Laboratory activities for a large, first-year chemistry course

CHED 430

Fred Garafalo, agarafalo@mcphs.edu1, Ed DePierro, edward.depierro.mcphs.edu1, and Rick Toomey, Toomey@NWMissouri.edu2. (1) School of Arts and Sciences, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences, 179 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02115, (2) Department of Chemistry and Physics, Northwest Missouri State University, 800 University Dr, Maryville, MO 64468
Safe, simple laboratory activities, which can be performed in a reasonable time frame, are particularly attractive for large (>200 students), first-year chemistry courses. Traditional “verification” experiments often meet these requirements, but do not always challenge students to interpret results or connect with classroom presentations. “Inquiry” or “discovery” experiments may be more challenging, but difficult to implement with large numbers of students. This presentation will offer ways to modify several traditional, environmentally friendly experiments dealing with energy transfer. By omitting information that is usually given and including various question sequences, students can be challenged to connect the macroscopic, microscopic and symbolic domains, while reinforcing material presented in the classroom. Such modifications will be discussed within the context of various laboratory instruction styles articulated by Domin. The work is based on an action research model, which relies on student feedback to drive curriculum improvements.