Helping students achieve effective meaningful learning in large-enrollment, introductory organic chemistry laboratory course can be a difficult task. Due to the abstract nature of the subject and the limited laboratory time available for students, it can be difficult for some to understand the connection between the observed physical properties, such as solubility, of different compounds and the chemical structures of those compounds. Since understanding the relationship between structure and properties is imperative for manipulating or purifying compounds in organic laboratory, a smart phone based learning paradigm, “OChem Lab”, was developed aiming to help students bridge the knowledge they have acquired through reading and their experience in the laboratory. Using organic extraction as an example, the application was designed with the theory of retrieval-based learning in mind and also incorporated formative feedback after a few iterations. The user interface mimics what students would see in the laboratory and students are asked to decide whether a given compound would be in organic or aqueous phase under given extraction conditions. It was introduced to students who are enrolled in the introductory organic chemistry laboratory course as an optional learning aid. Student usage and their perception of the application were assessed in order to incorporate student feedback in the iterative development process of the application.

Design and evaluation of a mobile learning paradigm aimed at improving organic chemistry laboratory instruction at undergraduate level

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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