Computational Chemistry in the Undergraduate Classroom – Pedagogical Considerations and Teaching Challenges

The interdisciplinary field of computational chemistry links many facets of chemistry and provides unique insights into structure, mechanisms, dynamics, and the interplay between them. Various approaches were proposed for integrating computational chemistry in the undergraduate classroom, all highlight the benefits of including it in the chemistry curriculum. This study focuses on the desirable learning outcomes, and defines a structural framework of computational chemistry literacy. Based on this approach analysis of the pedagogical approach of selected studies that implemented computational chemistry in undergraduate chemistry classrooms is presented. Three models for including computational chemistry in the undergraduate program were uncovered in this analysis: the specialized course model, the augmented course model, and the islands of computations model. These models are discussed along with teaching and learning challenges as well as routes to bypass them.