Instrumental Analysis at Western Carolina University was recently redesigned in an effort to enhance students' capacity to (1) obtain the skills and abilities desired by employers in the chemical industry and (2) perform metacognitive regulation in a laboratory environment.  While the Instrumental Analysis lecture was focused on fundamental aspects of instrumentation, the somewhat decoupled laboratory component of the course served as a capstone experience.  The laboratory was a collaborative, project-based environment in which the class developed a soil map of an on-campus trail system.  Four groups of students were tasked with developing a soil analysis method on ICP-OES, XRF, FT-IR, or GC-MS and preparing a standard operating procedure for their chosen instrument.  Once created, students exchanged SOPs and completed soil analysis on the remaining instruments.  SOP revisions were completed at the end of each analysis round based on user feedback.  Project planning and data analysis were guided by the instructor through formal group meetings that occurred at intervals during the project.  Performance was assessed through a variety of rubrics based on lab meetings, the completed SOP, and peer evaluations. To measure the success of the course design, a series of four survey instruments were deployed throughout the semester.  The surveys, which were piloted with a group of former Instrumental Analysis students, gathered data on personal perceptions of learning, confidence in performing tasks, engagement in the laboratory experience, and perceptions of course design.    For each student, changes in personal perceptions of learning were compared to quantitative measures of success such as the aforementioned rubrics to determine the effect of the course on the ability of the students to perform meaningful self-evaluation of their knowledge and skills.  The initial data analysis and tentative findings from year one of this study will be presented and recommendations for future course design will be discussed.

SOP for success: Instrumental analysis laboratory as a window to real-world chemistry

247th National Meeting (2014)

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