Crystal Growth: A Research Module for the Undergraduate Organic Laboratory

本项目的具体目标是通过在有机实验课程中开发和实施一个新的基于问题的晶体生长模块，创造性地将教学和研究结合起来。该项目将国际上通过凝胶介质中晶体生长实现手性分离的研究成果应用于本科实验课程。在这里开发的模块中，每个学生都参与了一项真实的研究，其中合成了改性PVA聚合物，定性评估了它们的凝胶行为，并定量研究了凝胶影响基于结晶的手性分离的能力。这个顺序让学生经历一个自然的科学学习过程，从简单的教科书综合到基于探究的问题解决，然后到现实世界的应用。因为这个跨学科模块非常适合大型（150名学生）的入门有机课程，每个学生都有机会在他们教育的早期阶段积极参与一个真正的研究项目，这是保持学生对科学兴趣的关键因素。在乔治城大学学习与奖学金新设计中心的同事们的帮助下，一项由匿名调查和重点访谈组成的综合评估计划正在执行。本模块的成果将通过会议演讲、出版物和免费在线访问与该模块有关的所有书面材料来广泛传播。本科生在模块开发中发挥着不可或缺的作用，仅最初的实施就使一百多名学生受益。易于修改的PVA和无限数量的晶体系统的调查，确保该模块可以重复使用多年，无论是在乔治敦大学和其他本科院校，每次产生新的研究质量的数据。该模块产生的累积科学数据将有助于解决粘性介质中晶体生长的关键问题，并且肯定会对整个固态化学领域产生广泛而积极的影响。

Chemistry (12) The specific goal of this project is to creatively integrate teaching and research efforts by developing and implementing a new problem-based crystal growth module in the organic laboratory curriculum. The project adapts international research efforts to achieve chiral separations by means of crystal growth in gel media to an undergraduate laboratory course. In the module being developed here, each student is participating in an authentic research study in which modified PVA polymers are synthesized, their gelation behavior qualitatively assessed, and the gel's ability to effect crystallization-based chiral separations quantitatively investigated. This sequence takes students through a natural scientific learning process where straightforward textbook synthesis leads to inquiry-based problem solving and then to real-world application. Because this interdisciplinary module is ideally suited to large (150 student) introductory organic courses, each student is afforded the opportunity to be an active participant in a real research project at an early stage of their education, a key factor for retaining student interest in science. A comprehensive evaluation plan consisting of anonymous surveys and focused interview sessions for this project is being executed with the help of colleagues at Georgetown's Center for New Designs in Learning and Scholarship. Broad dissemination of the outcomes of this module will be achieved through conference presentations, publications, and free online access to all written materials pertaining to the module. Undergraduate students are playing an integral role in the module development and well over a hundred are benefiting from its initial implementation alone. The easy modifiability of PVA and unlimited number of crystal systems to investigate ensures that this module can be used repeatedly over multiple years, both at Georgetown and at other undergraduate institutions, each time generating novel research-quality data. The cumulative scientific data generated by the module will help to address key questions regarding crystal growth in viscous media and is certain to have a broad and positive impact on the field of solid state chemistry as a whole.