Representations are essential to organic chemistry assessment. More than 90% of organic chemistry ACS exams include representations, and the ACS Examinations institute includes visualizations as one of ten anchoring concepts. Yet, no assessment exists that measures student competence with representations of molecular structure. Therefore, we have designed a multiple-choice assessment grounded in Kozma and Russell’s representational competence framework, to measure student ability to (a) interpret, (b) translate, and (c) use common organic chemistry representations (condensed structures, Lewis structures, skeletal structures, dash-wedge diagrams, Newman projections, and chair conformations). Semi-structured interviews with 38 first-semester organic chemistry students informed item development and provided evidence that supports the face validity of the data generated via the Organic chemistry Representational Competence Assessment (ORCA). Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to establish the internal structure validity and the internal consistency of the inferences made with ORCA. In this talk, we will discuss what we learned about student representational competence when measuring and tracking these skills over time and the implications of these findings for research and practice.

Advancing our understanding of representational competence by measuring student ability to interpret, translate, and use representations of molecular structure

Where thousands of chemistry professionals meet to share ideas and advance scientific and technical knowledge. Spring 2023 abstracts, posters, and presentations will launch at the end of March.

ACS Spring 2023

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