X-Ray Crystallography for Transforming Undergraduate Instruction at PUIs in the Pacific Northwest

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

This project provides general and organic chemistry students with hands-on education using single crystal X-ray crystallography (SC-XRD) at Lewis and Clark College and a consortium of three other campuses - George Fox University, Willamette University and the University of Portland. Curricular materials using SC-XRD to analyze samples and determine accurate and precise measurements of the full three dimensional structure of a molecule, including bond distances and angles, are designed, implemented, evaluated and diseminated. SC-XRD is an emerging topic in the undergraduate chemistry curriculum and this projects helps to fill a gap in available curricular materials. Faculty members from participating campuses participate in workshops where they both refine their skills using the instrumentation and develop the new teaching materials. Structural information is available to other institutions through online data sharing. Curricular materials and evaluation outcomes are disseminated through a sponsored regional meeting, project web site and publications. Evaluation of the technical component of developed materials is performed by an experienced crystallographer, while evaluation of the faculty professional development and the project's impact on student attitudes and learning outcomes, is performed by a faculty member from the Lewis and Clark Graduate School of Education and Counseling.