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Topic: Organic Chemistry Pedagogy  (Read 10556 times)

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Offline Woopy

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Re: Organic Chemistry Pedagogy
« Reply #15 on: January 22, 2013, 05:54:28 PM »
I wouldn't say stumped (I got an A in O-chem I barely), but I am not confident at this stuff whatsoever. Organic Chemistry is like the vegetables on my plate that I am forced to eat before getting dessert (chem engineering classes)

Offline discodermolide

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Re: Organic Chemistry Pedagogy
« Reply #16 on: January 22, 2013, 06:00:59 PM »
It was exactly the same for me but the other way round. I had to endure fuel science before I got to O-Chem.
There is no way round it you will just have to grit your teeth and get through it.
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Offline Jorriss

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Re: Organic Chemistry Pedagogy
« Reply #17 on: January 23, 2013, 03:44:52 PM »
I thought much of organic chemistry was very intuitive when viewed from the perspective that there are nucleophiles and electrophiles and they attract. That was my generalization. It's certainly not a complete point of view (particularly for pericyclics) but it did me well through the courses I took involving organic. And resonance, understand resonance.

I too am on the physical side of things and you'll see as you go on the universe is not orderly and tidey. Only the simplest systems (virtually noninteracting) can be handled exactly or even near exactly.

Offline JGK

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Re: Organic Chemistry Pedagogy
« Reply #18 on: January 24, 2013, 02:32:16 PM »
To be honest I found Org chem one of the easier parts of my undergrad Biochem course (Morrison & Boyd was the textbook of choice), but that may be more due to the way it was taught.

My university used the Keller Plan system, where you are given a shortish reading list to complete within 1 week. After the week is up you sit a  test on the material and if you get the appropriate mark you are provided with a new list, if not you are asked to re-read and resit the following week. The system was designed to allow for a few retests and still complete the full course. It was by no means easy (80% was a pass) but I found it an effective learning tool.

It was also used in Biochem to teach us the metabolic pathways.

As an aside, if he's stumped and frustrated by Org. Chem. I'd think BioChem would be worse.

My point was that, possibly, breaking the subject down to "bite sized" chunks with frequent review could improve learning and understanding. It worked for me at the time in both Org chem and Biochem.
Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.

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