Independent Synthesis Projects in the Organic Chemistry Teaching Laboratories: Bridging the Gap Between Student and Researcher

• Published in: Journal of chemical education Vol. 94; no. 10; pp. 1450 - 1457
• Main Authors: Keller, Valerie A, Kendall, Beatrice Lin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Easton American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc 10.10.2017; Division of Chemical Education, Inc and ACS Publications Division of the American Chemical Society; American Chemical Society
• Subjects: Chemical synthesis; Chemistry; Cooperative Learning; Course Evaluation; Decision Making; Discovery Learning; Experiments; Feedback (Response); Inquiry; Laboratories; Laboratory Experiments; Library Research; Literature reviews; Novels; Organic Chemistry; Problem Solving; Research projects; Researchers; Science Experiments; Science Instruction; Science Laboratories; Scientific Research; Simulation; Skills; Spectroscopy; Student Attitudes; Student Research; Students; Teaching Methods; Undergraduate Students; Illinois (Chicago); Spectroscopy; Synthesis; Laboratory Instruction; Second-Year Undergraduate; Curriculum; Inquiry-Based/Discovery Learning; Problem Solving/Decision Making; Collaborative/Cooperative Learning; Communication/Writing; Organic Chemistry
• ISSN: 0021-9584; 1938-1328
• DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.7b00093

Science educators strive to teach students how to be well-rounded scientists with the ability to problem solve, anticipate errors, and adapt to unexpected roadblocks. Traditional organic chemistry experiments seldom teach these skills, no matter how novel or contemporary the subject material. This paper reports on the success of a quarter-long organic chemistry laboratory experiment that takes the form of a research project designed to teach these real-life skills. Students took a three-step synthetic sequence from a literature source, and changed parameters to improve the yield. This involved library research and two levels of proposals, followed by a written report and a poster presentation. The goal was to simulate the different aspects of a research lab, from literature searches to problem-solving to presenting results. The students experienced unexpected difficulties and were graded on how they overcame these obstacles, rather than on how much they improved the yields.