Organic chemistry can be challenging. Often, students might be cautious or reluctant to attempt the material. However, I use “starbursts” in my classroom when teaching organic chemistry through a mechanistic organization to keep my students motivated. Starbursts compile a range of reaction schemes and conditions to provide comparisons among key reactions, which allow students to … Continue reading Starbursts
If H Is on the Horizontal…Then It’s Horribly Wrong
As an organic chemistry professor, I find that Fischer projections are one of the more challenging perspectives to view chiral centers. However, this projection also happens to be one of my favorites for viewing chiral carbons, chiral compounds, and meso molecules. Even though the Fischer projection can be quite challenging, it can also be the … Continue reading If H Is on the Horizontal…Then It’s Horribly Wrong
It’s All in the Arrows
In organic chemistry, I find that arrows are critical to teach organic content in a mechanistic perspective because they tell the story of all organic transformations. I try to impress upon my students that the arrows in mechanisms can provide a clear indication of how to move electrons. Mechanistically, students struggle with knowing the difference … Continue reading It’s All in the Arrows
Rules of Thumb
Nearly every semester, I am asked a question that I’ve never been asked before. I have found that by giving students some rules of thumb (ROTs), I can help them understand the basics while also giving them specific strategies for solving organic chemistry problems. More recently, I’ve recognized that the mechanistic organization helps enforce my … Continue reading Rules of Thumb
The Far-Reaching Benefits of Teaching Organic Chemistry According to Mechanism
In my experience, the traditional method of teaching organic chemistry courses according to functional group often leads students to rely on memorization. For example, a single chapter on alkyl halides may include substitution reactions, radical reactions, and additions to alkenes. With such a large volume of information, it’s very difficult for students to manage and … Continue reading The Far-Reaching Benefits of Teaching Organic Chemistry According to Mechanism
Ballroom Dancing as a Metaphor for Learning Organic Chemistry
Students are notorious for feeling overwhelmed by the subject of organic chemistry. This leaves the instructor perplexed with the thought of effectively and adequately teaching the course. Often, the question posed is … "…to use or not to use reactions?" Both as a student and as an instructor, I have heard that students only feel … Continue reading Ballroom Dancing as a Metaphor for Learning Organic Chemistry
Proton Transfer Reactions and Thinking Like a Chemist
Teaching students how to think like a chemist is a challenging, but necessary feature of any organic chemistry course. A seemingly simple question such as, “How will these two compounds react when I mix them?” can stump even the best students. Since it is impossible to memorize every possible reaction combination, students must rely on … Continue reading Proton Transfer Reactions and Thinking Like a Chemist
Smartwork5: Immediate Formative Assessment Opportunities Help Students Work Smart
Here at Teach the Mechanism we are excited to introduce you to Dr. Christine Pruis, our full-time on-staff Chemistry Subject Matter Expert. In the following post, Dr. Pruis discusses her journey with authoring the Smartwork5 online homework and how this resource facilitates learning and understanding organic chemistry and mechanisms when paired with Joel’s text. Read … Continue reading Smartwork5: Immediate Formative Assessment Opportunities Help Students Work Smart
Winds of Change: Instructor Resources Make Switching to Karty a Breeze
I imagine any professor considering changing to a new textbook goes through the same dilemmas I did when I decided to switch. Even when we find a book that we know will benefit our students, we also know that there will be a time cost in making the transition. Faculty at schools of all sizes … Continue reading Winds of Change: Instructor Resources Make Switching to Karty a Breeze
Memorization Not a Choice: Learning to Remember
I have always approached my organic sequence as a mechanism-driven course. Every reaction that we discussed in class started with a mechanism to show how it wasn’t really anything new, but an extension of the types of behaviors we had learned to describe and anticipate. I avoided texts that listed reaction after reaction as completely … Continue reading Memorization Not a Choice: Learning to Remember