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Commentary
The First-Day Quiz as a Teaching Technique
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Abstract
The problem with chemical education today is not merely that the students are inattentive, that our instructors are incompetent, or that the subject is intrinsically difficult. I believe the problem is that the fundamentals of the subject are not imparted. As students emerge from the basic courses in chemistry, despite exposure to a range of specific topics, they are commonly unclear on the basic ideas and how they might apply to more advanced topics. In this contribution, I describe a first-day quiz for students in an advanced chemistry class, presented to them ostensibly as a test of basic knowledge. While this approach is not unprecedented, it is apparently rare, as it comes as a surprise to those colleagues I have discussed it with. The important objective of the exercise is to allow students to realize what they don't know about fundamental chemistry, which I have found makes them more receptive to chemical education.
Keywords (Audience):
High School / Introductory ChemistryKeywords (Domain):
CurriculumKeywords (Feature):
CommentaryKeywords (Subject):
Learning TheoriesCiting Articles
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This article has been cited by 1 ACS Journal articles (1 most recent appear below).
The Mole, the Periodic Table, and Quantum Numbers: An Introductory Trio
Raymond S. Ochs , Mali YinJournal of Chemical Education2001 78 (10), 1345The Mole, the Periodic Table, and Quantum Numbers: An Introductory Trio
Raymond S. Ochs , Mali YinJournal of Chemical Education2001 78 (10), 1345We suggest that three foundational ideas be presented at the start of an introductory chemistry course: the mole, the periodic table, and quantum numbers. Moreover, it is critical that nonessential detail be suppressed in order to provide a first-pass ...
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- Received: August 03, 2009
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