In a normal year approximately 3
months pass between students taking
their final examinations in high school or college and beginning an
undergraduate course in chemistry. In the months prior to those examinations,
students will usually have undertaken an extensive period of revision
and consolidation of the key concepts learned throughout their course.
Some of this will be supported by their teachers and some will be
independent study. The COVID19 pandemic resulted in the cancellation
of these examinations in the UK and Ireland, potentially leaving students
with a 6-month gap between their last formal study and beginning their
undergraduate courses. Insights from the literature and from teachers
of students in the 16–18 age range show that it is likely students
beginning undergraduate courses in the autumn of 2020 will have weaknesses
in subject knowledge compared to previous cohorts. This is likely
to be more significant in the areas of synthetic transformations in
organic chemistry and core physical chemistry topics. In this communication
we present a brief analysis of the potential issues with subject knowledge
in order that instructors in higher education may be better informed
about the potential challenges in teaching and learning following
the COVID19 disruption.
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