Why Organic Chemistry Matters to Criminology Students
Organic chemistry is relevant to criminology because forensic investigations can involve substances such as drugs, toxic materials, fuels and accelerants, biological materials, solvents, and trace residues. Understanding these substances requires students to connect molecular structures and functional groups with chemical reactions and observable evidence.
The researchers noted that criminology students need more than the ability to memorize chemical concepts. They also need to interpret evidence, recognize patterns, formulate explanations, evaluate data, and draw conclusions based on scientific observations.
Hybrid learning can provide flexibility by combining online instruction with face-to-face activities. However, its effectiveness depends on whether students can connect what they learn online with classroom demonstrations, laboratory activities, simulations, and problem-solving exercises.
How the Research Was Conducted
The study used a quantitative descriptive-correlational design involving 84 criminology students enrolled in Organic Chemistry at Universidad de Manila during the first semester of School Year 2026–2027.
Students completed assessments measuring three areas: cognitive understanding of organic chemistry, science process skills, and difficulties experienced during hybrid learning.
The cognitive assessment contained 30 multiple-choice questions covering chemical structures and bonding, nomenclature and functional groups, isomerism and physical properties, organic reactions, and forensic applications. Another 30 situational questions measured science process skills such as observing, classifying, measuring, predicting, inferring, identifying variables, interpreting data, and drawing conclusions.
The researchers analyzed the results using descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation to determine whether students' understanding of organic chemistry was associated with their science process skills.
Cognitive Understanding Remains at the Developing Level
The students recorded an average cognitive-understanding score of 20.89 out of 30, equivalent to 69.64 percent. The researchers classified this performance as “Developing.”
Only 25 percent of the students reached the Proficient or Advanced categories. Meanwhile, 29.8 percent were classified as Approaching, 25 percent as Developing, and 20.2 percent as Beginning.
The strongest cognitive performance involved interpreting differences in boiling ranges, with 79.8 percent of students answering correctly. The weakest result involved identifying the functional group of carboxylic acids, where only 57.1 percent answered correctly.
The findings indicate that some foundational organic chemistry concepts remain difficult, particularly carbon bonding, functional groups, and structural representations. These concepts are important because students must use them when interpreting unfamiliar chemical evidence.
Science Process Skills Are Relatively Stronger
Science process skills produced a higher average score of 22.05 out of 30, or 73.49 percent. This placed students in the “Approaching Proficiency” category.
Overall, 44 percent of students reached either the Proficient or Advanced level. The strongest performance involved drawing qualified evidence-based conclusions, with 82.1 percent answering correctly. Controlling variables also produced a high result at 81 percent.
However, students had more difficulty identifying the purpose of a blank control and defining variables operationally, with the lowest performance at 64.3 percent.
These results suggest that students may be able to reason from evidence in some situations but still need structured practice in designing investigations and clearly defining how scientific variables are measured or controlled.
Laboratory Activities Are the Main Hybrid Learning Challenge
The overall level of difficulty experienced by students in hybrid learning was rated as “Moderate Extent,” with a mean score of 2.72.
Laboratory and simulation activities represented the most significant difficulty category, recording a mean of 2.94. The most frequently reported challenges included:
- Limited access to laboratory materials: mean 3.01
- Limited hands-on laboratory activities: mean 2.96
- Difficulty connecting online lessons with classroom or laboratory activities: mean 2.93
- Difficulty integrating learning and applying concepts: mean 2.72
- Access and technology difficulties: mean 2.70
The results also show that internet access remains relevant. Only 13.1 percent of students reported consistently reliable internet access, while 51.2 percent experienced internet reliability problems either sometimes or frequently. Smartphones were the primary learning device for 61.9 percent of respondents.
Understanding and Science Process Skills Are Connected
The analysis found a statistically significant positive relationship between cognitive understanding and science process skills. The correlation coefficient was r = 0.441, with p < .001.
The result indicates a moderate positive association: students with stronger understanding of organic chemistry tended to demonstrate stronger science process skills as well. The researchers reported that approximately 19.5 percent of the variance was shared between the two measures.
The finding represents an association rather than proof that stronger chemistry knowledge directly causes better science process skills.
Nadinne A. Antaran and her co-authors from Romblon State University, Universidad de Manila, the Schools Division Office of Pampanga, and San Beda University therefore emphasize the importance of connecting conceptual chemistry instruction with scientific inquiry and forensic applications. Their findings support an enhanced hybrid instructional approach that does not treat online and face-to-face learning as separate activities.
Toward a More Effective Hybrid Chemistry Model
The researchers recommend beginning instruction with short diagnostic assessments and targeted remediation of fundamental organic chemistry concepts. Online lessons can then prepare students for corresponding classroom investigations, laboratory demonstrations, or simulations.
Forensic scenarios can also make chemistry more relevant to criminology students. Activities involving evidence preservation, chemical testing, organic solvents, toxic substances, volatile samples, purity, and conflicting evidence can provide opportunities to apply chemistry concepts in realistic contexts.
The researchers further recommend mobile-friendly and low-bandwidth learning materials because smartphones are the primary learning device for many students and internet reliability is uneven.
A differentiated approach could provide Beginning and Developing students with guided examples, structured worksheets, and frequent feedback, while Proficient and Advanced students could receive more open-ended evidence-analysis tasks.
Author Profiles
Nadinne A. Antaran — Romblon State University. The article does not specify her academic degree or individual field of expertise.
Mariton A. Felipe — Universidad de Manila. The article does not specify the author's academic degree or individual field of expertise.
R’mon Ian C. Santos — Schools Division Office of Pampanga. The article does not specify the author's academic degree or individual field of expertise.
Maria Eliza P. Cruz-Ocampo — College of Education, San Beda University, Manila. The article does not specify the author's academic degree or individual field of expertise.
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