This project implements experiences in the chemistry curriculum in which beginning and advanced students share experiments with common features and then communicate their results to each other. The target student groups include non-science majors fulfilling general education requirements, science students beginning their course of study, and upper-class students in advanced chemistry courses. Three topics that lend themselves to study at various levels of expertise were identified: polyaromatic hydrocarbons, chlorophyll, and amino acids. The topics and experiments adapted from the science education and research literature model the actual practice of science for students. Students carry out open-ended investigations on problems of interest to a wider community utilizing HPLC and spectrofluorimetry. After acquiring their data, they interpret it and communicate their results to peers who then use those results in subsequent experiments. As a result of this project, students have a better understanding of the scientific method, an appreciation for the role of instrumentation in answering scientific questions, and enhanced experience with communicating scientific ideas. A psychologist coordinates ongoing student attitudinal evaluation of the project and the instructors monitor assessment of student learning. Project outcomes are disseminated at regional and national professional meetings and in educational publications.
