pedagógicas desenvolvidas no Ensino de Ciências. Os dados foram coletados com 81 estudantes, concludentes dos Cursos de Licenciatura em Ciências Biológicas e Química e sistematizados com a utilização do software Iramuteq (Interface de R pour les Analyses Multidimensionnelles de Textes et de Questionnaires). A análise dos dados evidenciou que as concepções, de forma geral, resultam de uma abordagem elementar e superficial da História da Ciência, nos cursos de formação de professores, e que tal situação pode resultar, a nosso ver, em implicações negativas à abordagem dos conteúdos em aulas de Ciências, uma vez que os mesmos tornam-se objetos de estudo sem estarem situados no tempo e na história e, por conseguinte, induzem os sujeitos a pensar a Ciência como sendo algo distante do seu tempo, da sua história e de suas vidas. Tais constatações fizeram emergir a elaboração de produtos educacionais, um vídeo e um curso on-line, de curta duração, com intuito divulgar a História da Ciência e, sempre que possível, subsidiar a abordagem da referida temática em salas de aula de Ciências.