Newswise — Two South Dakota State University professors want to change the way students learn about chemistry. That’s the goal of a two-year, $200,000 National Science Foundation grant awarded to associate professors of chemistry and biochemistry, David Cartrette and Matt Miller.

“Students are typically given a recipe and don’t always think about how to change it to make a better experiment,” said Miller. “It’s just a verification process that we hope to change through introducing collaboration between first- and second-year chemistry students.”

The nationally funded laboratory curriculum the professors will write is built on three guiding principles. First, students need to be trained in lab techniques with scientific instruments used by most chemists in everyday work. Second, students need multiple opportunities to use these techniques and instruments to answer real-world questions related to science. Finally, experience shows students need to understand that successful, original research and experimentation is not a solo operation.

The lab teaching model developed by Miller and Cartrette brings together a hierarchical system of research that uses an apprentice/mentor model. Their teaching strategies mimic that model by having two different levels of undergraduate classes work together to create a community of learning much like faculty research that engages graduate students.

The interaction of the two class levels intends to simulate what happens when someone starts a new job. The newly hired person is typically trained by someone more experienced with the job and its responsibilities. The second-year students act as trainers, while the first-year students act as trainees. The goal of this interaction, said the professors, is to develop a team environment where students teach and learn from each other.

“The focus is on creativity and collaboration,” said Cartrette. “It’s taking the abstract and making it applicable to real world issues — taking knowledge and applying it to real world problems.”

Students in these lab courses begin their studies in a very traditional sense; they master the techniques used in a chemistry lab. As they progress through the curriculum, they use these techniques to address real problems for which no answer is known. The approach quickly moves students toward more independent thinking and motivates them to perform original experiments. Working collaboratively, the professors said, lets students experience what most research students experience as they begin the research process.

The professors said such cooperative environments help create greater interest in research as students learn about the social aspects of working with others, not unlike a professional research laboratory that includes a wide range of scientists.

Cartrette and Miller’s efforts address the call for science education enhancement at the state and national levels. In February 2012, President Obama received an executive report that recommended to “advocate and provide support for replacing standard laboratory courses with discovery based research courses.”

At the state level, the South Dakota Legislature is proposing increased funding for math and science teachers in public schools.

The NSF-funded curriculum model also addresses upcoming changes in medical school admissions procedures; future editions of the medical school admissions exam, or MCAT, will focus on performance outcomes, as opposed to factual knowledge recall. Miller and Cartrette’s project, funded last summer, they said, addresses these proposed changes.

“In a way, we foresaw these changes and acted to modify our curriculum to address them,” Cartrette said.

The NSF grant will fund the advanced instrumentation needed for the project. Associate Professor Kenneth Emo, from the Department of Teaching, Learning and Leadership, assisted by chemistry and biochemistry graduate student Jaclyn Nielsen, will evaluate the educational outcomes of the project.

Additionally, presentations made by Cartrette and Miller at national workshops will describe how students learn through collaborative interactions in a lab environment. The two will also write journal articles on the process and develop teacher-training workshops that can be replicated in other educational settings, at both universities and high schools.

Both Miller and Cartrette’s teaching experience has earned them awards for their instruction. Both have been awarded the Edward Patrick Hogan Award for Excellence in Teaching at SDSU to recognize outstanding achievement in undergraduate instruction. Miller has also received the Elaine and Leo Spinar Chemistry & Biochemistry Teaching Award from the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.

About South Dakota State University

Founded in 1881, South Dakota State University is the state’s Morrill Act land-grant institution as well as its largest, most comprehensive school of higher education. SDSU confers degrees from eight different colleges representing more than 175 majors, minors and specializations. The institution also offers 29 master’s degree programs, 12 Ph.D. and two professional programs.

The work of the university is carried out on a residential campus in Brookings, at sites in Sioux Falls, Pierre and Rapid City, and through Cooperative Extension offices and Agricultural Experiment Station research sites across the state.

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NSF Grant Challenges Traditional Teaching Strategies in Chemistry Labs