Low DWF Rate General Chemistry Course: It Is Possible

Document Type

Contribution to Book

Publication Date

2019

Abstract

Teaching General Chemistry to a large group of college students is one of the great challenges at the university level. Student success in General Chemistry is linked to improved degree completion rates in STEM which makes this class of critical importance to society at large. As a foundational class for many science programs, a successful program allows students to learn this valuable material and progress in their academic careers. Using a math placement exam, five class periods per week, and frequent but manageable homework assignments, we have been able to provide an educational experience with a consistently low DFW rate while students achieve test scores above 50th percentile on ACS exams. This chapter explains implementation of these. We report student outcomes of DFW rates and ACS exam score averages, as well as correlation of math entrance scores with average grades and a general description of our General chemistry course.

First Page

33

Last Page

46

Book Title

From General to Organic Chemistry: Courses and Curricula to Enhance Student Retention

Editor

Supaporn Kradtap Hartwell and Tanya Gupta

Publisher

ACS Publications

Series

ACS Symposium SeriesVol. 1341

ISBN

‍9780841237483

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1021/bk-2019-1341.ch003

First Department

Chemistry and Biochemistry

Acknowledgements

FAR Report 2020

Link to Full Text

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