A WEB-BASED TEACHING TOOL FOR MULTI-STEP SYNTHESIS IN ORGANIC CHEMISTRY: STUDENT PERSPECTIVES AND MOTIVATIONS

Web based organic chemistry practice tool that increases active learning have been shown to result in improved student success toward organic chemistry course. Undergraduate level Organic Chemistry course is formed of several subjects. Multi-step synthesis (retrosynthesis) is one of the most difficult subjects for students taking general organic chemistry. We built an online practice environment just for retrosynthesis topics. Data for the study were collected from the 2011 and 2012 second semester undergraduate organic chemistry classes.

The covariate analysis used to factor out the other factors such as student diligence, background knowledge, to clearly show the effect of online tool's effectiveness on students’ success. For both the 2011 and the 2012 classes, statistical analysis shows that website usage is connected to increased performance on the retrosynthesis topic. We also inquired motivational factors behind the students' website usage as well as increased student performance. We collected and analyzed data related to the way that students interacted with the site, and their perceptions of its usefulness. We found that student website usage is found to be positively correlated with some motivational factors more than others. Student perceptions of the usefulness of the site and the engagement with the site is highest for more self-determined students.