CHED 113 |
| Although quantitative analysis has fallen out of favor in the general chemistry curriculum, many programs still include some elements of volumetric analysis such as solution preparation and titrations. The traditional prescriptive directions for these techniques ensure that students master the manipulative skills, which lead to solutions of known concentrations. Report guidelines, stepping students through the calculations and perhaps the propagation of errors, result in appropriate answers for the accuracy and precision of the concentrations of the solutions. While valuable, this instructional process does not foster the understanding and skills students need to move into open-ended experiments that use these techniques later in the term. To bridge this gap, we have developed a Calibrated Peer Review writing 'intervention' that asks students to design and write a procedure considering the interplay of equipment available, precision expected and volume required. A post-test assessment shows significant (p <0.01)gains in understanding of the accuracy and precision in calculations in the preparation of a standard solution by those writing compared to a control class who did additional numerical problems only. |
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General Posters
7:30 PM-9:30 PM, Sunday, April 6, 2008 Morial Convention Center -- Hall A, Poster
Division of Chemical Education |