Anchoring skill development in introductory chemistry

“Mom, can you help me tonight with my chemistry homework?” My teenage daughter quickly learned to rely on me as a resource during her introductory chemistry course at a local college. As chair of the American Chemical Society Committee on Professional Training (CPT) and a faculty member with more than 2 decades of experience, this was my first real glimpse into how students today experience introductory chemistry. The semester served as a powerful reminder that we, as a chemistry community, have a unique opportunity to connect to current students’ passions with the fascinating molecular world around them. Today’s students want to understand how chemistry relates to the broader challenges they care about, like climate, energy, health care, sustainability, and in my daughter’s case, cosmetics.As we move beyond the Information Age, our teaching and learning practices must evolve. We must prepare students for a future that is changing faster than any curriculum. While CPT does not directly assess introductory courses—allowing institutions to design transition experiences that best serve their student populations—the committee views these courses as foundational to the chemistry curriculum and recognizes them as a critical gateway for sparking student interest. Still many introductory courses have not been successful in doing this, and many have not adapted to the shifting educational landscape. This can result in students struggling to see how classroom content connects to real-world issues. Given the rapid growth of knowledge, the goal of covering all content is no longer realistic, a notion that may have been feasible