| Sumario: | Student performance in Sophomore Organic Chemistry courses was measured against lifestyle and study skill factors at a large, openenrollment, public university in the Mountain West region. The survey items were first evaluated individually for correlation to student actual performance on a midterm examination. Items requiring significant student output, such as verbally explaining concepts, participating in study groups, and working practice exams, showed highest correlation to actual performance. Student chemical foundation, as measured by their 2 semester General Chemistry grade, also was a significant contributor to student success in Organic Chemistry. A factor analysis grouped the items into 4 general categories including sleep patterns, student output (study groups, verbally explaining principles), student input (traditional learning methods such as attending lecture, reading the textbook, and being tutored), and foundation and attitude, which included prior performance, level of anxiety experienced on exams, and how well they liked Organic Chemistry. The factor that correlated most strongly to actual performance was foundation and attitude, but that was closely followed by student output activities. Based on the outcomes of this study, emphasis has been placed on providing in-class opportunities for students to work with a classmate or in groups of 5 or 6 students in solving and discussing problems. Furthermore, student preparation has moved beyond just completion of homework problems to teaching principles to another individual and creating assessment questions. So far, the outcome of these modifications is that the top students in the class perform about the same as before, but student retention has significantly improved.
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