An Interactive Web-Based Materials Characterization Project for Undergraduate Education in Analytical Chemistry

最近化学教育的注意力集中在对“基于问题”的学习策略的需求上，特别是在实验室中。工业和政府实验室的化学家们对化学本科生的培训表达了一个担忧，那就是学生们在化学分析方面只获得了一种基于技术的视角，而不是将其视为一个基于解决问题的综合过程。在学生的综合教育中，“分析过程”的概念已经丢失。弥补这一课程缺陷需要培养学生的批判性思维和解决问题的能力。虽然通过实验室PBL经验来实现这一目标是可取的，但许多机构，特别是小型学院，在分析化学实验室中缺乏有效解决现实问题所需的仪器。最近新电子技术的爆炸式发展，作为实验室课程中核心动手部分的补充，提供了通过交互式计算机体验提高学生解决问题能力的机会。这个项目继续发展MCPweb，一个交互式的基于web的材料表征项目（MCP）。该虚拟活动基于亚利桑那大学分析课程中提供的实验室版MCP，学生可以对商业产品、设备或配方进行全面分析。该项目的目标是完成电子计算器的原型MCPweb，以证明这一概念的可行性。本次活动主要面向全国化学专业本科学生。此外，这项活动也很符合在分析化学教育中加强利用技术的需要。

Chemistry (12) Recent attention in chemical education has focused on the need for "problem-based" learning (PBL) strategies, particularly in the laboratory. One concern expressed by industry and government laboratory chemists about the training of chemistry undergraduates is that students emerge with only a technique-based perspective on chemical analysis instead of viewing it as an integrated process based on problem-solving. Education of students in the integrated concept of the "analytical process" has been lost. The remedy to this curricular deficiency requires the development of critical thinking and problem-solving skills in our students. Although it is desirable to achieve this goal through laboratory PBL experiences, many institutions, particularly small colleges, lack the instrumentation necessary for effective solution of real-world problems in their analytical chemistry laboratories. The recent explosion in new electronic technology affords, as a supplement to the central hands-on component of the laboratory curriculum, the opportunity to enhance the problem-solving skills of students through interactive computer-based experiences. This project continues the development of MCPweb, an interactive Web-based Materials Characterization Project (MCP). This virtual activity is based on a laboratory version of the MCP currently offered in the analytical curriculum at the University of Arizona in which students undertake a comprehensive analysis of a commercial product, device, or formulation. The goal of this project is to complete the prototype MCPweb for the electronic calculator to demonstrate the feasibility of this concept. This activity is primarily targeted towards undergraduate chemistry majors nationwide. In addition, this activity is also well-matched to the need for enhanced use of technology in analytical chemistry education.