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Research has shown that students consistently achieve algorithmic understanding of chemical concepts more readily than the conceptual understanding we wish that they would also acquire. Concomitant with this research, chemical educators have increasingly called for reform in the way in which undergraduate chemistry is taught. The National Science Foundation has supported major initiatives to experiment with ways to change both the curriculum and the manner in which instruction is delivered. This paper reports results from one such study, Project REMODEL.
In REMODEL, we set out to narrow the gap between conceptual and algorithmic understanding in freshman chemistry. We implemented and evaluated innovations in lecture, laboratory, and assessment for students in the introductory sequence for majors, in order to provide the chemical education community with data on effective innovations and data on the barriers to successful reform. This paper reports on lecture and assessment innovations in the second semester course. In lecture students engaged in interactive group work in special lecture sessions, and assessment in the course moved from a heavy emphasis on mathematical problem solving to a mix of conceptual questions and more traditional problem solving questions involving the use of algorithms.
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