There is abundant literature in STEM education demonstrating the effectiveness of student-centered approaches to teaching at the undergraduate level. The results of research in this area have driven most governing organizations, including the American Chemical Society, to encourage faculty to adopt learning-centered strategies, but there is little evidence that the adoption is taking place. In fact, recent research indicates that physical chemistry faculty (among STEM faculty in general) overwhelmingly report the use of instructor-centered learning approaches. Course syllabi can be used as evidence for the learning-centeredness of a course, especially from a student’s perspective since the syllabus is the first contact students have with the instructor, course content, and policies. This perspective has important implications on what the student expects from the course and instructor. In order to describe the learning-centeredness of physical chemistry courses from the student’s perspective, we have collected over 200 recent syllabi from physical chemistry courses across the United States and evaluated them using an established rubric for learning-centeredness of syllabi. We have analyzed the learning-centeredness of physical chemistry syllabi in categories according to topic (i.e. thermodynamics, quantum mechanics, statistical thermodynamics, and kinetics), university type (i.e. public or private), university enrollment, and highest degree offered in the chemistry department, among other factors. Herein, we share the current results of this analysis in terms of overall learning-centeredness and individual criteria (i.e. learning goals and objectives, assessment activities, schedule, and overall learning environment). Our results demonstrate not only the current state of learning-centeredness of physical chemistry as evidenced by course syllabi, but what components of our syllabi could be modified to increase learning-centeredness from the beginning of a course.

Learning-centeredness of physical chemistry courses as evidenced by syllabi

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

[Author Benefits](https://scimeetings.acs.org/?utm_source=pubs_content_marketing&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=0320_MCF_NPI_Launch_Spring_Homepage&ref=pubs_content_marketing)

[How to use SciMeetings](https://storage.googleapis.com/dl.morressier.com/acs/SciMeetings-ACSSpring2020-HowToGuide_M3020-Final.pdf)

[Frequently Asked Questions](https://storage.googleapis.com/dl.morressier.com/acs/SciMtng_ACSNMSp2020_FAQ_M3120_Final.pdf)

ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.