Using Technology To Enhance the Effectiveness of General Chemistry Laboratory Courses

2007 ◽  
Vol 84 (4) ◽  
pp. 727 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen M. Carvalho-Knighton ◽  
Linda Keen-Rocha
Keyword(s):  
General Chemistry ◽  
Chemistry Laboratory ◽  
General Chemistry Laboratory ◽  
Laboratory Courses

The Nature and State of General Chemistry Laboratory Courses Offered by Colleges and Universities in the United States

1997 ◽  
Vol 74 (5) ◽  
pp. 591 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael R. Abraham ◽  
Mark S. Craolice ◽  
A. Palmer Graves ◽  
Abdulwali H. Aldhamash ◽  
Joann G. Kihega ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
General Chemistry ◽  
The United States ◽  
Colleges And Universities ◽  
Chemistry Laboratory ◽  
General Chemistry Laboratory ◽  
Laboratory Courses

Assessing TA buy-in to expectations and alignment of actual teaching practices in a transformed general chemistry laboratory course

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 189-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin M. Duffy ◽  
Melanie M. Cooper
Keyword(s):  
General Chemistry ◽  
Teaching Practices ◽  
The United States ◽  
Chemistry Laboratory ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Undergraduate Level ◽  
General Chemistry Laboratory ◽  
Laboratory Courses ◽  
Video Observations ◽  
Actual Teaching

Inquiry-style laboratory courses, in which students engage in open-ended projects rather than a prescribed set of experimental steps (“cookbooks”), are becoming increasingly popular at the undergraduate level. Reformed curricula require reforms in training teachers; in the case of large universities, laboratory instructors are typically graduate teaching assistants (TAs). The General Chemistry Laboratory courses at a large, public, research-intensive university in the Midwestern region of the United States recently underwent a transformation from a “cookbook” to a project-based lab, and despite efforts to improve training, TAs continue to express difficulty teaching the course. To determine the source of these difficulties, we conducted multiple video observations and semi-structured interviews with seven TAs throughout one semester. We report TAs’ beliefs about what is expected of them, their philosophical alignment to perceived expectations, and a comparison of the Lab Coordinator's expectations to TAs’ actual teaching practices. We found that the TAs generally agreed with behaviors they were expected to perform, but responses to actions they were not supposed to do indicated that they were unsure of what the Lab Coordinator expected and personally believed that an ideal TA would perform those actions. This work highlights a need to clearly communicate the aims and expectations in a course and the rationale for those choices.

Measuring the effectiveness of online preparation videos and questions in the second semester general chemistry laboratory

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Altowaiji ◽  
Rakahn Haddadin ◽  
Priscilla Campos ◽  
Shannon Sorn ◽  
Lizbeth Gonzalez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
General Chemistry ◽  
Cognitive Domain ◽  
Chemistry Laboratory ◽  
General Chemistry Laboratory ◽  
Hispanic Serving Institution ◽  
Video Lectures ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
Hispanic Serving ◽  
Laboratory Experiences ◽  
Stressful Environments

Chemistry laboratory experiences provide students the opportunity to engage all three domains of learning: psychomotor, cognitive and affective. However, they are often stressful environments where students are expected to quickly learn new laboratory techniques, and collect data in a short amount of time. In principle, providing additional preparation activities should help students be better prepared to successfully complete the lab. These activities should lead to more meaningful interactions with the lab instructor and better performance on lab outcomes. In this study, we report the usefulness and effectiveness of online preparation activities for students that include video lectures demonstrating the labs that the students will participate in, and preparation questions that mimic data analysis for the lab. These online prelab activities were implemented in the second semester general chemistry laboratory at a large Hispanic serving institution in the southwestern United States. Over three semesters, students enrolled in this course were surveyed using the Meaningful Learning in the Laboratory Instrument (MLLI) to assess their lab expectations as well as author generated post-lab surveys to assess the usefulness of the prelab activities. Additionally, lab instructors were surveyed on their perception of the efficacy of the additional preparation activities. Findings suggest that both students and instructors agree that having access to these materials as a part of a portfolio of resources, including the lab manual, help them better prepare for the lab. Although students’ expectations on the cognitive domain decreased after a semester of instruction, questions related to comfort with lab equipment show improvements in the affective domain for students with access to the additional preparation activities. Lastly we found that both students and instructors see a lot of value and benefits in having these types of prelab activities available as a way to help prepare students for the upcoming laboratory sessions. In general, the potential benefits that prelab activities had on students outweigh the modest effort to create these materials.

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