Description:
It has been previously observed that many freshman engineering students experience adaptation problems in the general chemistry course, which one of the courses is given to the students in their first years in university after their high school chemistry courses so that they can have the same background before starting to take major courses in engineering. This study has been carried out to identify such adaptation problems by surveying 205 freshman engineering students at a foundation university in Turkey. In the analysis of the data obtained from the survey application, frequency and percent distribution of statistical operations have been utilized. Survey results have indicated that the students face difficulties with the shift to the process-oriented learning, the use of derivation, and the placement of units in problem solving. They also have indicated the confusion of chemistry terms and the language barrier in English-based instruction. In the survey, students have highlighted the benefits of laboratory use and black-board based instruction.