The United States is experiencing a severe shortage in technical majors such as engineering, chemistry, and math throughout higher education. It is therefore necessary to take a deeper look at why students are not choosing technical majors, what courses or concepts give students the most difficulty, and what makes them so difficult. One such course is general chemistry. General chemistry is a first year (freshman) course and can act as a filter, in which students who find the material too difficult change their minds on selecting a technical major. The purpose of this study was to better understand students' approaches to learning chemistry. In particular, this study examines a specific concept area called stoichiometry, a notoriously difficult concept in general chemistry. The research question for this study was: What categories can describe students' experiences with learning stoichiometry in a college-level chemistry course? This study used a phenomenographical research design to analyze students' perceptions of general chemistry concepts. Individual interviews were used to better understand thought processes and approaches to learning. In particular, this study focused on eight general chemistry students and their understanding of stoichiometry. The students, selected from a small four-year college in Maryland, were enrolled in a general college chemistry course within six months of the interviews. Students were asked general questions about how they approach learning in chemistry as well as very specific questions about their understanding of stoichiometry. This study distinguished between deep and surface learning approaches amongst the participants as they understand stoichiometry. The results of this study explain the difficulty students have with stoichiometry and also identify misconceptions the students have concerning chemistry.
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