The content of first year organic chemistry courses derives from available textbooks of the time. Student learning in organic chemistry ranges from rote memorization of reactions and associated data to solving complex problems using higher order thinking. It is clear that students have more to learn now than in former years and that instructor expectations of students have increased to include solving multistep syntheses, combined spectral and predictive mechanistic problems. What was once a trip through some basic organic reactions and processes for students has been transformed into learning expectations of a web of theory and mechanism, along with synthesis, problem solving and learning of bioorganic chemistry. The students have ever more learning aids available and a changing landscape of learning goals in their organic courses. Current emphasis is more on the how and why of organic chemistry than merely on what happens. Some future directions will be addressed.

Change is inevitable: A perspective on the evolving instruction of first year organic chemistry

255th National Meeting (2018)

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