This IUSE project seeks to develop a new inquiry-based undergraduate laboratory curriculum for General Organic and Biochemistry (GOB) courses at the University of Illinois at Chicago. The proposed courses are intended to prepare students for careers in healthcare professions by promoting critical thinking and connecting science to everyday life and human health. This goal will be accomplished through the creation or revision of 12 experiments that will utilize conceptual learning, as described by the MORE (Model-Observe-Reflect-Explain) framework. This approach encourages students to create a conceptual model in a pre-lab exercise, observe chemical phenomena in lab that confirm or refute their model, reflect upon their original model, and explain the chemical phenomena. The learning materials developed will be used by a diverse, urban commuter student body and should be transferrable to other institutions.
The key outcomes for this project will be twofold; (a) relevant lab procedures taught within the MORE framework and (b) associated training and support materials. Through formative and summative evaluation the investigators will analyze survey data of students related to their confidence and ability to understand course content objectives, as well as to the usefulness of an array of support materials and activities. Findings are expected to inform and broaden the knowledge base regarding how the contextualization of chemistry concepts aids student learning and the conditions that promote success for students. In turn, such results will help inform other institutions seeking to undertake similar efforts. Feedback from TAs (surveys and interviews) will also be used to adjust course implementation, to determine the role that teaching assistants play in delivering and implementing an inquiry-based curriculum, and to understand their influence on student learning. Dissemination will involve publication of manuscripts on the survey tool that has been created for this work and on the adaptation of the MORE pedagogy to the GOB sequence.
