Problem-Based Approach to Teaching Advanced Chemistry Laboratories and Developing Students’ Critical Thinking Skills

• Published in: Journal of chemical education Vol. 95; no. 2; pp. 259 - 266
• Main Author: Quattrucci, Joseph G
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Easton American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc 13.02.2018; Division of Chemical Education, Inc and ACS Publications Division of the American Chemical Society; American Chemical Society
• Subjects: Advanced Courses; Chemistry; College Students; Critical Thinking; Curricula; Feedback; Feedback (Response); Interdisciplinary subjects; Laboratory Experiments; Physical chemistry; Problem Based Learning; Problem Solving; Science Experiments; Science Instruction; Science Laboratories; Skills; Students; Teachers; Teaching Methods; Thinking Skills; Massachusetts; Interdisciplinary/Multidisciplinary; Upper-Division Undergraduate; Problem Solving/Decision Making; Laboratory Instruction; Physical Chemistry
• ISSN: 0021-9584; 1938-1328
• DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.7b00558

A new method for teaching advanced laboratories at the undergraduate level is presented. The intent of this approach is to get students more engaged in the lab experience and apply critical thinking skills to solve problems. The structure of the lab is problem-based and provides students with a research-like experience. Students read the current literature, develop new experiments for the curriculum, and then present the work in both oral and poster format. From the instructor’s observations, it was found that students take ownership of their experiments and typically apply themselves more than in a traditional lab setting. Student feedback about this approach has been overwhelmingly positive.