What Makes Physical Chemistry Difficult? Perceptions of Turkish Chemistry Undergraduates and Lecturers

Abstract

This study aimed to find out student and lecturer perceptions of students' learning difficulties and possible solutions proposed by them to these difficulties in physical chemistry. The data for this study were collected from 91 chemistry majors and two lecturers from two different chemistry education departments in two universities in Turkey. The findings suggest that student and lecturer perceptions of students' learning difficulties are quite different, as well as showing some common themes. The common themes were about the abstract nature of concepts in physical chemistry, the overloaded course content, insufficient resources, teacher-centered and exposition-dominated teaching practices and the lack of student motivation in the physical chemistry course. The discrepancies between student and lecturer perceptions were mostly marked by the student and faculty frustrations. Students were critical of the course content, the resources available, the lecturers, and their teaching methods. Lecturers generally focused on factors that related to the course, such as overcrowded classes, lack of resources and staff, as well as the students' academic background and socio-economic conditions.