A Blended General and Organic Chemistry Curriculum for the First Two Years of College Chemistry
T.R. Rettich, D.N. Bailey, J.A. Frick and F.J. Frank, Department of Chemistry, Illinois Wesleyan University, Bloomington, IL, USA 61702-2900

A two-year chemistry curriculum has been developed that integrates the teaching of General Chemistry and Organic Chemistry in each of the four semesters. Books for both years have been produced, and the first year of the curriculum has been taught at four different institutions. The results after the first semester are very encouraging: student satisfaction and retention were improved compared to those at the same time for a traditional General Chemistry course.

We shall discuss the philosophy of the course and the organization of the four semesters. In addition we will present up-to-date statistical information on the results of this "pedagogical experiment" following the first full year of the program.