Organic chemistry is a traditionally difficult subject with high failure & withdrawal rates and many areas of conceptual difficulty. To promote student learning and success, four undergraduate chemistry courses were “flipped” or "blended" in 2013–2015.1 The courses included organic chemistry and spectroscopy at the first to third year level (17–420 students). In the flipped courses, content traditionally delivered in lectures was moved online; class time was dedicated to focused learning activities. Short (2–15 min), specific videos were created to replace lectures. Online and in-class learning activities and assessments were created in alignment with the course's intended Learning Outcomes. One spectroscopy course was additionally blended in 2014. Students in that course chose to either complete an additional module or a complex group assignment. A learning evaluation was undertaken to determine the impact of the new course structure, using Guskey’s evaluation model. Students’ grades, withdrawal rates, and failure rates were compared between courses with a flipped or lecture structure. The results showed a statistically significant improvement in students’ grades and decreased withdrawal and failure rates in the flipped format, although a causal link cannot be concluded. Student surveys and course evaluations also revealed high student satisfaction. In the presentation, I will describe the flipped and blended courses' structures and evaluation, and some results of a new uOttawa initiative to support other faculty who adopt this format. (1) Flynn, A. B. Structure and Evaluation of Flipped Chemistry Courses: Organic & Spectroscopy, Large and Small, First to Third Year, English and French. Chem. Educ. Res. Pract. 2015, 16, 198–211.

Flipped & blended organic chemistry and spectroscopy courses: Structure and evaluation

251st National Meeting (2016)

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