Enhancing the Undergraduate Laboratory Experience By Combining an Environmental Focus, Instrumental Methods and Service Learning

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Chemistry (12)The goals of this project are to narrow the gaps between textbook concepts and real world chemistry, and between student interests and student laboratory experiences. These goals are being accomplished by structuring laboratories for all chemistry courses around the common theme of the environment, by stressing the use of instrumental techniques, and by adding a service learning component. This project is adapting the Topic Oriented Approach Development concept from the University of Wisconsin and implementing specific laboratory experiments from the educational literature. Students are placed in real world situations so they will find chemistry laboratories interesting, relevant, and applicable to their world. The chemistry courses serve non-chemistry and non-science majors at an environmental liberal arts college, and thus the focus on environmentally related topics is especially relevant to student interests. The use of instrumental methods in the laboratories adds a dimension of interest, skill, and analytical thought, improving both teaching and student learning.