Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) is a method of instruction where each student takes an active role in the classroom. The activities contained in this collection are specially designed guided inquiry activities intended for the student to complete during class while working with a small group of peers. Each activity introduces essential organic chemistry content in a model that contains examples, experimental data, reactions, or other important information. Each activity is followed by a series of questions designed to lead the student through the thought processes that will result in the comprehension of critical organic chemistry concepts. At the end of each activity are additional questions, which will generally be completed outside of class time and are more similar to questions that might appear on exams. Before each class, students should ensure that they are familiar with the prior knowledge that is listed at the beginning of every activity.

These POGIL Organic Chemistry activities were written to cover most of the important concepts for a two semester organic chemistry sequence. The activities are grouped into organic 1 and organic 2, although that might vary from class to class depending on what concepts are covered in each semester.

Kendall Hunt is excited to partner with The POGIL Project to publish materials in a variety of disciplines that are designed for use in active learning, student-centered classrooms.

POGIL is an acronym for Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning. Because POGIL is a student-centered instructional approach, in a typical POGIL classroom or laboratory, students work in small teams with the instructor acting as a facilitator. The student teams use specially designed activities that generally follow a learning cycle paradigm. These activities are designed to have three key characteristics:

They are designed for use with self-managed teams that employ the instructor as a facilitator of learning rather than a source of information.
They guide students through an exploration to construct understanding.
They use discipline content to facilitate the development of important process skills, including higher-level thinking and the ability to learn and to apply knowledge in new contexts.