Redesigning Introductory Chemistry: A Student-Driven Model Curriculum

University Of Wisconsin-River Falls, River Falls WI

Investigators

Abstract

Chemistry (12) This project is reordering the topics and courses in the first two years of the chemistry curriculum to better meet the needs of students and their programs. The first year of the new curriculum introduces two one-semester courses in organic chemistry, replacing the scattered topics of the current two-semester general chemistry course with a central theme of the relationship between chemical structure and function/reactivity. More mathematical and theoretical concepts are delayed to inorganic and analytical chemistry courses in the second year, after students have mastered molecular concepts. The expected outcomes of this project include improved retention and progression of students in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics(STEM) fields, along with improved performance in chemistry. Students in both traditional and revised curricula are being tracked for performance, attitudes towards chemistry and science, and retention in STEM majors.