ERIC Number: EJ1028492
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013-Nov
Pages: 4
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0021-9584
EISSN: N/A
Atoms-First Curriculum: A Comparison of Student Success in General Chemistry
Esterling, Kevin M.; Bartels, Ludwig
Journal of Chemical Education, v90 n11 p1433-1436 Nov 2013
We present an evaluation of the impact of an atoms-first curriculum on student success in introductory chemistry classes and find that initially a lower fraction of students obtain passing grades in the first and second quarters of the general chemistry series. This effect is more than reversed for first-quarter students after one year of instruction experience with the atoms-first curriculum, yet challenges with the second quarter remain. This study involves more than 8000 students over five years, with two-fifths of them taught using the atoms-first approach. It provides a cautionary example for the adoption of this approach.
Descriptors: Chemistry, Molecular Biology, Science Achievement, Teaching Methods, Science Instruction, Science Curriculum, Introductory Courses, Grades (Scholastic), Program Effectiveness, College Science, Undergraduate Study
Division of Chemical Education, Inc and ACS Publications Division of the American Chemical Society. 1155 Sixteenth Street NW, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 800-227-5558; Tel: 202-872-4600; e-mail: eic@jce.acs.org; Web site: http://pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A