The ability to draw organic mechanisms can be attained and maintained through repeated practice. While this has traditionally been accomplished with un-timed homework problems, the proliferation of sites that provide solutions to homework problems has resulted in some students getting the correct answer without altering their long-term memory. In collaboration with Chem21Labs users, iTRQs (interactive TRQs) have been created where students perform a series of steps in a certain span of time (e.g. 50 - 200 seconds).
In the Organic Mechanism iTRQ, if students can correctly draw the mechanism before the timer reaches 0 seconds, they will have completed the assignment for full-credit. If they draw the mechanism but it takes longer than the time on the timer, they have 1 completed mechanism . . . . the parameters of the iTRQ may require the student to submit 5 completed mechanisms outside the time to complete the assignment AND earn full-credit.
Early in the Organic curriculum students are introduced to "curved arrows" and "pushing electrons" with static examples like . . . .
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