Trials and tribulations: student approaches and difficulties with proposing mechanisms using the electron-pushing formalism

The skill of proposing mechanisms of reactions using the electron-pushing formalism (EPF) is not only of value to practicing organic chemists but it is also emphasized to students enrolled in organic chemistry courses at all levels. Several research studies in the past decade have documented the difficulties that undergraduate, and even graduate students, encounter when trying to propose mechanisms using the EPF. An examination of this work...