Web-based Interactive Organic Chemistry Homework

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Chemistry (12) Web-based programs have the potential to change the way science is taught, but, for instructors to invest the time and resources required to adopt them, such programs must have greater pedagogical value than traditional methods. A web-based interactive organic chemistry program, EPOCH, has been developed by team of faculty and students in the departments of Chemistry and Computer Science at the University of Kentucky (UK). The software is uniquely useful in several ways. 1. EPOCH requires a student to draw a chemical structure in response to a question such as, "Draw the product (or starting material) of this reaction," "Draw the compound that gives rise to these spectra," "Draw a resonance structure of this structure," "Draw the compound with this name," or "Draw a stereoisomer of this compound." The vast majority of other Web-based homework programs require text, numerical, or multiple-choice input. 2. If a student's response is incorrect, EPOCH provides feedback that explains why the response is incorrect and makes suggestions to guide the student to the correct answer. The author of a question decides what characteristics of a student's response (the presence of a particular functional group, the absence of a skeleton, the configuration of a stereocenter, etc.) should elicit what feedback from EPOCH. EPOCH never tells students the correct answer; they must attack the problem repeatedly until they solve it. Most Web-based homework programs do not offer feedback that is customized to particular errors. 3. Instructors can add new questions to the EPOCH database or modify existing questions to suit their own needs or to correct errors. In other programs, publishers usually fix the content of their Web-based programs and do not provide a mechanism for instructors to modify it. One current limitation of EPOCH is that it does not accept curved arrows representing electron flow (reaction mechanisms). In this project, a new version of EPOCH is being developed that allows students to address questions such as "Draw a mechanism for this reaction." Responses to this question type consist of a sequence of chemical structures and curved arrows representing electron flow. An evaluation of the effectiveness of EPOCH will be carried out after this enhancement has been added. Intellectual merit: The project is continuing to develop and evaluate a Web-based homework program designed for organic chemistry that has far greater capabilities than any program heretofore developed.Broader impact: The project is creating a uniquely valuable teaching and learning tool for a difficult course that is taken by large numbers of students across a wide variety of disciplines. A partnership with Prentice-Hall, which supported the initial development of EPOCH, is permitting wide dissemination of the enhanced EPOCH program.