Promoting student learning through group problem solving in general chemistry recitations

The students quickly realized that they benefited most from the problem-solving sessions in recitation if they came prepared by doing assigned problems and keeping up with the material presented in the lecture. The mandatory attendance in recitation ensured maximum student participation and forced students to adopt more regular study habits. Students used other resources available, such as tutors, and made better use of office hours to get their assigned questions done before recitation. Therefore, an added bonus of this approach is an increased level of responsibility and a better study ethic adopted by the students - increased quality time on task. Students generally like working in groups to solve problems. Peer interaction and peer instruction are effective tools for learning, and are good motivators as well. To interact with peers effectively in order to solve a problem, students need to verbalize concepts and problem solving strategies. This is a more effective learning tool than memorization and drill. Good students achieve a higher level of understanding by communicating their ideas while students needing help get their questions answered by a peer who is often viewed as less intimidating. Students learn that chemistry problems are solved through logical thinking, and that simply reading a chapter or memorizing its content does not result in problem solving ability. Instructors benefit from watching the students and listening in on their discussions. This provides a great opportunity for the instructors to identify and correct misconceptions. Instructors also benefit from getting to know students better, as the recitations are smaller, and therefore provide a better setting for student-instructor interaction. The main impediment to introducing group work is usually large class size. We have shown that it is possible to enhance student learning by restructuring the course very modestly to include structured group work in addition to the traditional lectures provided by the instructors. Overall, the group interactions seemed to benefit the average to above-average students. Therefore, the model of using recitation sessions in general chemistry to solve problems in small groups is an effective tool to enhance problem-solving skills in chemistry.