1.3: How to Succeed in Chem 101 (or any course for that matter!)

Chemistry: Is it really that hard? 

STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), especially chemistry, often get a bad rap.  A few years ago, I was on a flight to San Diego for a conference. I started chatting with the passenger next to me, and we both asked what the other did for a living. When I said, "I'm a chemistry professor," they looked at me with panic and replied, "Oh, I failed chemistry in high school." While I joked that I wouldn't judge them for that, I also said I'd heard the same kind of thing before. It did make me start to think—as someone who's a chemist and loves chemistry—what makes chemistry challenging for so many people? Can it only be understood by a select few folks, with everyone else in the world forced to bang their heads against a brick wall trying to learn it? I couldn't bring myself to except that; I think everyone can learn chemistry, no matter what their background or experience!

Using your time to learn chemistry like a pro

So what's the secret to doing well in chemistry (or any subject, for that matter)? The answer is making time to prepare, and using the time you have wisely. The two questions I get asked the most about any chemistry course are 1) how much time should I be studying and 2) how should I be studying? Let's look at the first question in some detail. How much time should you be studying for chemistry, or for that matter, any subject?

I can tell you what the US Department of Education recommends. 

First, let's look at how a credit hour is defined. If you look at the Department of Education's 34 CFR 600.2 (part of the massive document called PART 600—INSTITUTIONAL ELIGIBILITY UNDER THE HIGHER EDUCATION ACT OF 1965, AS AMENDED), a credit hour is defined as, 

Credit hour: Except as provided in 34 CFR 668.8(k) and (l), a credit hour is an amount of student work defined by an institution, as approved by the institution's accrediting agency or State approval agency, that is consistent with commonly accepted practice in postsecondary education and that—

(1) Reasonably approximates not less than—

(i) One hour of classroom or direct faculty instruction and a minimum of two hours of out-of-class student work each week for approximately fifteen weeks for one semester or trimester hour of credit, or ten to twelve weeks for one quarter hour of credit, or the equivalent amount of work over a different period of time; or

(ii) At least an equivalent amount of work as required in paragraph (1)(i) of this definition for other academic activities as established by the institution, including laboratory work, internships, practica, studio work, and other academic work leading to the award of credit hours; and

(2) Permits an institution, in determining the amount of work associated with a credit hour, to take into account a variety of delivery methods, measurements of student work, academic calendars, disciplines, and degree levels.

 This credit hour definition is used nationally by all accredited colleges and universities. The part that's really important is highlighted in yellow. It means that, for every credit of a course that you're taking, you should be studying for at least 2 hours per credit hour. So, for a 5-credit course like Chem 101, you should be studying at least 10 hours per week. But STEM courses are often pretty involved because there's a lot of information to investigate; a better rule of thumb is to study 3 hours per credit hour, meaning you should be studying at least 15 hours per week. If you're taking a 15-credit load in a semester, this means you should be studying for about 30 - 45 hours per week outside of class. College is a full-time job!

So how the heck are you supposed to balance work and life outside of college if you're studying that much? Do you need to study that much? And how do you study? The answer to those questions lies in the practice of metacognition. 

Metacognition, or, how to take charge of your learning

Metacognition is defined as the ability to thinking about thinking. Using metacognitive techniques, you become consciously aware of yourself as a problem solver, and you monitor and control your mental processing. Metacognition puts you in charge of your learning and of being able to accurately judge your level of learning. 

Studying is about more than reading this book, reading your notes, re-writing your notes, or plain memorization. Sure, those are helpful things, but they're examples of passive learning. You need to be actively engaging with material in order to gauge your understanding of chemistry. 

What makes chemistry challenging is that it requires not just remembering or understanding information—yes, it requires those things—but it also requires you to apply what you've remembered and understood, and to analyze what you've applied. This process can best be explained using something called Bloom's Taxonomy for learning, shown in Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\). Bloom's Taxonomy is used by folks in education to explain the process of learning, with the most basic things being at the base of the triangle (remembering) and the most complex thing being at the top of the triangle (creating new knowledge). 

Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\). Bloom's Taxonomy. (By Tidema - Own work, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/inde...urid=152872571)

Chem 101 moves beyond just remembering, and forces you to apply and analyze knowledge. So how should you plan on studying for a course like this? This is where metacognition and the Study Cycle come in!

As mentioned above, metacognitive techniques are meant to help you think about your learning, and to develop habits where you study smarter, not harder. One of the best metacognitive strategies is to use something called the Study Cycle (see Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\) ). 

Figure \(\PageIndex{2} \) The Study Cycle. Reprinted with permission from Elzbieta Cook, Eugene Kennedy, and Saundra Y. McGuire. Journal of Chemical Education 2013 90 (8), 961-967. DOI: 10.1021/ed300686h. Copyright 2013 American Chemical Society.

The Study Cycle is the answer to cramming. It's designed to break a big task—studying for a quiz or exam—into bite-size pieces that focus on both what and how you're learning. There are lots and lots of studies that show cramming (trying to get as much studying as possible right before an exam) doesn't work. For courses where content is cummulative (like Chem 101), cramming is really bad because of the sheer amount of material. The Study Cycle forces you to be goal-oriented in your study habits and think about what you're doing. 

There are lots of effective metacognitive strategies besides the study cycle. Some of the big ones include

• Spend some time on chemistry (and your other subjects) every day.
• Solving problems without looking at an example, at a solution, or using AI to guide you. On a quiz or exam you're responsible for demonstrating what you've learned!
• Memorization is still important. If you're told to memorize something, do it as soon as possible! Trying to cram the bottom three levels of Bloom's Taxonomy into the day before an exam will only stress you out. 
• Ask why, how, and what if questions.
• Test your understanding by giving "mini lectures" on concepts. If you can teach someone else a difficult concept, that's a sign that you've mastered a concept. 
•  If available, go to group tutoring, one-on-one, or drop-in tutoring sessions. But be prepared to work! Tutors aren't homework machines. They've mastered metacognitive techniques and will help you so that you succeed. 
• Use the Study Cycle with intense, focused study sessions!
• Don't settle for 90% mastery—aim for 100%

Don't wait to try these strategies. Start doing them now to develop good and effective study habits!