The General Chemistry Primer is a digital tutorial originated at the University at Buffalo, SUNY (UB) to help students identify and address chemistry concept and skill gaps before beginning college chemistry. The included concepts correspond to an annual, onsite, three-day summer workshop for incoming students. The primer exercises were developed through collaboration with Pearson, Inc., using MasteringChemistry’s recent update supporting video enabled tutorials. The digital course format allows for far greater participation than the onsite course, with a simple implementation format. The tutorial exercises can be classified into three groups: mathematics for chemistry calculations, chemistry literacy, and selected pervasive chemistry themes (i.e. balancing chemical equations, mole theory, and stoichiometry). Tutorials include instructor-led examples similar to assigned problems, and hints with interactive, step-wise models to coach students. The question structure enables students proficient in a particular concept to efficiently proceed and allows students needing help to select the provided tools. This format was piloted and assessed for 200 incoming General Chemistry 101 students at UB prior to the fall 2015 semester. The General Chemistry Primer and UB implementation will be presented, including optional modifications and assessment results to date.

Speakers

Dr. Valerie Frerichs, SUNY Buffalo