ANALYSIS OF LEARNING DIFFICULTIES OF STUDENTS MAJORING IN CHEMISTRY ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY COURSE

Abstract

Analytical Chemistry I, II, and III are three analytical chemistry courses that must be attended by all Chemistry Department students. Analytical chemistry is the study of separation, identification, and quantification of chemical components in both natural and artificial materials. Studying analytical chemistry can be likened to learning a foreign language due to the abstract nature of many concepts. The purpose of this study was to determine the learning difficulties faced by chemistry majors taking analytical chemistry courses. In this study, a qualitative descriptive method was used. The data collection method used was by distributing questionnaires, making observations and interviews. The data obtained were then analysed descriptively. The results showed that the availability of teaching materials (57.78% with a moderate category), the ability of students to master the material (58.31% with a moderate category), and the quality of practicum implementation (69.73% with a moderate category) were the main obstacles that caused learning difficulties for chemistry students taking analytical chemistry courses. Based on these findings, a solution is given for further research to innovate the development of teaching materials integrated with projects in analytical chemistry practicum in order to improve students' ability to master analytical chemistry material