Enhancing Organic Chemistry Education: The Impact of Simile-Based Drawings on Complex Theory Comprehension

Abstract

Cognitive complexity of organic chemistry due to abstract reaction mechanism, three-dimensional molecular interactions and symbolic representation poses significant learning challenges to students. Novel instructional approach is proposed which involves incorporation of simile-based drawings as cognitive, visual scaffold to understand hard concepts including electrophilic aromatic substitution, stereochemical inversion, resonance delocalization. Based on the theory of Cognitive Load (CLT) and Dual Coding (DCT), the present approach explains how conceptual images can lessen extraneous cognitive load and promote germane processing through creation of non-trivial mental structures by learners. Transforming of abstract molecular behavior into simple analogies, like making comparisons between nitronium ions and butterflies buzzing around the electron-rich "nectar" of benzene rings or the SN2 stereochemical inversion to an umbrella inverting in the wind, the method functions to transfer complex chemical theory into related models of thought. Using field-based case studies and classroom-based examples, the study demonstrates that instructor-created combined with student-created illustrations do not only enhance retention and conceptual understanding of content, but also enhance engagement, a feeling of ownership, and multimodal learning. Regardless of the scope of the institutional barriers in the form of the inability to attract sufficient visual teaching resources and train educators, the results highlight a transformative potential of simile-based graphics as a scientifically informed, scalable, and inexpensive innovation to promote organic chemistry education.

Keywords: Organic Chemistry Education, Simile-Based Graphics, Cognitive Load Theory, Dual Coding Theory, Student Engagement, Complex Concept Simplification