Improving Laboratory Experiences for Science Majors and Non-majors through Implementation of Inquiry Based Learning and State of the Art Equipment

（12）本项目的目标是提高本科学生（包括非理科专业学生和化学、生物专业学生）在学术生涯不同阶段的理科素质。为了达到这个目标，化学系和生物系正在修改和加强他们的一些课程。该项目将引导探究活动纳入非理科专业普通理科课程的实验室；重组二年级分析化学实验室《定量分析》；加强仪器分析和环境毒理学的实验室。智力优势：基于问题的学习（PBL）教学法正在被引入这些课程，通过适应其他机构的成功实施。PBL适合各种学习方式，并已被证明能激发学生对科学的兴趣。在PBL中，学生学习直接影响他们生活的真实科学问题，并自己发现这些问题的解决方案。有意义的PBL经验会使学生对知识有更多的所有权，并能将知识转移到其他情况。在这些课程中使用了一种新的电感耦合等离子体光学发射光谱仪（ICP-OES）来研究有趣的和相关的科学问题。课程的改进有望产生以下结果：1)科学素养的提高；2)学生科学态度的改善；3)提高学生解决问题的能力；4)提高学生的跨学科思考能力。通过每两年一次的形成性评价和总结性评价，将在三年期间评估预期结果。更广泛的影响：每年，阿巴拉契亚学院大约有250名学生受到拟议的课程变化的影响，其中一半以上是非理科专业的学生。在非科学专业的学生中，44%是职前K-8教师。参加暑期科学与数学冒险项目（SVSM）的高中生也受到了该项目的影响，其中许多学生来自代表性不足的群体。新的ICP-OES为生物、化学和地质学系的学生提供了更多的本科研究机会，并增加了这些学科的教师之间的合作。正在计划举办一个区域研讨会，即“基于问题的学习实践研讨会”，将来自北卡罗莱纳、南卡罗莱纳、佐治亚、田纳西和弗吉尼亚的社区学院、四年制学院和大学的讲师聚集在一起，以扩大PBL的使用并促进新的PBL活动的发展。

Chemistry (12)The goal of this project is to improve the quality of science for undergraduate students, including nonscience majors and chemistry and biology majors at various stages in their academic careers. To reach this goal, the Departments of Chemistry and Biology are modifying and enhancing several of their courses. The project is incorporating guided-inquiry activities into the laboratory of the General Science course for non-science majors; restructuring the sophomore-level analytical chemistry laboratory, Quantitative Analysis; and enhancing the laboratories offered in Instrumental Analysis and Environmental Toxicology.Intellectual Merit:Problem-based learning (PBL) pedagogy is being introduced into these courses by adapting successful implementations from other institutions. PBL is suitable for a variety of learning styles and has been shown to excite students about science. In PBL, students study real scientific issues which directly impact their lives, and discover solutions to these issues on their own. Meaningful PBL experiences result in students who have more ownership of knowledge and who can transfer that knowledge to other situations. A new inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometer (ICP-OES) is being used in these courses to enable the study of interesting and relevant scientific problems. The curricular enhancements are expected to result in the following outcomes: 1) improvement in scientific literacy; 2) improvement in students' attitudes toward science; 3) improvement in students' problem-solving abilities; and 4) improvement in students' abilities to think across disciplines. The expected outcomes are being assessed over a three-year period through biannual formative evaluations and a summative evaluation. Broader Impact:Each year, approximately 250 students at Appalachian are being impacted by the proposed curricular changes, and over one-half of them are non-science majors. Of the non-science majors, 44% are pre-service K-8 teachers. High school students participating in Summer Ventures for Science and Math (SVSM) also are being impacted by the project, and many of these students come from underrepresented groups. The new ICP-OES is improving the undergraduate research opportunities for students in the Departments of Biology, Chemistry, and Geology, and is increasing collaboration among faculty in these disciplines. A regional workshop, Hands-On Workshop for Problem-Based Learning, is being planned to bring together instructors from community colleges, four-year colleges, and universities in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, and Virginia in order to expand the use of PBL and stimulate the development of new PBL activities.