Abstract:

The Chemical Problem Solving course was designed for students not eligible for General Chemistry I. The course consists of math, including the metric system taught by a math instructor; study skills/content-conceptual strategies taught by a reading teacher; and selected General Chemistry topics taught by a Chemistry instructor. The chemistry component is taught using the Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) method with in-class experiments when appropriate. Thus, after one semester, assessment, math, reading and student-centered participatory learning transition students into chemical problem solvers. Results showed that of the two cohorts of students who took this course, these student groups performed slightly better than regular students with a grade of C or higher in General Chemistry I. The ACS Toledo Exam (undergraduate placement test) showed significant gains in content knowledge by students taking CHE 104 Chemical Problem Solving.