The project team of collaborators from three diverse institutions, a research university, a primarily undergraduate institution and a community college, is designing a laboratory curriculum for a full year of general chemistry based on the Model-Observe-Reflect-Explain (MORE) Thinking Frame they have developed. Each member of the team brings a specific set of skills and a different student population to the project. They are promoting meta-cognition and providing an instructional tool that addresses deficiencies in laboratory courses by guiding students' thinking throughout the inquiry process. Unlike the algorithmic exercises that are typically the focus of general chemistry, MORE supports students in reflecting upon their own understanding of chemical systems and refining their molecular-level views to be consistent with experimental evidence. The goals of this project are to develop a complete, cognitively-effective general chemistry laboratory curriculum of problem-based MORE modules; develop accompanying instructor materials and support mechanisms; and continue the cycle of development, implementation, research on student learning, and the testing and refinement of the curriculum and instruction to maximize diverse students' abilities to apply their models effectively in new contexts. MORE instruction levels the playing field for students who are not adept at solving quantitative chemistry exercises, with the potential to attract and retain traditionally underrepresented populations in chemistry. Faculty members, graduate and undergraduate students, including pre-service teachers, are involved in development and assessment of the MORE curriculum. Formative assessment and summative evaluation is being done using multiple methods. Controlled studies, including external measures of students' understanding of chemistry, are being conducted. Four institutions have been identified as beta sites to further test the curricular materials. Materials and research results are disseminated via professional conferences, workshops and short courses, one-on-one instructor mentoring and faculty networks, and publications in scholarly journals.
