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  Home > JCE Print > Journal of Chemical Education > Issues > 2008  > September  >
On the Web
Teaching Reaction Mechanisms Using the Curved Arrow Neglect (CAN) Method
John H. Penn and Abdulrahman G. Al-Shammari
Department of Chemistry, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506-6045
Cover
September 2008
Vol. 85 No. 9
p. 1291
Abstract
A new method for teaching organic reaction mechanisms that can be used in a computer-assisted Instruction (CAI) environment is proposed and tested. The method concentrates on the intermediate structures that are assumed to be on the reaction coordinate and that can be evaluated and graded by currently available computer techniques. The "curved arrows" that show the electron flow in a reaction mechanism are neglected since they cannot be evaluated and graded with currently available computer techniques. We have termed this strategy the "curved arrow neglect" method for teaching organic reaction mechanisms (i.e., the CAN method). By allowing students to practice organic reaction mechanisms using the CAN method, student performance in drawing traditional reaction mechanisms, in which students had to include the "curved arrows" on their written classroom exams, was significantly enhanced. This CAN method for describing reaction mechanisms can be used in any CAI package currently available or to be developed. It requires only proper incorporation of the individual chemical structures of the CAN mechanism into an appropriate learning format (e.g., flash cards, CAI technique).
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Examples of the methodology
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Contents
  JCE2008p1291W.pdf
 
 
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Citation
Penn, John H.; Al-Shammari, Abdulrahman G. J. Chem. Educ. 2008, 85, 1291.
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Keywords
Chemical Education Research; Computer-Based Learning; Curriculum; Enrichment / Review Materials; Internet / Web-Based Learning; Mechanisms of Reactions; Organic Chemistry; Reactive Intermediates; Second-Year Undergraduate; Student-Centered Learning
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History
Created:
Last Updated:
8/4/2008
8/4/2008
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