Issue 3, 2012

Problem types in synthetic organic chemistry research: Implications for the development of curricular problems for second-year level organic chemistry instruction

Abstract

Understanding of the nature of science is key to the development of new curricular materials that mirror the practice of science. Three problem types (project level, synthetic planning, and day-to-day) in synthetic organic chemistry emerged during a thematic content analysis of the research experiences of eight practising synthetic organic chemists. Project-level problems include the overarching purpose of synthesizing target molecules. Synthetic planning problems include both the retrosynthetic analysis of target molecules and subsequent development of synthetic pathway proposals. Day-to-day problems include the ‘hurdles’ faced in research laboratories while attempting to realize proposed synthetic pathways. Recommendations are made as to how understanding of the three problem types impact undergraduate-level organic chemistry instruction.

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
22 Jul 2011
Accepted
03 Jan 2012
First published
17 Jan 2012

Chem. Educ. Res. Pract., 2012,13, 179-185

Problem types in synthetic organic chemistry research: Implications for the development of curricular problems for second-year level organic chemistry instruction

J. R. Raker and M. H. Towns, Chem. Educ. Res. Pract., 2012, 13, 179 DOI: 10.1039/C2RP90001G

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements