Anchoring Organic Chemistry in Broad Context

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Chemistry (12)The goal of this project is to anchor organic chemistry laboratory courses for non-physical science majors in context by developing and assessing laboratory modules for interdisciplinary and inquiry-based learning that ultimately enhances the educational value of the course. A community of scholars from historically unrelated disciplines (the Departments of Chemistry, Education, and Horticulture) is collaborating on this project to illustrate the interdisciplinary nature of organic chemistry applications. Efforts in the laboratory build on the success achieved by the PI in the accompanying lecture course. The global shortcomings of traditional laboratory courses include 1) too many different types of molecules and experiments, 2) a lack of modern instrumentation, and 3) lack of relevance. These deficiencies are overcome with a curricular shift focusing on only three multi-session laboratory exercises that include 1) herbicides, where the students prepare simazine and new derivatives and evaluate their potency in test plots in a greenhouse, 2) mosquito attractants, where attractants and repellants are synthesized using classical and chemo-enzymatic approaches and are evaluated in olfactometers, and 3) analysis of insecticidal detergents. The central tenet is that by repeating a common theme over three weeks, students develop a deeper understanding and appreciation for the material, make stronger conceptual links to their experiences, and engage in authentic science. This project may serve as a model for incorporating cross-disciplinary research into similar courses in organic chemistry and biochemistry for non-physical sciences majors at other institutions. The assessment plan is being developed and monitored by a collaborator from the School of Education who oversees an iterative design-implement-test process and uses a variety of metrics to determine learning outcomes. Results will be disseminated to the chemical education community through presentations at ACS conferences and meetings and by submission of articles to chemical education journals.