(In)visible items: object-based learning approach to organic chemistry

Organic molecules are invisible objects, but they can be visualized and manipulated using molecular models. The object-based learning (OBL) approach, which is an educational tool developed for museum and collection items, is tailored and applied to a first-year bachelor course of organic chemistry. At the beginning of the course, each student is allocated a single organic molecule that they examined using a multistep interdisciplinary approach through weekly activities. The results of this innovative approach are compared with those of a traditional course and indicate that OBL can effectively improve the performance, learning objective, and creativity of students.