At Hunter College, nutrition and physiology majors are required to pass Essentials of General Chemistry (CHEM100) with a D or better, and nursing majors require higher grades for CHEM 100 and Essentials of Organic Chemistry (CHEM120) for matriculation into BS nursing programs.  Hunter requires a B+ or better, while other programs in the New York City area require a C+ or better.  Many of the students enrolled in these courses have not yet taken chemistry, or they took it in high school--for some that may be 5 years or more.  It is known that chemistry is difficult for chemistry majors, so it is very reasonable to think that it is difficult for health professional majors who may not consider themselves strong in math and the sciences. Currently, there are no required recitations for CHEM100 or CHEM120 for students to practice problems in a group setting.  We have developed a series of workshops that students attend in the Skirball Science Learning Center at the college where they can work on practice problems in a group with a dedicated TA to facilitate the learning process.  Data from workshop attendance, final exam scores, test question analysis, and final grades show that students attending workshops perform better in both courses than those who did not attend.  Comments from students also indicate the value of the workshops in developing core mathematical and analytical reasoning skills as applied to chemistry.<br/>

Peer-facilitated workshops enhances interactivity and student success in nursing chemistry sequence

256th National Meeting (2018)

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