Does Mechanistic Thinking Improve Student Success in Organic Chemistry?

The use of the curved-arrow notation to depict electron flow during mechanistic processes is one of the most important representational conventions in the organic chemistry curriculum. Our previous research documented a disturbing trend: when asked to predict the products of a series of reactions, many students do not spontaneously engage in mechanism use even when explicitly prompted to do so. Building upon those results, this study revealed that students who engaged in mechanism use were better equipped to solve organic chemistry problems but only those that involve transfer of knowledge.