There are no two ways about it—solving synthesis problems is one of the more challenging tasks that students face in organic chemistry. One reason for the difficulty is the sheer number of reactions we deal with throughout the year, perhaps a few hundred in total. Invariably my students ask me if they need to know … Continue reading Bulls-eye: Tracking Reaction Usage Keeps Students on Target with Synthesis Problems
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
Better at Mechanisms, Better at Synthesis
I have long maintained that a greater mastery of mechanisms aids students in solving synthesis problems. The idea makes sense: the better a student understands how a reaction takes place via the mechanism, the better he or she will be able to incorporate that reaction into a synthesis when a specific modification to a molecule … Continue reading Better at Mechanisms, Better at Synthesis
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
How Do Students Respond to the Mechanistic Organization?
Elon professor Joel Karty discusses his observations of how students seem to have more understanding, command, and control of their organic chemistry education when taught via the mechanistic organization. Prof. Karty also talks about being pleasantly surprised by the more interesting questions that students ask after learning elementary steps. Watch this and other videos of … Continue reading How Do Students Respond to the Mechanistic Organization?
Textbook Cost: Is One Home Run Really Better than Two Doubles?
As any professor knows, the decision to change to new textbook is one that we don’t take lightly. Often, we have used a single book for several years and have a good handle on how to spread that text out throughout a semester efficiently. Maybe we have assignments and exams tailored to a specific text … Continue reading Textbook Cost: Is One Home Run Really Better than Two Doubles?
First Impressions: The Big Switch, Part 1
My entire academic career as both a student and as an instructor, I have always taught or been taught organic chemistry using the functional group approach: beginning with the tried and true method of labeling chapters by functional groups and then moving on to learn how to name, synthesize, and react with the functional group … Continue reading First Impressions: The Big Switch, Part 1
Flipping the Script: Mechanistic Organization Encourages Cooperative Learning
When I first heard Joel Karty speak about his mechanistic organization in his organic chemistry text around 2016, I had also heard a lot of buzz about flipping the classroom. I was very curious about trying this in my own classroom, but implementing self-directed learning with a more intricate discipline like organic chemistry can seem … Continue reading Flipping the Script: Mechanistic Organization Encourages Cooperative Learning
Karty’s Method Stands Alone, and With It So Can Your Students
One of the biggest (and sometimes the most difficult) decisions to make when teaching a course is the textbook choice. Knowing if you made the right decision can be tough to tell. Well, last semester I got some unsolicited feedback from students that put my mind at ease about deciding to adopt Joel Karty's Principles … Continue reading Karty’s Method Stands Alone, and With It So Can Your Students
The First Semester: A Slower Pace Wins the Race
In my last post, Results of Four Years of Teaching the Mechanism, I talked about the increasing ACS Organic Exam scores I have observed in my students over the previous four years of using the Karty approach. As I am preparing for the 5th year and the first time using the second edition this Fall, … Continue reading The First Semester: A Slower Pace Wins the Race