Can students learn organic chemistry by writing their own questions? Results from an experiment run in large sections of a university-level chemistry class at a large private university indicate that one active-learning strategy to help students learn mastery of concepts is to assign them to write questions for their peers, a type of learner sourcing approach. A randomized control trial design was used to determine whether students learned a concept better by answering a question or by writing a question. We have analyzed differences in test scores between the control and the treatment groups to determine that writing higher-order questions can improve learning for students. Important in the success of the strategy is sufficient scaffolding to help students learn how to write higher-order questions.

Effects of student-generated questions on learning: A classroom field experiment

ACS Fall 2021

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