Organic confusion

The challenge posed to students by organic chemistry has long been an area of interest in chemistry education research, and there have been a number of recent articles on the topic.

It has been shown that organic chemistry students are prone to developing persistent misconceptions and adopting rote memorisation strategies rather than engaging in meaningful learning, where they make connections between new information and prior knowledge. 

In this study, Anzovino and Bretz investigated students’ understanding of the concepts of nucleophilicity and electrophilicity, with a particular focus on the role of charges and mechanisms.