Facilitated Study Groups for Undergraduate Organic Chemistry - Experience from a Large Public Canadian University

Oct 15, 2026

Undergraduate organic chemistry is widely perceived as difficult, largely because students must repeatedly solve problems, visualize, and represent chemical structures and reactions. Drawing on a student-driven model from Supplemental Instruction (SI), the paper examines Facilitated Study Groups (FSG) introduced in 2012 after being established in 2009 at the University of Toronto Scarborough. FSG provides semester-long optional small-group peer sessions aligned with course lectures, using facilitated peer strategies to strengthen both learning and communication.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages33

Reading Time1 h 23 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Program structure and alignment

Peer facilitation strategies

Student outcomes and inclusion

The Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning | Volume 14 | Issue 1 | Article 3 | | --- | --- | | Spring 05-31-2023
Facilitated Study Groups for Undergraduate Organic Chemistry: Experience from a Large Public Canadian University
Homaira Hamidzada
University of Toronto, [homaira.hamidzada@mail.utoronto.ca](homaira.hamidzada@mail.utoronto.ca)[ ](homaira.hamidzada@mail.utoronto.ca)Sarthak Sinha
University of Calgary, [sarthak.chinoo@gmail.com](sarthak.chinoo@gmail.com)[ ](sarthak.chinoo@gmail.com)Maggie Roberts
University of Toronto, [maggie.roberts@utoronto.ca](maggie.roberts@utoronto.ca)[ ](maggie.roberts@utoronto.ca)Shadi Dalili
University of Toronto, [sh.dalili@utoronto.ca](sh.dalili@utoronto.ca)
Follow this and additional works at: [https://www.cjsotl-rcacea.ca](https://www.cjsotl-rcacea.ca)
[https://doi.org/10.5206/cjsotlrcacea.2023.1.13734](https://doi.org/10.5206/cjsotlrcacea.2023.1.13734) | | Recommended Citation Hamidzada, H., Sinha, S., Roberts, M., & Dalili, S. (2023) . Facilitated study groups for undergraduate organic chemistry: Experience from a large public Canadian university The Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 14 (1) . [https://doi.org/10.5206/cjsotlrcacea.2023.1.13734](https://doi.org/10.5206/cjsotlrcacea.2023.1.13734) Facilitated Study Groups for Undergraduate Organic Chemistry: Experience from a Large Public Canadian University Abstract Undergraduate organic chemistry courses have a reputation for being difficult among students in biological and physical sciences programs. Due to the extensive problem-solving, visualization, and depiction of chemical structures/reactions required, students may perceive learning such content as similar to learning a new language. Several interventions such as course-integrated tutorials or discussion sessions have aimed to assist students. Another effective approach that chemistry educators might consider is Supplemental Instruction (SI), a well-established program that emphasizes student-driven learning whereby student SI leaders facilitate discussions to help students arrive at solutions while also developing effective communication and study skills. A type of SI, Facilitated Study Groups (FSG), established by the Centre for Teaching and Learning at the University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC) in 2009, were introduced regularly into organic chemistry courses in 2012. This program provides semester-long optional small-group peer learning sessions, each of which corresponds to a course lecture. The aim of this paper is to provide comprehensive coverage detailing the structure of the organic chemistry FSG program, peer facilitation strategies employed, quantitative/qualitative synthesis of student outcomes indicating program uptake. We consistently find significantly higher grades and significantly lower attrition rates for students who regularly attend FSG sessions in comparison to those who do not (n=16 semesters). Given the growing diversity of undergraduate classes in terms of approaches to learning, language, and cultural barriers (international students, English second-language learners, learning and psychosocial disabilities), our FSG sessions seek to foster inclusion amongst our heterogeneous pool of attendees. Here, we describe strategies that tailored FSG sessions to a diverse group of undergraduate students as suggested by a sizable percentage of the class availing themselves of this resource and by a narrative synthesis of endof-term surveys. Together, we demonstrate successful adoption of an SI-based model for organic chemistry and present a practical framework that includes pedagogically informed session strategies and cost estimates to guide design of similar programs for post-secondary students at other institutions. Les cours de chimie organique au niveau du premier cycle ont la réputation d’être difficiles parmi les étudiants et les étudiantes inscrits dans des programm

FAQs

What is the purpose of Facilitated Study Groups (FSG) in undergraduate organic chemistry?

FSG aims to provide optional, semester-long small-group peer learning sessions aligned with course lectures, helping students reach solutions through facilitated discussion while building communication and study skills.

How are FSG sessions organized?

Each FSG session corresponds to a specific course lecture and runs for a semester as an optional program, emphasizing student-driven learning led by trained student facilitators.

What outcomes does the paper report for students who attend FSG?

Students who regularly attend FSG sessions show significantly higher grades and significantly lower attrition rates compared with students who do not attend, based on data across 16 semesters.

Oct 15, 2026

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