We describe the implementation of free computational resources in an Honors General Chemistry course at Wagner College. Lecture activities were created in the form of guided inquiry worksheets and replaced one-third of the conventional lectures with workshop style learning experiences.  The resources chosen were available at no cost to the student or the institution; and they included Molecule Calculator, Avogadro open-source application, Netlogo modeling suite, Kinetiscope, a stochastic kinetic simulator, and PhET simulations. Students used each program for 2-3 consecutive weeks. Activities were focused on modeling and simulations to further understanding of topics covered during the conventional lecture times. Student work was assigned and submitted through Google Forms throughout the course. Each computational activity was completed with a supplementary worksheet. Reviews for exams were created on concept maps using Coggle by the students. Student Assessment of Learning Goals (SALG) was completed at the end of the course by each student to evaluate whether students made learning gains and if the pedagogical goals were met.  Results were highly encouraging: majority of the enrolled students reported moderate to great gain in learning because of the computational activities that aided in visualizing chemical and physical properties. A majority of the students also reported that the computer activities increased their interest in the subject matter. However, there are some challenges to the integration of this model to a large classroom and those need to be examined carefully and customized to fit different student populations.

Computing in general chemistry with free resources

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

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