Discovering 13C NMR, 1H NMR, and IR Spectroscopy in the General Chemistry Laboratory through a Sequence of Guided-Inquiry Exercises

2012 ◽  
Vol 89 (9) ◽  
pp. 1178-1182 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Darrell Iler ◽  
David Justice ◽  
Shari Brauer ◽  
Amanda Landis
Keyword(s):  
General Chemistry ◽  
Ir Spectroscopy ◽  
1H Nmr ◽  
13C Nmr ◽  
Chemistry Laboratory ◽  
Guided Inquiry ◽  
General Chemistry Laboratory

Teaching assistants' perceptions of a training to support an inquiry-based general chemistry laboratory course

2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 824-842 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindsay B. Wheeler ◽  
Jennifer L. Maeng ◽  
Brooke A. Whitworth
Keyword(s):  
General Chemistry ◽  
Learning Theory ◽  
Situated Learning ◽  
Teaching Assistants ◽  
Teaching Experience ◽  
Chemistry Laboratory ◽  
Guided Inquiry ◽  
Situated Learning Theory ◽  
General Chemistry Laboratory ◽  
Ta Training

The purpose of this qualitative investigation was to better understand teaching assistants' (TAs') perceptions of training in a guided inquiry undergraduate general chemistry laboratory context. The training was developed using existing TA training literature and informed by situated learning theory. TAs engaged in training prior to teaching (∼25 hours) and attended weekly meetings throughout the year (∼60 hours). Assessment of training utilized a constructivist framework to understand TAs' perceptions of training in supporting their implementation of guided inquiry in the laboratory. Participants included 20 graduate TAs and 8 undergraduate TAs of varying teaching experience. Data collection included three open-ended surveys across the academic year and two semi-structured interviews with a purposefully sampled subset of TAs. Data were analyzed using systematic data analysis (Miles and Huberman, 1994). Results indicated different aspects of the training were helpful for different subgroups of participants. For example, going over logistics and completing the experiments were most helpful for TAs with no previous teaching experience while discussing learning theory was least helpful for TAs whose future career goals were research-focused. Analyzing participants' experiences and perceptions through a situated learning theory lens suggested TAs with little prior teaching experience appreciated the authentic experiences (e.g., experiments and grading) provided by the training. The results of the study suggest TA training should address prior experiences, particularly language and teaching, as well as the larger context of research and future careers. Future research will focus on examining how TAs learn within a situated training and how that impacts TA beliefs, practices, and student learning.

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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