Discovery and Analysis in the Laboratory

The New Traditions Project has investigated new ways to improve the labortory experience associated with the introductory course. The guided-inquiry approach established at Holy Cross and Franklin and Marshall has been the model for our approach to our laboratory program. Adapting the guided-inquiry approach to other settings, the large research institution and the two-year colleges, has required a new approach to the information included in the laboratory manual. The new approach has resulted in the creation of a set of experiments that promote conceptual understanding, provide experience with common laboratory equipment, provide opportunities for student-student and student-instructor interaction, provide opportunities for students to participate in experimental design, and provide opportunities for students to interpret data.

These goals are accomplished by reducing the amount of background information in the manual, including rhetorical questions that could be expanded into mini-experiments as part of the experimental section, eliminating the duplication of technique descriptions in the manual, creating a new set of web resources, (1) and modifying the role of the instructor. It is important to note that the changes have not included the complete elimination of laboratory procedures, rather, laboratory skills are developed in three different ways:

A Traditional Approach The procedure is still included in the manual when a procedure requires students to operate unfamiliar equipment, or the amount of time required to "discover" a procedure is prohibitive.

A Guided-Inquiry Approach The manual includes resources and information for a group of students to discuss and, from the discussion, develop an experimental method to determine a physical or chemical property.

An Open-Ended Approach At the end of the second semester of lab work, students are asked to work within a group to plan and carry out a research project that is related to water chemistry. Students will have experienced over twenty laboratory techniques when the assignment is made, thus they are expected to draw upon these procedures to design an interesting and sound project.

This laboratory program has been developed at UW-Madison (a four-year research institution) and Madison Area Technical College (a two-year college) over the last two years. An independent survey(2) of UW-Madison students in the Spring 1997 semester has indicated that students are comfortable with the physical or technical aspects of the experiments, plus the students reported that they felt the analysis questions assisted them in "thinking more deeply." A parallel study(3) at Madison Area Technical College (MATC) found that students describe the cooperative experiences as very helpful. The MATC students reported that learning from their colleagues during group work was an important aspect of the lab (higher ratings than the UW cohorts). A trio of students who took an advanced course in the summer reported that the lab experiences helped them devise ways of tackling new material.

For more information about using these experiments, or how to adapt your experiments to a similar format, please contact Joe L. March (march@chem.wisc.edu, ph. 608-263-4851).

1.See the GenChem Pages that are linked from http://genchem.chem.wisc.edu.
2. Lead Center Report, UW-Madison, Chemistry 104, General Chemistry, Spring 1997.
3. Lead Center Report, MATC, Chemistry 210, General Chemistry, Spring 1997

Have questions or comments? Please contact us.
(mailto: newtraditions@chem.wisc.edu)