STEMming the rot (so to speak)

It's no secret that dropout rates in STEM courses are high. A recent article in the New York Times highlights this problem and explores the question of why there are so few science majors. While there are many reasons, a big part of the problem is that introductory science classes are large and often involve traditional lecturing as the primary pedagogical tool. Project-based and student-centered approaches to learning are relatively rare. As someone who teaches organic chemistry, I once thought that student-centered pedagogy would be difficult to implement in class. Having used this approach since fall 2009 in a freshman organic chemistry course, I now wonder what took me so long to give up on lecturing.