Anchoring Organic Chemistry in Broad Context

本项目的目标是通过开发和评估跨学科和探究性学习的实验模块，最终提高课程的教育价值，从而为非物理科学专业的有机化学实验课程奠定基础。一个由历史上不相关学科（化学系、教育系和园艺系）的学者组成的团体正在这个项目上合作，以说明有机化学应用的跨学科性质。实验室的努力建立在PI在相关讲座课程中取得的成功的基础上。传统实验课程的普遍缺点包括：1)太多不同类型的分子和实验；2)缺乏现代仪器；3)缺乏相关性。为了克服这些不足，我们将课程重点转移到三个多课时的实验室练习上，其中包括：1)除草剂，学生们在温室的试验田中制备西马辛和新的衍生物，并评估它们的药效；2)诱蚊剂，用经典和化学酶的方法合成引诱剂和驱蚊剂，并用嗅觉仪进行评估；3)分析杀虫洗涤剂。中心原则是，通过在三周内重复一个共同的主题，学生们对材料有了更深的理解和欣赏，与他们的经验建立更强的概念联系，并参与到真正的科学中来。本项目可作为其他院校非物理专业有机化学与生物化学类似课程的跨学科研究模式。评估计划由教育学院的一位合作者开发和监督，他负责监督一个迭代的设计-实现-测试过程，并使用各种度量来确定学习结果。研究结果将通过在美国化学学会会议和会议上的演讲以及向化学教育期刊提交文章的方式传播给化学教育界。

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.