Design, Implementation, and Evaluation of a Web-Based Board Game for Aiding Students’ Review of the Resonance of Organic Compounds

• Published in: Journal of chemical education Vol. 101; no. 3; pp. 1341 - 1347
• Main Authors: da Silva Júnior, José Nunes, Melo Leite Junior, Antonio José, Alexandre, Francisco Serra Oliveira, Monteiro, André Jalles, Vega, Kimberly Benedetti, Basso, Andrea
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Easton American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc 12-03-2024; American Chemical Society
• Subjects: Card games; College students; Colleges & universities; Games; Italian language; Learning; Learning disabilities; Organic chemistry; Organic compounds; Problem solving; Resonance; Spanish language; Students; Teaching methods; Undergraduate study; Molecular Properties/Resonance; First-Year Undergraduate; Computer-Based Learning; Digital Games; Organic Chemistry
• ISSN: 0021-9584; 1938-1328
• DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.3c00842

Research indicates that students frequently struggle to apply their knowledge of organic compounds’ structural theory to understand the concepts related to resonance and learn to use curved arrows to write resonance structures. Educators have developed educational tools and methodologies to aid students in overcoming their learning difficulties. This paper presents a virtual multilingual (English, Portuguese, Spanish, and Italian) card game to assist undergraduate students in reviewing resonance concepts and practicing drawing resonance structures. The game was implemented in Introductory Organic Chemistry courses in Brazilian and Italian universities as a fun game-based activity. The results showed that the game was evaluated positively by learners who considered it an alternative approach to traditional problem-solving classes.