Organic Chemistry and Native Plants of the Sonoran Desert: A New Model for the Undergraduate Laboratory

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Mesa Community College is developing an organic chemistry laboratory curriculum that uses the natural products found in local native plants as a starting point for guided student inquiry. Objectives of the project include: to identify and isolate materials from native plants; provide training for students on NMR, HPLC, and other key organic laboratory instrumentation; introduce students to a variety of applications of the compounds found in plants, e.g., medicinal, agricultural and other contexts; and encourage student participation in independent study outside the laboratory classes. Students are designing and implementing laboratory activities to extract, purify, and derivatize organic molecules from plants, and are using instrumentation to perform analytical procedures on these compounds. The students are benefiting from hands-on experience with applying actual research methods to contemporary and relevant scientific topics. The project is being evaluated by using formative and summative assessments.Intellectual Merit. This project is advancing both STEM education, by the development of new activities and the pedagogical theme that incorporates local, usable native plants, and chemical knowledge, obtained from the research as students or faculty produce publishable data in the course of the new activities. This project is transforming a laboratory curriculum into guided inquiry exercises by using a broad thematic premise that intrigues and engages students. The focus on local plants provides an interdisciplinary experience, and the possible activities and extensions are numerous. It offers an accessible theme and a simple, flexible approach that is easily modified based on local conditions or student and instructor interests. Local plant materials are readily available: they can be collected by students, if not endangered or protected species; they can be cultivated in campus greenhouses, if necessary; or they can be purchased, often at very low cost. Broader Impacts. In the later stages of the project and beyond, the results of the project will be shared with other institutions through publications, presentations, and web-based dissemination techniques. The project is encouraging a shift in the undergraduate chemistry laboratory experience. The content and pedagogy of organic chemistry laboratories have remained relatively static for years, with increasing recent interest in an inquiry-based approach. The project is adding momentum to that recognized trend based on its scope and distinctive premise. The project also is contributing to the engagement of Hispanic and Native American students in the chemistry curriculum because of its use of native plants that are historically and culturally important to these populations.