Revision of Undergraduate Chemistry Laboratory Curriculum

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Chemistry (12)The laboratory curriculum for chemistry majors is being restructured with a focus on inquiry-based experiments in the areas of modern chemical research. Three major educational goals are being addressed: (1) stimulating student interest in chemistry through projects in contemporary chemical issues; (2) providing students with the opportunity to apply modern instrumentation in experimental investigations; and (3) fostering collaborative interaction among students across different courses in the laboratory sequence.A sequence of three laboratory courses is being implemented to fill the niche in the undergraduate curriculum normally occupied by second semester organic, advanced inorganic, and physical chemistry laboratories. These courses are emphasizing modern themes from contemporary chemistry research and development and include topics in nanotechnology, combinatorial chemistry, chiral technology, and biophysical chemistry. Seven topic modules were developed that emphasize these themes and seventeen experiments from the research and educational literature are now being adapted and implemented across the three courses. Thus, the courses are "integrated" thematically if not experimentally, and this is enhancing the interest and motivation of students as they proceed from one course to another in the sequence. Modern, high-quality instrumentation and equipment is available for use by undergraduates in these courses. Students in a prerequisite course are collaborating with students enrolled in advanced courses of the sequence. For example, students in a module focussed primarily on synthetic chemistry are providing samples to students in advanced modules for product characterization or to perform experiments of a more physical nature requiring a more extensive theoretical background. Such cross-course collaborations emulate interactions between investigators working in different sub-disciplines of chemistry.